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Home Asian Recipes

Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce (Charlie!)

By:Nagi
Published:14 Jun '14Updated:3 Mar '20
939 Comments
Recipe v

This is my secret weapon for seriously fast midweek meals: My Authentic Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce. It takes minutes to make and can be stored in the fridge for weeks. It has plenty of flavour just used plain but also fantastic with extra flavourings added.

My Stir Fry Sauce is sensational used for both stir fries and stir fried noodles. This recipe is a keeper!

A real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce that takes minutes to make and lasts for weeks. Perfect standby for fast meals! recipetineats.com

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).

A real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce that takes minutes to make and lasts for weeks. Perfect standby for fast meals! recipetineats.com

A real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce that takes minutes to make and lasts for weeks. Perfect standby for fast meals! recipetineats.com

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.

Guide to make your own stir fried noodles plus my secret Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce. recipetineats.com

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!

Restaurant Secret: Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce you can make in 2 minutes and store in the fridge for when you need it.

I’d love to know what you think if you give “Charlie” a go! – Nagi  x

Save this Chinese Stir Fry Sauce to your Asian Meals Pinterest Board!

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Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 2 mins
Total: 2 mins
Noodles, Stir Fry
Asian, Chinese
4.93 from 216 votes
Servings1 1/2 cups
Tap or hover to scale
Print
My secret weapon for mid week meals - an All Purposes Chinese Stir Fry Sauce, a versatile base that makes a wonderfully glossy sauce for any stir fry, including stir fried noodles. Store it in the fridge in a jar for when you need it - just make sure to leave sufficient headroom in the jar so you can give it a good shake before using. This makes 1 1/2 cups of sauce which is enough for around 12 servings.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup light soy sauce (Note 1)
  • 1/4 cup all purpose soy sauce (I use Kikkoman all purpose, or use more 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 - 2 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

Recipe Notes:

1. Light soy sauce is lighter in colour that the more common dark soy sauce, but it is actually saltier. The main reason for using light soy sauce in this recipe is so the colour is not as dark. So if you do not have light soy sauce, you can substitute it with normal soy sauce, but the sauce will be darker than it should be, and slightly less salty (but not very noticeable).
I use Lee Kum Kee brand for the light soy sauce and Kikkoman for the ordinary soy sauce. If you don't have all purpose soy sauce, just use more light soy sauce, and same if you don't have light soy sauce i.e. just use more all purpose. 
2. If using dried rather than fresh noodles, add a few extra tablespoons of water. The reason for this is that dried noodles, even after cooking them (usually just by covering them in hot water in a bowl), absorb more liquids than fresh noodles. So you need more liquid to have a saucier finish.
3. To make this sauce vegan, substitute the oyster sauce with hoisin sauce. This gives the sauce a slight Chinese Five Spice Powder flavour which is thoroughly authentic!
4. This will last for weeks and weeks, depending on the expiry date of the ingredients you use. There is nothing in this that will go "off", so just check the expiry date of the ingredients you use in this, at use that as a guide. I usually use mine in about 4 weeks, but it will definitely last longer.
If you have it in the fridge for ages untouched, then you will need a butter knife or something to mix up the cornstarch that will settle and harden in the bottom of the jar.
5. Chinese Cooking Wine (Shaosing / Shaoxing wine) - this plays an important part in giving this sauce depth of flavour so it tastes like the sauce you get at Chinese restaurants. Without it, the sauce will lack "something". It's a cooking wine sold at supermarkets in Australia in the Asian section but much cheaper at Asian stores - here are the bottles I use. It has a very long shelf life - years and years (and it's used in 99% of the Chinese recipes on my site).
Best substitute is dry sherry, followed by Mirin or Japanese cooking sake. If you use Mirin, leave out the sugar in the recipe.
However, for those who cannot have alcohol, apple juice or grape juice is the best substitute. Otherwise, chicken broth/stock, as a second fall back, with 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar + 1/2 tsp sugar.
IMPORTANT: If you use a sub, then the shelf life of the sauce will be determined by the shelf life of what you use as the sub.
6. These quantities make stir fries that are nicely coated with sauce, but without pools of sauce. The stir fry is saucier than the noodles, so it soaks into the rice. With the noodles, the sauce clings to it really well so you don't need pools of sauce. If you want more sauce, increase the amount of Stir Fry Sauce used with double the amount of water e.g. If you add 1 tbsp Stir Fry Sauce, add 2 tbsp water.
7. Nutrition per serving (1 1/2 tbsp used per serving for a stir fry)

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 18gCalories: 34cal (2%)Carbohydrates: 3.7g (1%)Protein: 0.6g (1%)Fat: 1.7g (3%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.7gSodium: 504mg (22%)Sugar: 0.9g (1%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

 

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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939 Comments

  1. Don says

    April 17, 2021 at 9:46 pm

    I make a stirfry sauce very similar to your Charlie, except I don’t use cornstarch, and I make it as required. I sub Xantham Gum

    Reply
  2. Jay says

    April 15, 2021 at 6:21 pm

    Oh wow!! This was amaaaaazing! I also velveted the chicken (something else you’ve taught me!). Nagi, you are the best!!!

    Reply
  3. Laura says

    April 13, 2021 at 9:00 am

    This was by far THE BEST stir fry sauce! A base that I will keep in my fridge as a weekly go-to meal. Add a little sriracha if you want a kick, but I love it as is. Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Eric Mintz says

    April 11, 2021 at 5:50 am

    Can wait to try. I need to learn to cook now that I moved to Mexico. Had to drive back to US just to get the ingredients. My question is whether you have a substitute for oyster sauce? I think I’ve seen Worcestershire as a replacement. Or, can I leave it out without ruining the recipe? Thanks

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 12, 2021 at 4:20 pm

      Hi Eric, you need the oyster sauce for this sauce unfortunately – the only substitute would be the vegetarian mushroom based oyster in its place. N x

      Reply
  5. Sue says

    April 7, 2021 at 6:23 am

    5 stars
    Nagi, You are my best friend in the kitchen. After 40 years cooking and so many cookbooks, your site is the one thing I would hate to cook without.

    Reply
  6. Roger says

    March 31, 2021 at 10:51 am

    It’s nice to find a widely applicable stir-fry sauce. I’m planning on making a list of vegetables, then experiment with cooking them Chinese style. I’ve decided not to work with a wok, but instead with a large stainless steel electric skillet. Which means I’ll be able more easily to share the self-made recipes that have turned out well. I don’t see becoming devoted to stir fries as a hobby. But cooking in this oriental way will, I think, let me whip up simple recipes for fun, and to be able easily to feed myself on the spur of the moment. I picture perusing sites to learn what vegetables go well together, and with what Chinese spices. Very best wishes, Roger (Paddock Lake Wisconsin.

    Reply
  7. Imogen Glover says

    March 5, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    Hi Nagi,
    What would you recommend as a substitute for white pepper? Only have black but not sure if that would be a good alternative? Thanks!

    Reply
  8. Sue from West Oz says

    February 27, 2021 at 1:52 pm

    Made your sauce yesterday, tried it on my chicken,noodle stir fry last night- absolutely Devine Dahling! I’ve just made a jar of it for my friend/neighbour .

    Reply
  9. Karen says

    February 16, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    I cooked your authentic chicken chow mein last night and it was amazing, I’ve just made a batch of your stir fry sauce, can’t wait to use this too. Thank you Nagi, for the incredible recipes

    Reply
  10. Tomji says

    February 12, 2021 at 5:32 am

    5 stars
    Nagi, you’ve done it again… you never fail to impress! This sauce is AMAZING, makes exceptional stir fry! My refrigerator will have Charlie as a permanent resident.

    Reply
  11. Carol Ryan says

    February 8, 2021 at 3:06 am

    This is just amazing the best I’ve ever had. I use a lot of stir fry sauces and this is by far the best yet
    Ty Nagi xxxxx

    Reply
  12. Martin says

    February 3, 2021 at 9:54 am

    5 stars
    I add a tsp of peanut butter to this for a satay feel/ taste and use it concurrently with dumplings and a veg stir fry. Great basic sauce.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 3, 2021 at 11:02 am

      Great idea Martin!!! N x

      Reply
  13. Carol Ryan says

    February 3, 2021 at 2:16 am

    Fantastic as,always nagi. Love all your recipes and have made an awful lot of them. I’m in the UK so sometimes I have to get bits online but nothing that can’t be sourced at amazon. Keep cooking and carry on loo xxx

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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