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
Nagi I keep a jar of your brown sauce in the fridge at all times and use it to make delicious omelettes. I add about one dessert spoon and a bit of your sauce (minus the cornflour) to every two-egg omelette, and toss in a little grated cheese and chopped spring onion as well. The result is the best omelettes I have ever made and it’s all thanks to your sauce. So glad I stumbled across your site. This sauce alone has improved my stir-fry cooking no end so a big thank you from me.
Hi Veronica!! I’m so glad you like the sauce, thank you for letting me know! I love the way you use it in the omelette, I must give it a go myself. I was actually thinking of having an omelette for dinner tonight and I have some of the sauce!!!
Just tried this recipe and was quite impressed. No more buying Maggi stir fry sauces for me!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Phil!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. 🙂 And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Please sign me up for recipes. Thank you
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have used this sauce many times since I found your recipe and it is wonderful! I am lucky to live near many Asian markets and had no trouble finding the ingredients, only deciding which brand to buy. I look forward to your book featuring Charlie!
I’m so glad you enjoy this Morine!
Hi Nagi,
Thank you for your wonderful base sauce, I made up my own a long time ago but this is much better.
I live just outside of Sydney & have no trouble getting Toasted Sesame Oil @ any of my local supermarkets (usually Ayam brand).
Crystal, I’ve always used “toasted’ for most stirs as it has a greater depth of flavour however, it can be too strong for delicate things like seafood with minimal vegies, so I always keep both in my Asian pantry for any ‘on the fly” cooking and now have 2 base sauces in my fridge, one with “toasted” for general cooking and a modified light version with “normal” for more delicate ingredients :).
WOO HOO! So glad you loved it Lou! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know! N x
Is the sesame oil toasted?
Hi Crystal – I’m not sure! The sesame oil we have here in Australia doesn’t distinguish whether it is toasted or not!
Well, I think a better question would be, is the oil light or dark colored? Or maybe see a photo of some of it in a small clear glass dish or a photo of the bottle? In fact a photo of your ingredients all together before you start your cooking would be helpful to a visual person like me. However, that just may not be your style I realize because your photos are definitely not that pedestrian but very beautiful and stylish! Anyway, I really enjoy your blog. You have a wonderful writing style and your recipes are great. I’m working on getting my own jar of Charlie together!
Hi Crystal! Thanks very much for the suggestion! 🙂 Actually, I’m working my way through my older recipes to provide better instructional photos and even videos for how to use it to make a stir fry! My sesame oil is dark coloured. 🙂
Hi there! two questions. 1. Can I use black pepper instead of white and 2. Is there a wayt to follow you on Pinterest. Can’t seem to do that.
Thanks
Hi Leslie! You sure can use black pepper instead of white 🙂 There is a button on the right with a “P” on it (grey square) and it will take you right to my Pinterest page! N x
Hi, Nagi. Can I substitute cornstarch with tapioca or rice starch? What’s the best ratio? Thank you.
I’m sorry Christine, I don’t know!! 🙁
I made this sauce this evening and then made a stir fry cleaning out the refrigerator for veggies.First I got the Wok really hot with a little oil and seared one pound of pork sliced ¼ inch thick. Then I removed the pork and sautéed some sliced mushrooms until they were nicely browned. Then I added chopped garlic, chopped Jalapeño, and chopped ginger along with one red bell pepper cut into ½ inch squares.. Meanwhile I blanched some sliced carrots, sliced cauliflower, and green beans in boiling water until they were half cooked. Then they were drained and added to the wok. Next I boiled Lo Mein noodles, a scant hand full, in boiling water for 3 minutes. They were then drained and added to the wok along with some chopped green onions.
The result was awesome. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Thank you Dave! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!!
Hi again!! I ran right over after reading your stir fry and I’ve made a nice little place in the fridge for Charlie!! Can’t wait to make up my first batch.
Oooh!!! Charlie’s brother – in YOUR fridge!!! I love it!!
After reading your stir-fry post, I wanted to come scope out this tasty sauce out and I just purchased both light and dark soy sauces last weekend! I have all the ingredients except for the wine, which I will get this week. OMG I’M SO EXCITED TO MAKE THIS.
YAY!!! I hope you love it Marissa!! Honestly, I pretty much ALWAYS have a jar of this in my fridge 🙂 I even use it to make Chinese soups!!
FINALLY!!! I’ve been searching for a stir fry/noodle sauce. This is it. There’s a tiny noodle place my daughter and I go to in China town, NYC and I have to say this recipe is pretty close. I held up the jar of sauce and proclaimed to my husband, ” this is the elixir of the gods!” lol. So happy!!! Thank you!!!
YAY!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!!
Hi Nagi,
I’m planning on trying this sauce, but I don’t want to make a whole lot of it for the first time. Could you please tell me what the amounts of ingredients would be for 2 servings of stir-fry noodle dish? I’m sorry, if this has been asked before, but there were so many comments and I’m too impatient to go through all of them!
Hi Mariah! No problems, here we go:
2 tsp light soy sauce (see notes)
2 tsp dark (normal) soy sauce
4 tsp oyster sauce (sub with hoisin for vegan)
2 tsp Chinese wine (or sherry)
2 tsp cornstarch / cornflour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
Mix with 1/2 cup of water. This makes enough for 1lb of combined ingredients for a noodle stir fry – around 6 to 8 cups (packed) of noodles + proteins + vegetables.
Awesome, thanks so much! I’ll try it tonight 🙂
Hi Nagi!
I was wondering if there might be something to substitute for the Soy in this recipe; both of my boys are allergic to soy (and cow’s milk, but there’s none of that in this sauce) but we really enjoy asian (or asian-style) food. Any advice would be wonderful!
Thanks!
-Tim
Hi Tim! Is it soy beans that they are allergic too? It will help me give you the best sub if I know 🙂
Hi Nagi !
Yes, it is the soybeans (and all things made from soy) that they are allergic to.
Hi Timothy! Since your boys cannot have soy sauce, you can whip up this recipe as a replacement for it. It is easy and I hope it works for you! Here is the link: allrecipes.com/recipe/92873/soy-sauce-substitute/
I hope this helps, just copy and paste it into your search engine and there you have it!
That’s so sweet of you to help Timothy Kira!! Thank you! N x
Thank you Kira!
That is truly a godsend. What ‘tweaks’ would need to be made to adjust the substitute for the lighter and darker versions of the soy sauce? I mean, what flavors do the different soy sauces give to Charlie’s blend?
Good Peace,
-Timothy O.
Another option might be Coconut aminos. It tastres like soy sauce, maybe not quite as strong. I believe you can get it at whole foods or here… https://www.pureformulas.com/coconut-aminos-8-oz-by-coconut-secret.html
Hi nagi. I made your sauce today, used it tonight, it was so flavouful, I took out the required amount and added 2tsp of curry powder as well too the chow Mein I was cooking ,I can honestly say it was the bed chow Mein I’ve ever cooked. Thankyou so much for sharing.
Hi Susie! I am SO GLAD you loved it!! It’s a personal favourite, I pretty much always have a stash in my fridge!! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
I decided to do a base line non-flavored ramen test using Charlie. Wow, it’s a great base sauce and I love how it just thickens up without having to mess around with another container of cornstarch slurry. I’m not a fan of sweet foods so I’ll tweek it with more soy and some hot peppers but overall, I can see it’s really versatile! Charlie will be in my pantry from now on, Thanks for the great sauce recipe!
I must say I haven’t tried Charlie for ramen before!! Did you use it for a soup or stir fry type? So glad you liked Charlie!! 🙂
Well I chose plain ramen (the packaged kind, yikes!) because it’s so bland. I wanted to get a good idea how Charlie tasted and I figured that if it could make packaged ramen tasted good, it would be a winner. I just pan fried the noodles with Charlie ;p
Since then, I’ve used Charlie for an egg fu young sauce and in a pork/chinese broccoli/onion, shitake stir fry, both came out great!
Still looking for a good all purpose stir fry sauce recipe!
Will give this one a try! Thanks for the recipe, Nagi!
Question:
Cooking instructions; Step 4 – If I would like to substitute the water with pineapple or orange juice, should I add sauce, water AND pineapple/orange juice
OR do I just add sauce and pineapple/orange juice.
Thank you,
Maggie
Hi Maggie! Hope this meets your standards! 🙂 For step 4, it is not AND. It is just pineapple or OJ! 🙂
Thanks for the reply, Nagi!
What I meant was: If I want to use OJ; do I just add sauce and OJ?
Or do I have to add all 3 ingredients: Sauce, water and OJ?
Thank you, Nagi.
Hi Maggie! Just sauce + OJ 🙂 So replace the water with OJ!
Got it! Thanks, Nagi!
This is the best sauce ever! I made it last night and will definitely be the only sauce I use on my stirfry!
I’m so glad you like it Jamie! Thank you very much for letting me know! 🙂
Have a jar of Charlie ready to try on the family tonight. As a family of noodle lovers it looks perfect, and your stir fry formula is right up my teenage daughter’s street as she learns to cook for herself. Quick question, if I add pineapple juice instead of water, include pineapple pieces as extra ingredients will it become a sweet and sour sauce… or does that have a different base?
Hi Percy! Pineapple is a great addition to Charlie, it makes it sweet and a bit fruity 🙂 But it won’t taste sweet and sour because the sauce doesn’t have the “sour” element in it. I’m sharing a sweet and sour chicken recipe soon though so keep an eye out for it! 🙂
I’m so happy to have found this recipe! I made it today with some adjustments. I used vegetarian mushroom sauce instead of oyster sauce. I also had some caramelized fig sauce that I added instead of sugar for a rich sweetness. I’m so happy with the result and can’t wait to add it to my dinner tonight 😀
Hi Tash! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and the substitutions are fantastic! That’s what I love about cooking, that we can use recipes as inspiration and make them to suit our tastes / diets. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi Nagi
I’m looking for a stir fry recipe that I can use in my lorry and this one sounds really nice so I’m going to give it a go I do a lot of cooking whilst I’m away from home I’m not a great fan of take away and I love to cook and stir fry is an easy and quick meal for a truck driver on the go so having a sauce ready made on hand is a must but I was just wondering would I be able to replace the white pepper for Chinese five spice and if so how much would I have to use thankyou
Hi Tony! Wow, I love your attitude. With a job as a truck driver, it would be so easy to fall back on takeout. This is such a great idea, keeping this sauce on hand! I hope you saw my post with all the recipes for things you can make with this? That’s a handy thing to keep on hand with you on the road along with this sauce!!
I wouldn’t recommend substituting the pepper for Chinese five spice because that spice has such a strong, distinct flavour. However, what I would suggest is adding a sprinkle of five spice when you use the sauce, adjusting the amount to your taste on a dish by dish basis. 🙂
I hope you enjoy it!!
What brand of wine do u recommend? Would shaoxing wine Work? Thank u
Hi Salina! Shoaling wine is perfect! 🙂