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
This sauce is PERFECT!
If I were to add bits of orange rind, would that be as a base flavoring or other flavoring? I’ve tried adding small slices of orange rind at the end of the cooking process, but I only taste the orange when I bite into the bits of rind. The flavor doesn’t seem to get into the rest of the sauce. Any suggestions?
Hi Laura! To get orange flavour in I would use orange juice instead of water and use orange ZEST, not just rind pieces 🙂 Use the zest of an entire orange and mix it into the sauce. I am pretty sure you’ll get great orange flavour that way!
Thank you Nagi!
Can I substitute Coconut Aminos for the Oyster Sauce? We have a shellfish allergy at home, and would like to be able to make this friendly enough for him to eat.
There are no shellfish in oyster sauce! 🙂
Would you like a photo of my brand which clearly says 30% Oyster?
No thanks. I actually looked it up. I was misinformed, and couldn’t even say by who or when. SOrry for sharing incorrect information. But thanks.
Totally different taste. Oyster sauce rounds out and is the fifth element in seasoning- not a flavor.
Coconut anything will add a flavor level.
You can buy a vegetarian Oyster sauce. It does not have any meat/seafood in it.
Thank you!!!
I’m sorry I’m not sure Jo Anne. Sorry!
Hi there,
Is Rice Cooking Wine ok to use when you say Chinese Cooking WIne? Thanks so much!
Oh my! I put this together the other day & made stir fry chicken vegetable noodles & it was fantastic!
We live in the country with limited items available within 20 miles, so I used all dark soy (reduced sodium), dry sherry, 1 tablespoon black pepper & fettuccine noodles. It was a spur of the moment choice to make, using the veggies (carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms & frozen peas) I had in the fridge & some frozen chicken breasts.
Nagi, I can’t thank you enough for this recipe! It wasn’t too salty, to sweet, to tangy, it was PERFECT! The sauce clung to the noodles just like you said it would & we enjoyed every bite. I thought I’d doubled the recipe but made enough that we had leftovers for lunch the next day. Slurpy, yummy good & I still have my Charlie Brown waiting in the fridge to be used for something else soon.
Thank you!
I’ve used Charlie twice now! It is DELICIOUS!! The first time I used fresh chow mein noodles and green onions. The second time, spaghetti noodles and white onion. A huge hit x2!!
I will ALWAYS have a jar of Charlie in my fridge! Thankyou so much for sharing!!
That’s so great to hear Shelly! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x
Delicious!
That’s great to hear Robert! Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x ❤️
Hi! Please clarify the recipe for me.
Does it require 1/4c each light soy and AP soy (for a 1/2c total soy)?
Or is it 1/4c light soy or 1/4c AP soy depending on a person’s preference (only a 1/4c total per recipe)?
Thanks and be well,
Diane
It calls for both 1/4 light and 1/4 dark. For a total of 1/2.
See note #1 :if you do not have light you can use regular but the sauce with be darker.
Nagi, is the nutritional profile for just Charlie available? Is it with a different recipe?
Many thanks for this and so, so many other kitchen treats! Even with having to follow a low-salt diet (blech!), your food is keeping me going. I’m a happy cook because of you! AND. . . I tell EVERYBODY!
Hi Nagi……. I am a 93 year old ‘sorta’ chef (I had a small restaurant in Chicago years ago) and had help from some chefs in town, my favorite was a wonderful man, Wing Moy who had the best restaurant in town (not best Chinese… best best). I could not ever get his sauce right until I found you online… you make me miss him even more, (and his wife Annie’s bok choy) but I am eating better… you are a miracle for me. My best ‘toss together’ recipes are from him (his egg and shrimp is my ‘soul food’, along with Mrs. Boscaarino’s Italian ‘gravy’ which I learned to make from a friend’s mother by just hanging out with her, as she laughed when I asked for her recipe, and said, “you gotta taste… taste child!” Of course, our old, black, genius cook when I was a small child taught me that way. I shall now add you to my list of chefs who really know how to ‘do it’ You should get my friend Lou Swarthmarys’s Hungarian cookbook and add some of his wonderful recipes to your list. Lou taught me taste by taste also. I still cook all my own meals and sometimes share with others, but mainly alone as at my age all my friends are dead and younger people are not interested in eccentric old women, even good cooks. thank you so much for your great recipes… I love you!……Peg
Wow what an amazing compliment Peggy, thank you for taking the time to share your stories with me! 93 – and still going STRONG! I love your energy Peggy! N xx
Best stir fry sauce that I have ever made, hands down! Thank you for this recipe, it will be used weekly 🙂
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this Tammy!!! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂 N x
Hi. We love this sauce and your recipes. My son and I are sensitive to sesame oil. I realize this is a part of the flavor, but is there a way to cut down on the sesame oil combining with another oil that wont compete with flavor? Just make the sesame a little more subtle. If so, what oil would you recommend…veg, canola? Thanks.
Hi there! You can absolutely just leave it out entirely and substitute with another oil 🙂 I would use peanut, vegetable or canola, but honestly, any neutral flavoured oil will be terrific! N x
I have used this sauce for years! I feel bad I haven’t left a review before 🙁 . This is really my go-to sauce for fried rice and noodles. They always come out glossy and yummy. I add a little protein and maybe green onions but I always get rave reviews. Love this site!
Don’t feel bad Tina!! It’s totally fine 🙂 I’m just glad to hear you’ve been enjoying it! N xx
Hi Nagi. I made this recipe last night and cooked up a stir fry in the time I took to steam some frozen bao. It’s perfect for a DIY pantry. Thanks for a very easy and very usable recipe, and for helping me make vegetable dishes faster!
Great to hear you enjoyed this Rachel! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x
Where do you find Chinese wine at? Is that the same as rice cooking wine??
Can this sauce be frozen to extend the shelf-life when not made with wine? Would like to make a bigger batch and freeze into cubes for use as needed.
Gosh, Sarah! I never thought of that, I will try it and update the notes! N xx
Hello Nagi,
I’ve been using this recipe for the past few months and it is fantastic!
I am just about to make a new batch of Charlie and noticed that Fish Sauce is no longer listed on the recipe…..I’m sure it was before?
Hi Charlie! This sauce is totally meant for you 🙂 Nope, never been fish sauce in this recipe. I would worry about shelf life if fish sauce was added 🙂 N xx
Hi Nagi. Just to let you know how much we love Charlie! We always have a jar in the fridge now. It’s one of the best recipes I’ve ever used. Thanks very much!
Fantastic! So glad you love Charlie too Amanda! N x
I made it and it’s awesome. Thank you!
That’s terrific to hear Florina! So glad you enjoyed this – N x
Hi! Just a note for those looking for Oyster Sauce substitute. I’ve been using Vegetarian Oyster Sauce for years. It’s made with mushroom & taste exactly the same as Oyster Sauce & a healthy alternative too 🙂
Can you tell me what brand of Chinese wine you use?
Thanx!!
I already had all the ingredients in my pantry (I did use Taiwanese Michiu instead) and made a half portion of your recipe — it fits PERFECTLY in a recycled Bonne Maman jar. I’ve definitely made similar stir fry sauces before, but never with all of these combined and in this ratio. I can’t wait to try it on a stir fry tonight, as I have no doubt it’ll be great.
Hope you loved it Phoebe!