Say hello to our time-tested, versatile pan sauce recipe! Inspired by some of our most popular Chinese dishes, use this sauce with vegetables, chicken, beef, pork and seafood.
watch the video
Related: We love using this sauce in our Garlic Ginger Vegetable Skillet.
Whenever we’ve tried store-bought pan sauces, we’ve been disappointed. That’s why we love this homemade sauce that’s perfect for just about any stir-fry recipe you want to make. As written, this easy pan sauce is vegan and if you use certified gluten-free ingredients, it’s gluten-free. Let’s get straight to the point, shall we?
More: We use this skillet sauce to make our Garlic Chicken Broccoli Skillet and Garlic Ginger Vegetable Skillet!
What you need to make homemade pan sauce
Every time we make this easy sauce, we’re blown away by its flavor. It works with vegetables, meat and seafood.
Chicken or Vegetable Broth: This is the base of our sauce. We alternate between chicken and vegetable broth. Both are excellent.
Soy sauce (both light and dark): Using both light and dark soy sauce gives our pan sauce incredible flavor. I know it’s tempting to only use one or the other, but we highly recommend using both if you have access to them.
Shaoxing Wine, Dry Sherry or Mirin: Shaoxing wine is a Chinese rice wine commonly used in Chinese cuisine. It’s the most authentic choice in this recipe, so we highly recommend putting it in your pantry if you can find it. It adds a nice complexity and balance to the sauce. However, if you don’t have access to it, we have two alternatives: dry sherry and mirin. You can use the cooking wine version of each in this recipe. Rice vinegar is also an option, but the sauce tastes slightly different, so you may need a little more sugar.
Toasted Sesame Oil: With its nutty, rich flavor, toasted sesame oil is possibly my favorite ingredient in this recipe. I love it.
Sugar: It’s important to balance the saltiness of the soy sauce, and sugar does a great job here. Plain white sugar is fine.
White pepper: Unlike black pepper, white pepper adds a floral, earthy flavor to dishes. We don’t need it often, but we love white pepper in this recipe. If you don’t have white pepper, you can use black pepper.
Fresh garlic and fresh ginger: We use a lot of garlic and ginger in this sauce. If you think it looks too much, don’t hesitate. Using plenty of freshly chopped ginger and garlic adds plenty of flavor to the sauce and your stir-fry.
FAQ: Do I need garlic and ginger?
Fresh garlic and ginger are delicious in this pan sauce, but you can also make it without. You can also use one or the other – I often make this sauce with garlic and no ginger as I almost always have garlic in the kitchen but not always ginger.
FAQ: Why do you use both light and dark soy sauce?
The combination creates the perfect balance of saltiness and flavor. Light soy sauce contains less sodium than dark soy sauce, while dark soy sauce has more flavor. If we used only light soy sauce in this recipe, the sauce would be flavorful but lack flavor. Dark soy sauce fixes this problem by adding its rich flavor for extra deliciousness.
How to make gravy
Are you ready to see how easy it is? Put everything in a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. That’s it. You can use the sauce immediately or store it in the fridge for a day or two for the next stir-fry. Simply!
How to use this sauce
Cook your pan ingredients (meat and/or veggies) until mostly cooked, then pour in the sauce. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute so it heats up. If you want to thicken the sauce and make it stick to the pan ingredients (similar to how it’s served at a Chinese restaurant), you’ll need to use cornstarch. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water. When the sauce is simmering in the pan, slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring well, until the sauce thickens and coats the pan.
Garlic Ginger Skillet
This is our trusted, versatile pan sauce. Use this sauce with vegetables, chicken, beef, pork and seafood.
Makes 1 ½ cups
Watch as we prepare the recipe
you will need
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (thumb-sized piece of ginger)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, substitute dry sherry or mirin, see notes
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
directions
1Place all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Heat the sauce, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerate and consume within two days.
Adam and Joanne’s tips
- Shaoxing wine is a Chinese rice wine commonly used in Chinese cuisine. It’s the most authentic choice in this recipe, so we highly recommend putting it in your pantry if you can find it. However, if you don’t have access to it, we have two alternatives: dry sherry and mirin. Mirin is sweeter than Shaoxing wine, so you’ll probably need to reduce the sugar by 1 tablespoon. Another option is to use rice wine vinegar. This will make the sauce taste a little different and you may need a little more sugar.
- Vegan Tips: This recipe is vegan, but be sure to use vegan sugars (not all).
- Gluten-Free Tips: When shopping for the ingredients listed above (especially the soy sauce), make sure the label says “gluten-free.” If you can’t find gluten-free soy sauce, look for gluten-free tamari, which, unlike soy sauce, is traditionally made with no or very little wheat.
- Nutritional Information: The nutritional information below is an estimate. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, take a picture and tag it with the hashtag #inspiredtaste – we love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutritional value per serving
serving size
2 tablespoons
/
calories
29
/
total fat
1.2g
/
Saturated Fatty Acids
0.2g
/
cholesterol
0mg
/
sodium
339 mg
/
fiber
0.1g
/
total sugar
2.6g
/
protein
0.5g