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
I have just mixed the sauce and licked the spoon it tastes really good cannot wait to use it tonight in a chicken stir fry, do you have a receipe for a good chilli stir fry sauce for chilli chicken?
Hi Steve! I had another reader asking for a chili stir fry sauce too so I’m going to share one!! 🙂 Coming soon!
This looks great! I have young ones though, and I was wondering if the white pepper flavor would be too much for them? A tablespoon sounds like a lot.
Hi Erin! You can’t taste the heat at all from the pepper. 1 tbsp does sound like alot but a bit of sauce gets dispersed through alot of stir fry so the amount of pepper in each dish is very little! This sauce isn’t spicy at all so young ones will be absolutely fine with it! 🙂
Also, this sauce is a concentrate so it gets diluted with water. The white pepper adds to the complexity of the total flavor of the sauce, but it doesn’t stand out on its own.
Thanks Colleen, yes you are absolutely right! 🙂
I made it with less than the amount of white pepper called for and it was quite spicy. Absolutely delicious but spicy. My 5 year old says she will try it again as long as I use less white pepper next time so it didn’t “scar” her. It really was delicious (I can’t say that enough.) And it’s a great way to get her to eat vegetables. 😉
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe and the 10 classic stir fry recipes. I am so excited to finally find a recipe for Asian food worth making that isn’t entirely based on ginger and garlic.
This is going in my weekly meal plan because it is so versatile. Thank you!!!!!
That’s wonderful Kelly! I am sorry you thought it was spicy, I honestly can barely taste the pepper in it at all because it is diluted down so much when used. Did you add water when you put it in your stir fry? I am glad you enjoyed it though! And I am SO glad you 5 year old isn’t too scarred from the spiciness!! I find kids really love this sauce through noodle stir fries. There is something about noodles that kids love! I cut the noodles up into dessert spoon lengths to make it easy for them to eat with a spoon or fork 🙂
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Hi Denise, up to a month definitely, I am sure it will keep for longer as long as the expiry date of your ingredients is ok. There is nothing in this sauce that is “perishable” or will grow bacteria. Just be sure not to add any fresh ingredients in it, like garlic or chilli, because that is what causes the sauce to go off within a week 🙂
Nagi, am making this today, with vegetables – cleaning out the fridge. I will post on my blog hopefully soon. Wish me luck!
Oooh!! Can’t wait to see your variation on this! It really is so versatile, you’ll like it 🙂
Hi Nagi, I am excited that i found your blog. I have been looking for the Chinese stir fry sauce for a very long time and finally found yours winning my taste buds. Many many thanks!
But i do not find Chinese wine in chennai (India) (though have requested one from Singapore friend) meanwhile any substitute suggestion..would rice wine vinegar or sherry vinegar help?
I made the sauce without this ingredient..that itself tasted well.
Would it be possible to share Schezwan sauce?
Best,
Maha
Hi Maha! Thank you for your wonderful feedback! Rice wine vinegar is too sour as a substitute, I’m afraid. A dry sherry is the best substitute – make sure to get a DRY one not a SWEET one. Sherry is very cheap in Australia, you can get a large bottle for $5. Not sure if you can get it in India though! And I will certainly look into a Schezwan sauce! 🙂
I LOVE THIS SAUCE!!! Thank you! I’ve missed having my favorite dishes since developing a gluten allergy, and now I have finally found a great sauce that I can make with gluten free soy, and keep on hand for when I’m in the mood for a stir fry.
That’s wonderful Charisse! I am so glad you like it! I pretty much always have a jar of this in the fridge 🙂
what kind of Chinese wine in stir fry recipe? Rice wine or what? Also I see where gin has a similar flavor so could I use that in the stir fry sauce recipe.
Hi Jim! Chinese wine is called Shaoxing wine and it is made of rice. It is a cooking wine, so you will find it in large supermarkets and Asian grocery stores, not liquor stores 🙂 It is really cheap – in Australia, I can get large bottles for $1 at Asian stores! And they last forever. Unfortunately gin is not a suitable substitute! The alcohol content is much higher and it has a very different flavour 🙂 A dry (not sweet) sherry is the best substitute. Hope that helps!
Love your blog! Your recipes look amazing, I plan to try them out asap. My boyfriend is allergic to sesame, any substitute for sesame oil that wouldn’t compromise the flavor of this recipe?
Hi Marissa! Thanks for your kind words!! There is no substitute for sesame oil in terms of flavour (unfortunately!) but you can simply replace it with vegetable, canola or any other neutral flavoured oil to get the right consistency for the sauce. 🙂 The sesame flavour is very subtle so you won’t miss it. Also, many Chinese stir fries do not have sesame in it anyway!
I just made this stir fry sauce, and it… was…. fantastic! I had some Chinese egg noodles sitting around, chopped up some green onions, add some crushed red pepper and added the stir fry sauce. The sauce had great flavor, coated each individual noodle perfectly, and super quick and easy to make! Seriously, what’s not to love! This is my new go-to stir fry sauce from now on!
Hip hip hurrah! I am so glad you liked this, I respect your opinion! Now I really feel like this has been validated 🙂 Thanks Kathleen!!
I so love this Nagi… I pinned it because I could use a good classic stirfry sauce 🙂
Thanks Mila!!
is there any way to get around using the cooking wine/alcohol in this recipe for those of us who do not use it? I would love to try this recipe …after the tweak
Hi Shirin! I have read that apple or grape juice is the best non alcoholic substitute but it won’t be quite the same. But those juices are of similar acidity and sweetness but they don’t have the complexity that the alcohol gives cooking wine and sherry. I have not tried it though but my expectation is that the sauce will still be tasty. Even just omitting the cooking wine completely without substituting with apple or grape juice is still fine to use, just replace with water so you get the right consistency. I would love to hear what you think if you do try apple or grape juice though! I will update the recipe with any thoughts you have. Thanks!
Looks like another winner Nagi. Stashed away in my favourite app (RecipeTin of course) for safe keeping
Thanks Kathy!!
This is THE stir fry sauce! I’ve been searching for years and here it is…! I used hoisin in mine and substituted sherry for the Chinese wine and it was heavenly. I will definitely be bookmarking your site, Nagi!
Thanks Jacqueline! So glad you approve of it!!
Hi! Looks great but I have one question, can Mirin be substituted for the Chinese wine? I live in Switzerland and it is so hard to track down Asian ingredients!
Hi Rachel! Actually there is no Mirin in this recipe, it uses Chinese wine so you are in luck! And if you ever come across a recipe requiring Mirin then substitute it as follows: 1 TBSP Mirin = 1 tbsp of Chinese wine PLUS 1/4 tsp sugar. That is what I do on the odd occasion I don’t have mirin 🙂
This is fantastic!!!
Thanks Monica! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Hi, great recipe!
Quick question: can toasted sesame seed oil be substituted for sesame seed oil (for the sauce)?
Thanks!
Hi Domenic, that’s fine, but reduce the quantity to 1 1/2 tbsp instead of 2 tbsp because toasted sesame oil has a slightly stronger flavour. Also, please remember not to use toasted sesame oil for the stir frying oil because it has a lower cooking point that other oils (peanut oil is the best to use for stir frying – high smoking point) so it will cause your stir fry to have a “bitter” burn flavour. Using it in the sauce is perfectly fine though!
Hi Nagi,
I stumbled on your blog today and I can’t believe the trouble you gone to
inorder to make Asian cooking an easy and non-stressful experience. My
daughter-inlaw is a new comer to stir frying and I have been trying to ex-
plain the basics but you have done all the work for me. Thank you so very
much. We have both recently aquired Spiralizers and needed a really good
sauce for all the veggies. I’ve started doing something recently that I find
cheap and very healthy when cooking. I have been purchasing ramen pack-
ages lately for 20 cents and to the 2 cups of water I add 2 cups of chicken broth,
fresh spinach Asian veggies, Nappa cabbage, green onions, fresh snowpeas,
5 Spice, Asian red pepper flakes, red pepers etc. It has become a fun thing to
do and I’ve created a healthy and delicious 2 serving economical dish. I like it
so much I usually have it 4 X a week. I need to watch my sodium so I buy the 35%
less sodium paks. Thanks again for all your hard work.
Hi Shell, thanks so much for your lovely message! It makes me so happy to hear when people find my posts useful. The ramen you are making sounds delicious and healthy too, I like the way you bulk up one packet with lots of veggies and extra soup so you can serve 2. That’s a really healthy meal! Thanks so much again for your message! Hope you drop by again soon 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe! Can you be specific on brands you use for soy sauce? Is it Thai or Chinese?
Hi Mimi! I use the brand Lee Kum Kee for both the light and dark soy sauce which are Chinese soy sauces. However, the dark soy sauce can be substituted with any all purpose dark soy sauce – like Kikkoman – and you won’t be able to tell the difference. I often do this because I always have Kikkoman in stock. I hope you enjoy it! Get creative with the extra flavourings 🙂
Thanks! Is the light soy the same as seasoned soy sauce?
My husband is a real stickler about stir fry sauces. Most are too salty and sweet for his taste. I’ve tried homemade sauces and store-bought ones, but nothing seemed to please him. You hit the mark with this recipe. It enhances the flavor of the meat and vegetables without being overly salty or sweet. This recipe is a keeper, Nagi. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Colleen – thanks for your message and your kind words! I’m glad you like it (and your husband too!).
Hi, Nagi! It’s Colleen again. Charlie Brown is so good that I’m thinking of giving it away as Christmas gifts to my family members next year. We’re heavy into exchanging homemade items, like jellies, granola, candies, etc. I’d score big with Charlie. Storage might be a problem so I’m wondering how long the sauce will keep in the refrigerator? Have you ever tried canning it? Would the heat of a hot water bath mess it up?
Thanks again for sharing the recipe. I served up some chicken stir-fry last night for our guest, and, of course, she loved it, too. You’re making me look like a pro.
Happy New Year! Wishing you the best.
Hi Colleen – thank you so much for your lovely comment, I’m so honoured that you think it is so delicious that you would think of giving it away as a gift! But honestly, it is SUCH a good idea, I mean, everyone gives sweet gifts, there is not enough savoury gifts! And this is so practical! I’ve kept the sauce for around 6 weeks in the fridge (not canned, I was opening and using some every week or so), as long as the expiry date of all the ingredients you use is at least this length of time. I have not been able to “scientifically” determine how long it could actually last, I just used the sniff/taste test and it was fine at 6 weeks, showing no signs of going off at all, or losing it’s flavour.
And I have not tried canning it. To be honest, I do not know enough about canning to know if it would work for this sauce. Sorry!
Happy new year to you too Colleen!!