Stir fry and curry sauces

RyanUNDEAD
RyanUNDEAD Posts: 18 Member
in Recipes
Hi fellow MFP members

I made a post today about packet sauces in the food section and I was adviced to ask in this section if I was interested in making my own sauces.

So I'd love it if all you seasoned cooks could help out a newbie. I'm looking for sauces for stir fries and curries, I like a variety of flavours so all recipes are welcome. I'd like recipes that aren't too high in salt and calories if possible.

Thanks for any recipes shared
Ryan

Replies

  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
    Answered you over there too! Quick question. I love curry, but there are lots. Are you talking Thai, Indian, Japanese, Middle Eastern? I'm personally partial to Thai and Indian, but there are lots to choose from. I make a lot of recipes from Bal Arneson for Indian dishes (she also makes a lot of great sauces from yogurt) and will sometimes tweak them to fit with Thai curry instead. As far as stir fry sauce, this is my favorite:
    http://www.food.com/recipe/all-purpose-stir-fry-sauce-brown-garlic-sauce-87748
    I usually use regular white wine instead of rice wine and Worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce, but it's a great basic recipe. Don't forget that you can use marinades as amazing sauces too. Marinade your meat, cook them in a pan, deglaze with the remaining marinade, then reduce to thicken. I like multi purpose stuff!
  • maryjaquiss
    maryjaquiss Posts: 307 Member
    Easy-peasy stir fry sauce:

    Marinate your meat (chicken breast/pork fillet/beef fillet) in soy sauce (1-2 tablespoons), crushed garlic (1 clove), grated ginger (from about 1" of root ginger), a chilli (I include the seeds), a tsp of sesame oil, 1/2 to 1 tsp of Chinese 5 spice, 1 tsp cornflour and the juice of 1/4 of a lime.

    Once you've stir fried the veg, throw your marinated meat in and just fry until it's cooked.

    The measurements here are approximate - I just chuck stuff in (except the oil and cornflour for calories)!

    ETA - you can leave the meat to marinate (in the fridge) for hours, but I often just leave it to one side while I'm chopping and cooking the veg.
  • sexton41
    sexton41 Posts: 2 Member
    Easy-peasy stir fry sauce:

    Marinate your meat (chicken breast/pork fillet/beef fillet) in soy sauce (1-2 tablespoons), crushed garlic (1 clove), grated ginger (from about 1" of root ginger), a chilli (I include the seeds), a tsp of sesame oil, 1/2 to 1 tsp of Chinese 5 spice, 1 tsp cornflour and the juice of 1/4 of a lime.

    Once you've stir fried the veg, throw your marinated meat in and just fry until it's cooked.

    The measurements here are approximate - I just chuck stuff in (except the oil and cornflour for calories)!

    That is exactly how i prepare mine.
    if you stirfry the chicken first, and you would like to have it with a sauce just add water while cooking, you end up with a beautiful taste and sauce to boot.
  • maryjaquiss
    maryjaquiss Posts: 307 Member
    Easy-peasy stir fry sauce:

    Marinate your meat (chicken breast/pork fillet/beef fillet) in soy sauce (1-2 tablespoons), crushed garlic (1 clove), grated ginger (from about 1" of root ginger), a chilli (I include the seeds), a tsp of sesame oil, 1/2 to 1 tsp of Chinese 5 spice, 1 tsp cornflour and the juice of 1/4 of a lime.

    Once you've stir fried the veg, throw your marinated meat in and just fry until it's cooked.

    The measurements here are approximate - I just chuck stuff in (except the oil and cornflour for calories)!

    That is exactly how i prepare mine.

    Stir fry twins! :wink:
  • sexton41
    sexton41 Posts: 2 Member
    lol, quick reply.
  • harley1968
    harley1968 Posts: 218 Member
    Easy-peasy stir fry sauce:

    Marinate your meat (chicken breast/pork fillet/beef fillet) in soy sauce (1-2 tablespoons), crushed garlic (1 clove), grated ginger (from about 1" of root ginger), a chilli (I include the seeds), a tsp of sesame oil, 1/2 to 1 tsp of Chinese 5 spice, 1 tsp cornflour and the juice of 1/4 of a lime.

    This sounds really tasty, will be trying this :smile:
  • lisiloulah
    lisiloulah Posts: 125 Member
    I have an easy curry recipe I had from a weight watchers recipe book a few years ago. Marinade chicken overnight in a mixture of 0% fat greek yoghurt and curry paste (or curry powder). When you're ready to cook, in a deep frying pan with a little spray oil fry off some onions and then add the meat mixture. Brown the chicken a bit and then add tinned chopped tomatoes and some coriander and any vegetables you want and then cook through - usually no more than 20 minutes. Marinading the meat is optional - sometimes I just throw the meat and curry powder in the frying pan as it is and it's just as nice, although the yoghurt does add a nice creamy texture!

    Lisa x
  • beemgrace
    beemgrace Posts: 19
    Easy-peasy stir fry sauce:

    Marinate your meat (chicken breast/pork fillet/beef fillet) in soy sauce (1-2 tablespoons), crushed garlic (1 clove), grated ginger (from about 1" of root ginger), a chilli (I include the seeds), a tsp of sesame oil, 1/2 to 1 tsp of Chinese 5 spice, 1 tsp cornflour and the juice of 1/4 of a lime.

    Once you've stir fried the veg, throw your marinated meat in and just fry until it's cooked.

    The measurements here are approximate - I just chuck stuff in (except the oil and cornflour for calories)!

    ETA - you can leave the meat to marinate (in the fridge) for hours, but I often just leave it to one side while I'm chopping and cooking the veg.

    Sounds delic! Will be tying this ...
  • MartialPanda
    MartialPanda Posts: 919 Member
    Anyone have a really solid Peanut sauce recipe?
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,239 Member
    Anyone have a really solid Peanut sauce recipe?

    I love making Peanut Noodles:

    1/4 cup soy sauce
    1/4 cup water
    2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
    1 tsp dry ginger
    1/2 cup peanut butter

    Warm all ingredients on medium-low in a sauce pan while the pasta is cooking. You will need to whisk the peanut butter to make the sauce smooth. After pasta is cooked and drained, stir in the sauce. Serve with red pepper flakes sprinkled on top for marvelous heat!

    It's fabulous with whole wheat noodles since it has a strong flavor that can take on the strong whole wheat flavor of the pasta :)
  • MartialPanda
    MartialPanda Posts: 919 Member
    sounds awesome! I will definitely try this out.
  • musycnlyrics
    musycnlyrics Posts: 323 Member
    Not sure which curry this falls under, but we love this in my house:

    2 tbsp of curry powder
    1 tbsp of paprika
    16 oz of plain greek yogurt (or lite mushroom soup or lite cream of chicken soup or similar base)
    half cup of skim milk
    salt pepper or other spices to taste

    heat together until well blended, pour over whatever meat/noodles/rice you choose and enjoy

    I use cream of mushroom for the whole family (lite version) and I use the greek yogurt for myself. I pour this on chicken that I have already baked for about an hour and after adding the sauce, i bake an additional 15 or twenty.
    its a good base recipe that is impossible to get wrong and allows a lot of room for additions and changes
  • nyboer
    nyboer Posts: 346 Member
    Bump!
  • lynnlc
    lynnlc Posts: 12
    One of my favorites for Thai curry: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/broiled-tilapia-with-thai-coconut-curry-sauce-10000000348346/

    The recipe is good as is, but I always add a little fish sauce and spices (cumin, coriander, cayenne) for more flavor. I usually also add more veggies to the sauce, and you can thin it out with some chicken broth to lighten it up even more.

    Happy curry cooking!!
  • yelliezx
    yelliezx Posts: 633 Member
    Yessss! I need this too. I find the store bought sauces are incredibly bland anyway.
  • singlefemalelawyer
    singlefemalelawyer Posts: 382 Member
    Bump to check later for ideas. I love stir fries and curries!
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
    I'm Indian, this is a basic/standard recipe you can use to make many Indian dishes - homemade Indian food is generally pretty healthy since its mostly spices that provide the flavor.

    Brown a lot of diced onions (low heat for a while) in a bit of oil and then puree them using an immersion blender. Then add minced ginger and garlic and brown all of it together. This is your base, its called masala. Now add whatever protein you want to it - like chicken or chickpeas. Season it with salt, red chili powder, ground cumin, ground coriander powder, and turmeric (no curry powder or paste!!) and let the meat/chicken whatever cook almost all the way. Add a little tomato paste and water, let it simmer for a while. If you want what we call curry (a protein dish with gravy - "curry sauce" is not actually an indian thing, but I'm guessing this kind of recipe is what you're looking for) add more water and a bit more seasoning, let it simmer till the water creates a flavorful gravy. Serve with roti or rice.

    Sorry I don't have measurements, I learned by watching my parents cook - but use much more spices, onions etc than you would think, our food is very flavorful so don't be stingy. You'll get the hang of the quantities by cooking it more and tasting while you're cooking. And real Indian food does NOT use curry powder or paste so don't even think about buying it :)
  • SAH1906
    SAH1906 Posts: 60 Member
    Bump... thanks y'all!

    I toyed around last week to make curry sauce using lite coconut milk, curry powder, seasoned salt,red pepper. It was ok, but I'm going to try some of your ideas!
  • jenready
    jenready Posts: 2,658 Member
    Bump for ideas!
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
    Oh and I stir fry often - its so quick and healthy! No real recipes but I make a sauce out of these ingredients, I experiment with different combinations and amounts - soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, rice wine, sugar, brown sugar, sesame oil, chili sauce, cornstarch, honey, sesame seeds, etc. I'd suggest getting a bunch of these things and just mixing stuff together to see what you like!

    And for the actual cooking, I sautee fresh ginger and garlic in grapeseed oil, then cook the meat, push it to the side, cook the veggies, push them to the side, add the sauce in the middle and cook it till its hot/bubbling, then mix everything together.
  • crisb2
    crisb2 Posts: 329 Member
    I always go to Pinterest for fitspiration and healthy recipes.
    I've got a hubby to feed as well, so I don't want any foods that seem too diety, but are still nutritious and low-cal. Always find them here, including curry recipes, had this today! (fish, spinach, tomatoes, curry, etc.)

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