I’ve read this canonical question about food safety, so my question is explicitly not about the safety aspect. I was curious if there were quality implications of storage of the sauce, and what the expected storage lifetime would be in the fridge.
Specifically, I’m making a mixture of:
| Quantity | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 2 Tbsp | Low-sodium soy sauce |
| 2 tsp | Sesame Oil |
| 1/4 cup | Water |
| 2 Tbsp | Brown Sugar (packed) |
| 2 tsp | Corn Starch |
Based on the linked question I would expect it to be safe in the fridge for at least 3-5 days, but I was wondering if there’s any weird interactions to be aware of, such as between the sugar, soy sauce, and corn starch that would degrade the quality even if it’s still safe to eat.
This is a sauce for a stir fry that is intended to thicken after being heated, and I don’t know whether the corn starch will still be effective after a few days, for example. I was hoping to be able to make a somewhat larger amount and cook with it over the course of a week or so. I plan on mixing these ingredients but not actually heating them until I actually add the sauce to the dish.
Best Answer
I would imagine your main enemy will be separation.
The oil will float to the top - which is easily if temporarily fixed by shaking it…
… but the corn starch will solidify at the bottom, which will require much more vigorous shaking, and may in fact resist all attempts short of disturbing it with a spoon/stirrer once it's fully settled. [It can do this in 20 minutes. I've never tried leaving it for much longer.]
As there seems to be some uncertainty as to whether you're going to cook it first… if cooked, the corn starch will gelatinise on cooling, which makes it rather intransigent afterwards.