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Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce (Charlie!)

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!_

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”!_

Real Chinese All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce (Charlie!)

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. Affectionately named _Charlie_ (read in post for why!), store him in the fridge and he'll be there when you need him. Just add water!**Makes** 1 1/2 cups of sauce which is enough for around 12 servings.

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

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. Substitute with all-purpose soy sauce.I use Lee Kum Kee and Pearl River brands for the light soy sauce.**2. Noodles type –**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. Vegan –**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. Storage –** 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. It has a very long shelf life – years and years (and it’s used in 99% of the Chinese recipes on my site). Read more about Chinese cooking wine here.**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: 18 g Calories: 34 cal (2%)Carbohydrates: 3.7 g (1%)Protein: 0.6 g (1%)Fat: 1.7 g (3%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.7 g Sodium: 504 mg (22%)Sugar: 0.9 g (1%)