This is my secret weapon for seriously fast midweek meals: an Authentic Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce that takes minutes to make and can be stored in the fridge for weeks. Plenty of flavour just used plain but also fantastic with extra flavourings added, this Stir Fry Sauce is sensational used for both stir fries and stir fried noodles.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
My Swiss Army knife of Stir Fry Sauces!
Restaurant Secret: you know when you go to a packed Asian restaurant or take out during lunch hour and you’re handed a plate of fresh-out-of-the-wok stir fry 5 minutes after ordering? I hate to disappoint you, but the cooks standing over the flames aren’t throwing together 10 ingredient sauce mixes for every single dish…….What they actually use are ready made sauces as a base, then add additional flavours for different dishes.
These all purpose stir fry sauces are closely guarded secrets of restaurants – you won’t uncover them simply by googling, that’s for sure! Today I’m sharing mine. I call him Charlie (as in Charlie Brown….as in “Brown Sauce”, which stir fry sauces are commonly referred to as). Perfected and tweaked over years, I’ve been loyal to Charlie for a decade (and counting).
The brilliant thing about Charlie is that you make him just by combining the ingredients in a jar, them just store him in the fridge where he’ll happily reside for weeks – months even. Then you simply heat some oil in a wok, throw in whatever proteins, vegetables and noodles you want, then throw Charlie in with some water and he’ll magically transform into a thick, glossy sauce that lusciously coats your stir fry. He’s great plain, but so versatile too – add heat, herbs, fruity sweetness or some tang. I’ve provided some of my favourite variations in the recipe below.
In the recipe below, I’ve provided the basic “formula” for using Charlie and I’ve also written a separate post on how to Build Your Own Chinese Stir Fried Noodles.
Update: At the request of a number of readers, I’ve put together a post with 10 Classic Chinese Takeout Meals using this sauce – meals in a flash!
And it’s as easy as that!
I’d love to know what you think if you give “Charlie” a go! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce (Charlie!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup Chinese wine (or dry sherry) (Note 5)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch / cornflour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp sesame oil , toasted
- 1 tsp ground white pepper (I sometimes use 1 tbsp, I like the spiciness!)
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Store in fridge and shake before use.
Amount to Use (Note 6):
- Stir Fry: I use 3 tbsp Stir Fry Sauce + 6 tbsp water to make a stir frying for 2 people using around 5 cups of uncooked ingredients (proteins + vegetables).
- Noodles: I use 3 tbsp of the Stir Fry sauce + 5 – 6 tbsp water to make a noodle stir fry for 2 people using around 7 cups of the combined stir fry uncooked (vegetables – packed, proteins + noodles – if using).
- By weight (Noodles & Stir Fry): Around 3 tbsp Stir Fry Sauce per 1 lb / 500g of combined ingredients (proteins + vegetables + noodles if using) plus 1/3 cup water.
To Use:
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok over high heat.
- Add your choice of Base Flavourings – fry for 10 seconds or so to infuse oil.
- Add stir fry ingredients in order of time to cook (starting with ingredients that take longest to cook), leaving leafy greens, like the leaves of bok choy, until when you add the sauce (otherwise they will wilt and overcook).
- Add noodles (if using), sauce and water, your choice of Additional Flavourings and any leafy greens.
- Gently toss to combine and to let the sauce cook for around 1 minute. The sauce will become a thick, glossy sauce that coats your stir fry.
- Serve immediately with rice – or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!
Base Flavourings
- Garlic, minced or finely sliced
- Ginger, minced or finely sliced
- Fresh chillies, minced or finely sliced
Additional Flavouring Suggestions
- Sriracha, Chilli Bean Paste or other Spicy addition
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Substitute the water with pineapple or orange juice
- Rice vinegar – for a touch of tartness
- Fresh cilantro / coriander leaves, or thai basil – for freshness
- Garlic or ordinary chives, chopped
- Pinch of Chinese five spice powder
Love all the recipes ,no more sticky rice
Thanks so much Connie! N x
Re: “need a butter knife or something to mix up the cornstarch that will settle and harden in the bottom of the jar.”
Just turn the jar upside-down. The non-newtonian liquid will almost instantly flow away from the bottom of the jar. Ain’t science wonderful!
When cornstarch if left to sit in a liquid for a long period of time as in weeks , it gets rock hard , and shaking wont loosen it from the bottom of the jar unless you break up the big clump.If you actually cooked more often ,instead of being a rude troll, maybe you might learn something .
Hi Nagi!
Hello from friendly Canada.
Hope you’re healthy, staying strong, optimistic.
HEALTH is WEALTH.
Thank you for always grrreat recipes, details, attach. VIDEOS over the years, Love your website, always loaded with add. recipes variety!! I’ve been your loyal fan. Your weekly full-proof recipes emails are the real treat for
me, results approved by family and friends.
This Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce true winner, key to make any dish tasty. PERFECTO! Tried last night, yum-yummy, fast, easy to make, still can savor aftertaste.
p.s. I always use LeeKumKee premium oyster sauce, thicker, bold, more flavour (less soy, salt), better!
Also I add to your winner’s recipe few drops of China Time-honored Brand Delicate Flavour sauce.
Welcome to taste it!
Many Thanks again! Please don’t change, stay in touch.
Best wishes, kind regards!
~Roman~
Wahoo, that’s great to hear! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know Roman! N x
Hi, I’ll love lo make this sauce for dinner tonight, however I don’t have the Chinese wine 🙁 , how much of chicken broth/stock do you recommend? Thanks
Hi Haylin 1/4 cup chicken broth/stock, with 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar + 1/2 tsp sugar – N x
Amazing, delicious and easy! Have been recommending this to all my friends.
Wondering if anything casn be subbed in your all purpose stir fry sauce for the “oyster sauce” for someone allergic to seafood? Something that would still make it great?
Hi Verna, the best sub is a mushroom based oyster sauce available – N x
How do U purchase the sauce. how much?
Hi Joyce, you don’t purchase this sauce – you make it! See the recipe details – N x
I love love love this recipe, i hate to use packet sauces as they are always packed with sugars.
This recipe is so easy, practical and most importantly tasty!! This will be a staple in my fridge from now on.
Have to say I love the way you break down the recipe and give the reasoning behind your tips and tricks.
Thank you
That’s great to hear Stephanie!! N x
Hi There,
Love your sauce!! It was amazing, and your ‘Chinese Stir Fry Noodles – Build Your Own’ is also amazing and very easy to follow!
Just wondering if I could use dark soy in the sauce?
Thanks so much Bianca!! Dark soy isn’t suitable here 🙂 N x
Love this recipe, when you cook the stir fry ,can you add a little black bean garlic sauce along with this sauce?
Sure could Anne! N x
Were is the Sausage Roll recipe ????
Best stir Fry Sauce Iv’e ever made, a simple one and a beauty ! I use it with a sorts of stir fries.
Thank you Nagi.
Absolutely love this sauce to make Indo Chinese dishes! Yes, that’s a thing! Indian spin on Chinese food!
Nice!!! Love hearing this Rasna! N x
Love this sauce! So easy to make and delicious, thank you!
Delicious!
Added some gochujang and used this to sauce up some udon + veggie + baked tofu. Very pleased with the results!
Is there a substitute for the oyster sauce? My husband is highly allergic to shell fish.
You could use Wan Ja Shan brand Vegetarian Oyster Sauce. Ingredients: Water, Sucrose, NON GMO Soybeans, Wheat, Salt, Starch, Yeast Extract, Sodium Benzoate (to preserve freshness), Shiitake Mushroom Powder.
Hi Nagi, is rice cooking wine the same as shaoxing wine, thanks, Michelle
For those contemplating adding garlic and/or ginger to their base stock: if you do, don’t use fresh. It will considerably diminsh the shelf life. Use the jarred kind; it’s been cooked in the canning process and is safer than fresh. Also, powdered ginger, like you use in baking, has a noticibly different flavor than fresh or jarred, I don’t know why.
Hi Lynne, I wouldn’t recommend adding jarred ginger or garlic here – they have an almost bitter flavour. I prefer to use fresh when cooking and using the sauce 🙂
If I use fresh garlic and or ginger will the sauce last at least 2 weeks?
Oh. This is fantastic. We never (EVER!) use *any* other sauce now. Impossible to get wrong, and works every time.
Goes with almost any combination of meat, fish and veg, and tastes delicious. THANK YOU! x
YESSSS! I Love hearing this! N x
Love l0ve love this!
Ive been making basically this recipe off the top of my head for years, makes so much sense to have the exact amounts and make a big batch so its perfect every time!
Wondering if you think it could be frozen (like ice cubes) and just add a couple of cubes each time, instead of having a massive jar in my fridge all the time?
How about leaving out the cornstarch, freezing the sauce, then adding the cornstarch at the time you cook — 1 tsp. per serving?
Hi Hayley, I’m so glad you love it! Unfortunately you can’t freeze sauces with cornflour in it – it changes the consistency. N x
This is everything and more that you say it is and does. Made a beef and broccoli stir fry..using your suggestions but not following any particular recipe except for your “Charlie” sauce. It was fantastic. So much more flavourful than trying to figure out how many slurps of this sauce and how many glugs of that one. I now have so much more time and confidence to experiment with my stir fries as I am not trying to come up with a sauce to match. Having Charlie on my side makes whipping up a an asian meal a breeze. Thank you so much.
Wahoo, and that’s why we love it Peta! N x