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
Loved this recipe, but next time I would useless sugar
Wow this is fantastic. Been meaning to make it for a while but had to take a trip to the Asian market. I kind of feel bad for my local Chinese take out place! We order it at least once a week and that will be decreasing. I made the beef & broccoli recipe and added onion, snow peas and garlic. And garlic chili sauce. SO GOOD. ps I made CHARLIE with monk fruit sweetener instead sugar, worked great!
Thank for these well detailed recipe,
Absolutely fantastic!!!!
Thank you Nagi
Best cooking website!!!I always follow your recipes because they so easy and well explained that I know what ever I cook will be successful!!!!
Thank you so much!!!!
Absolutely fantastic! So simple and quick and yet so good. Velveting the chicken is a true game-changer. Delighted I found your site!
Thank you, Nagi.
Welcome to RecipeTin, Rich and enjoy the recipes!! N x
The best stir fry sauce ever. Wonderful to use so thank you for reviving my efforts at stir frying.
There’s a reason it’s one of the most highly rated recipes on my site!!! N x
This is an excellent basic sauce, made it several times. I’ve had it last 8 months in my fridge when I forgot about it and it was still fine to use, once I used a spoon to excavate the solid cornstarch mass on the bottom and got it stirred in.
It does get that brick effect going after it sits for awhile!!! N x
Hi Nagi, Brill sauce. Best one I’ve had. Now my “Go To” Had it on my chicken chow mien last night. Superb. (John M in the UK)
Dear Nagi–I’m allergic to shellfish. What would you use instead of oyster sauce? Thanks!
Hi Sharon! These days you can get vegetarian oyster sauce 🙂 N x
Thank you Nagi, I’d been looking for an authentic all-round stir-fry sauce/base and there’s no cook I trust more.
All your recipes are honest, simple and GOOD home cooking, none of the modern fixation many chefs have of transforming (wrecking, lol) every classic dish beyond recogniton just for the sake of being ‘different’.
Your genuine love of good food shines through every delicious recipe, and your accompanying tips are invaluable. You aren’t afraid of butter, cream and cheese, trying to fob us off with creme fraiche and the like, when sometimes only the ‘real thing’ will do.
As Oscar Wilde said – “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” 🙂
Thank you, and kisses to the lovely Dozer xx
Great recipe. Another one the whole family enjoyed. Finding your website has been the best thing to happen to my kitchen!
My pickiest eater came home excited to eat dinner because the house smelled so good. I made this as a stir fry with chicken, bell peppers and zucchini over white rice, and as a stir fry with Shirataki noodles
I am happy you liked it Lauren! N x
Excellent sauce. Was a little leery of the amount of sesame oil since it can be overpowering but it was perfect.
I am happy that you enjoyed it Latisha!! N x
Thank you, once again, the wonderful Nagi!!
Charlie is a revelation. As ‘plain white Aussie folk’ who love cooking different foods, south east Asian foods are fun to balance to taste with a sweet/salt/sour balance trio.
Just assumed that Chinese cooking was too tricky for us trying to balance salt with salt, more salt, and powwow sweet, and that maybe it just wasn’t for us and we should stick to Viet/Thai etc.
But then along comes Charlie with the (essential!!) Chinese cooking wine, and corn flour, and we see that flavours can be just as subtle as the SE Asian ones everybody’s addicted to ! Thanks again Nagi (and sorry for any naive offensive cultural comments about food. Trying to learn. x).
I love this go-to sauce for my stir-fries. I now leave out the cornflour because it settles to the bottom of the container and is like concrete. I just dice my meat put it in a bowl and add about 1 tbsp of cornflour shake then add the sauce.
It does settle Dez, but if you give it a good shake with the lid on it mixes right back in again! N x
What can be substituted wine
Thank you for the great tips and information! Can’t wait to try out Charlie M
What about the cornstarch? Just add it to the mixture or mix it with water first?
This sauce and stir fry method is awesome!! Thanks so much for the delicious recipe!
It says you can substitute water with pineapple juice, but I don’t see water to begin with – I’ve been making Charlie without water !! Still, so yummy!
The water is in the “how to use” instructions! You can sub that water with juice! N x
I would just like to say thanks Nagi for sharing Charlie with us. It’s a great sauce and so convenient. I’m learning so much from you, like velvetting chicken and beef. Keep up the great work!