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
Bob Etzler says
Nagi,thanks for recipe for the authentic Chinese stir fry sauce. Best stir fry I’ve ever made, easy,fast and had most of the ingredients in the kitchen except for the wine (sherry). In its place I used pomegranate vinegar, kinda tart sweet but worked well with the other ingredients. Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Best,
Bob Etzler
Nagi says
Fantastic! So glad to hear you enjoyed it Bob, thanks for letting me know! N x
Korina Krispyn says
What are the best noodles to use tht taste like the takeout places ?
Mary Nisbet says
Hello Nagi,
Does the white pepper make a difference in the flavor compared to black pepper?
Nagi says
Hi Mary! Not much, it is more that in Chinese cooking, white pepper is used because then you don’t see pepper bits in the sauce 🙂
Mary says
Thank you Nagi:) We all love Charlie.He’s at our table frequently) You are so sweet and kind to reply so promptly,Thank you for that.I have used black pepper in the past,wondered how much of a difference the white pepper makes.
I bring CHARLIE to all of my dinner parties now.:)
Blessings:)
Nagi says
Awww you’re so kind Mary!!! N xx
Mary Nisbet says
My question is for the Charlie recipe.Thank you
Nagi says
Hi Korina! Depends what dish you’re after – I have a lot of different noodle dishes on my site, have a browse!
Julie says
Hi, wanted to know can we keep out Wine or sherry from Charlie?
whats the optional thing we can use?
Nagi says
Hi Julie! I added a new Note 7 for subs 🙂
Peter says
Hi Nagi,
I cooked stir fry and used “Charlie” last night. I added orange juice- simply devine!!! Would this sauce be suitable to make a satay if I added peanut butter?
thanks again sooo much!
Nagi says
Woo hoo! So glad to hear that you enjoyed Charlie Peter, thanks for letting me know! N x
Anthony Fox says
OK this is what I have been looking for, quite simply the best brown sauce ever. Its simple to make and use. I work from home and have a outdoor wok burner. I make lunch everyday using this sauce with a variety of veggies and leftover meats ( or none) and noodles.
No need to get take out anymore .
Thanks Nagi !
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Anthony! Thank you for letting me know – N xx
HILDA DSILVA says
First and foremost thank you very much for sharing the recipe for preparing this Real Purpose Stir Fry Sauce. I would like your advise, “Is it secessary to add Chinese Wine or Sherry”. Can this Sauce be used to prepare other Sir Fry Recipes like Chicken with Stir Fry Vegetables.
Nagi says
Hi Hilda! It makes a real difference so I strongly urge you to use Chinese wine or sherry. And yes you can absolutely use it to make other stir fries! The “formula” is in this post 🙂
Crystal says
I am quite new to Asian cooking and am very glad to find this amazing recipe. However is the Chinese wine in the receipt the same as rice wine?
Nagi says
Hi Crystal! Chinese cooking wine is a type of rice wine so whatever you have will be a good substitute even if it isn’t Chinese wine 🙂
Will Morrin says
Hi Nagi, re the cornflour….is it actually 40grams of cornstarch powder?? This seems a lot. Or is it 1/4 cup of water and starch??? Thanks. Will
Nagi says
Hi Will! Definitely 40g / 1/4 cup cornstarch. Yes it seems like a lot but the way this is used, you only use a tiny amount of this sauce to coat lots of stir fry, so for each batch only a bit of the corn starch is used. 🙂
Paul says
Wow, this sauce is awesome Nagi. I make it often now. Tastes great and is a real time saver and it’s not bad for you. Cheers?
Nagi says
Isn’t it the best??? 🙂 N xx
Marnie says
Hello, thanks for some great looking recipes! This sauce sounds like a winner. What do you think about subbing sake for Chinese cooking wine? I tend to keep a bottle of sake in the house as I’m a big fan of cooking Japanese food.
Nagi says
Hi Marnie! That is just fine 🙂 Hope you love it!
Anon says
I do not know how I come to have Nagi Tin Eats in my inbox but I love your recipes and look forward to trying them.
Anon
Nagi says
Thank you for reading Anon! So glad you are enjoying my recipes! N x
krentz says
Thanks for sharing the idea, that’s pretty interesting. I knew that British Indian restaurants (which I believe are more often than not run by Bangladeshi staff) use a ‘base gravy’ or ‘garabi’ which they add to most curries and then modify while cooking, but I wasn’t aware that Chinese take-aways used the same tactic! It does make sense though (and certainly goes some length to explaining a sub-par Satay I had not too long ago…)
I’ve been making a variant on this for a while already actually, except I was only using light soy, oyster sauce, shaohsing, cornflour and chicken stock (as I mostly tend to do chicken stir-fries). I actually use Lee Kum Kee for the oyster sauce and Pearl River Bridge for the soy, though I haven’t experimented much.
However I was putting it all together every time, not so much making it in advance. Now that you mention it though, there’s not really that much that can go off, so I might definitely try whipping up a batch of this instead.
I’m liking the additional suggestions. Sriracha? Pineapple juice? Sounds interesting!
Nagi says
Hope you do! It really is fantastic!!
Alma says
Charlie is the talk of our house. I have never been any good at cooking stir fries or noodles but I am now! Used a little liquid smoke in him last night and that added a great note. Looking forward to more vegie recipes, we are trying to lift our vegie game and you never miss, whatever the recipe. Thanks Nagi.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you are enjoying Charlie too Alma, thank you for letting me know! N x
Kate says
Hi Nagi, I just put this together for the first time and there seems to be a chemical reaction when I added the corn starch? It is still frothing! Any ideas? Still ok to eat? Thanks a lot!
Nagi says
Oh dear! Did you add baking soda instead of cornstarch?? Corn starch definitely should not bubble!
Mary says
Hi Nagi,
I made your CHARLIE sauce and the whole chow mein recipe for my family on Sunday.
Everyone said not to lose this award winning recipe.
Thankyou for sharing .
Nagi says
I’m so glad you like Charlie! Thanks for letting me know Mary! N x
Maria says
Hi N
Is Mirin rice wine?
Nagi says
Hi Maria! Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine, it is different to Chinese cooking wine. 🙂
Maria says
Ah. That’s why my Charlie perhaps doesn’t taste quite balanced!
Will make another batch with sherry which I have lots of!
The texture of Charlie is brilliant, glossy!
I give it 5 stars here because the website is only allowing me to highlight one star!?
I still have a long way to go as my veg always seems a bit steamed, perhaps because I am using induction cooker?
Am going to persevere though as I really want to nail a good stir fry!
Thanks for your reply. ?
Jenny says
What oil do you use to start it off?
Nagi says
Hi Jenny! Peanut oil is common for stir fries, other vegetable or canola is just fine!
Ashley says
This is definitely the best out of all the stir fry sauces that I’ve tried so far. You have nailed it. It has the perfect amount of flavor, and isn’t too salty. I love it! Thank you so much for posting this sauce recipe. I am never going to use another one.
Nagi says
I’m so glad to hear that Ashley! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Jay says
Hello. Is Chinese Cooking Wine the same as Chinese wine? I’m in Australia too, and the only Chinese wine I can find locally is ‘Pandaroo Chinese Cooking Wine.” Would that work? The Ingredients of it are – Water, Alcohol (16%), Wheat, Glutinous Rice, Salt (1.6%). Food Additive: Caramel. Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Jay! Yup – that’s the one 🙂 Actually, I use that too, they sell it at Woolies!
Christian says
Looking for inspiration for tonights dinner (my turn to cook), my wife fancied noodles and I wanted to try something different. Knowing that key element to good noodles was the sauce, I just so happened to come across your site and stumbled across “Charlie”….WOW…just wow! This will be my go to sauce for stir fry or noodle dishes from now on! I made according to your instructions and it truely is a perfect blend of ingredients. I even used some to marinate the chicken prior to cooking for my noodle dish boy did the flavour pop!
I can’t thank you enough for sharing “Charlie” with us!
Nagi says
Virtual high five! So glad you enjoyed this Christian, thank you for letting me know! N x
Sam says
I love Charlie!! And you are absolutely correct regarding the use of Chinese cooking wine to elevate the sauce. I didn’t have any on hand the first time I used Charlie, so I substituted with chicken broth and orange juice – it definitely made my dish sweeter, but this time around I used marinated cooking wine and it was EXACTLY what the dish needed. Thank you for sharing “Charlie!”
Nagi says
Thanks for trying Charlie!!! He ROCKS, doesn’t he?? N xx