Chinese Brown Sauce with Garlic (Authentic Stir Fry Sauce)

Made popular by Asian takeout, this Chinese brown sauce is an addictive and flavorful sauce perfect for stir fry entrees and noodles. Also known as Chinese garlic sauce or stir fry sauce, this simple base recipe can be made in less than 5 minutes! Incorporate additional aromatics of your choice and pull together your own homemade stir fry sauce instead of the bottled stuff!

What is Chinese Brown Sauce?

Chinese brown sauce is that glossy and semi viscous sauce slathered over most North American Chinese takeout.  It’s arguably one of the most recognized sauces and ubiquitous in almost every menu item of noodles, rice or stir frys.  It’s not hard to see why, it gives a lovely sweet and savoury note and a succulent mouth feel.  

A “Mother” Sauce

One important thing to note is that brown sauce is just a general term for that “sauce” in takeout Chinese dishes.  There are many variations simply because it’s a base “mother sauce” adapted by cooks to highlight key flavours in the dishes it’s used in.  Brown sauce is crucial in tying all the ingredients in a dish together.  So, if you’re looking to recreate Chinese takeout flavors at home, learning how to make brown sauce is a must!

What are the Basic Ingredients?

Despite all the variations, there are 6 common ingredients in most brown sauce versions:

Soy sauce

This is the key ingredient to the brown sauce.  Stick to light soy sauce which goes with most ingredients without overpowering them.  

Rice Wine or Shaoxing Wine

This gives more depth and acidity to the brown sauce.

Oyster Sauce

This gives a rich umami flavour to the sauce.  I personally believe this gives the addictive quality of Chinese takeout!

Sugar

This is to balance out the sauce which would otherwise be predominantly salty.  

Broth

This is to add more flavour depth to the sauce.  Chicken or beef broth can be used depending on the dish you’re pairing this sauce with.  

Cornstarch Slurry

This is a mixture of cornstarch and water and is the sauce thickener.  The ratio is 1 part cornstarch to 2 part water.  This creates the beloved thick consistency of the brown sauce we all know and love 🙂

Variations and Add-Ons

Chinese brown sauce is a versatile basic sauce open to a variety of add-ons and variations. I often throw together a clear-out-my-fridge stir fry using the base sauce along with a couple of additional flavorings. Very rarely do I stick to only the base ingredients.

• Garlic – minced
• Ginger – minced or sliced
• Dark soy sauce – for a richer flavour in beef dishes
• Sesame oil – added at the very end of cooking 
• Green onions – finely chopped
• White pepper – ground for a little peppery kick
• Green chillis – minced for spiciness lovers
• Red pepper flakes – add a bit of spice!
• Sesame seeds – for texture

Expert Tips

Use these tips below to make Chinese brown sauce at home easily with options based on your personal preferences.

Dark soy sauce (vs. light soy) makes it a deeper flavour and a darker color

Dark soy sauce can be used in place of or in addition to light soy sauce in this brown sauce recipe. Just bear in mind that dark soy sauce (a.k.a mushroom flavour soy sauce) has a deeper flavour and will overpower more delicate ingredients like fish or seafood. It should be used for richer dishes like beef, sausage or lamb. Most famously is Chinese beef and broccoli!

Choose the “right” broth based on your dish

Any broth can be used for this sauce but choose the one most suitable for your dish. Chicken broth goes well with pork, chicken or fish. Beef broth for beef and other richer proteins. Use a vegetable broth for vegan or vegetarian dishes like bok choy or tofu. You might also need to salt to taste or add a bit more soy sauce if your broth is unsalted.

Use a cornstarch slurry to control sauce thickness

Your brown sauce should coat a spoon when finished simmering. See pictures. Always simmer your brown sauce in low heat before adding the cornstarch slurry. To control the sauce consistency, add the slurry a bit at a time every 30 seconds to temper the thickness (depending on how high your heat is). The longer you cook the slurry the thicker it will get as it reduces. Once cooled, the sauce will also thicken a bit more. If your sauce is too thick, add additional broth or water to thin out.

Make the sauce last and in the same stir fry pan

For a quick stir fry, make the brown sauce AFTER stir frying your main ingredients and in the SAME pan or wok. This incorporates the flavours already developed and adds depth to your dish. Once the sauce is cooked, add back your stir fry ingredients into the wok and toss/coat everything together for about a minute.

For stir fry sauce, cook your aromatics first in heated oil

For best flavour, heat oil in your wok or pan on medium heat and fry your aromatics (i.e. garlic, ginger etc) for 30 – 60 seconds without browning them. This will infuse your oil and make an overall tastier sauce.

For braised dishes

If you’re making a braised dish, add all brown sauce ingredients EXCEPT the cornstarch slurry into your braising pot. Once your dish is cooked through, add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the braising liquid into a delicious sauce. My ground pork and zucchini recipe demonstrates this for an easy weeknight meal.

Time Saving Tips

If you’re in a real crunch and need to put together a sauce quickly, try these tips out to pull together your meal even quicker!

Use garlic and ginger powder

I would recommend using powdered garlic and ginger if there is no time to prep any aromatics.  My recipe outlines both the “easy” and “gourmet” method options.

Mix all the ingredients in a jar beforehand

Mix up the broth, rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar into a jar and leave it in your fridge.  If you’re doing the easy quick method, stir in the powdered garlic and ginger too.  If you’re using fresh garlic and ginger, I would still recommend those steps on the day of cooking.

If your stir fry includes fresh garlic and ginger already, you can even omit the garlic altogether since it’s in your dish ingredients already!

How to Make Chinese Brown Sauce at Home – Step by Step Instructions

This is my version of a versatile brown sauce.  I include garlic and ginger flavours because these aromatics are so essential to Chinese cooking.

Quick Method

This method skips the step of fresh aromatics and uses powdered garlic and ginger taking less than 5 minutes to prepare.

Step 1: Using the same cooking wok/pan (if applicable) add the broth, rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder and ginger powder.  Stir and bring to a simmer.

Step 2: Reduce heat to low and add ½ the cornstarch slurry.  Stir for 15-30 seconds

Step 3: Add remaining cornstarch slurry for thicker consistency if desired.  The sauce should coat a spoon (see above)

Step 4: Stir in sesame oil (if using).

Gourmet Method

This method requires a little more time to make, including prepped aromatics and heated oil.  This will produce a much tastier sauce with more depth. 

Step 1: Using the same cooking wok/pan (if applicable), heat wok/pan on medium/high heat and add oil.  

Step 2: Add minced garlic, grated ginger and fry for 30 secs to infuse the oil. 

Step 3: Deglaze the pot by adding broth, rice wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce and brown sugar.  Stir and bring to a simmer.

Step 4: Reduce heat to low and add ½ the cornstarch slurry.  Stir for 15-30 seconds

Step 5: Add remaining cornstarch slurry for thicker consistency if desired.  

Step 6: Stir in sesame oil (if using).  

Serving Tips

Chinese brown sauce is best served hot and immediately after cooking.  Toss it together with your stir fry dish, coat your noodles or pour it over steamed rice topped with a fried egg.  This sauce is super versatile 🙂

Storing Tips

If making this sauce beforehand, let it cool completely and place leftovers in a sealed jar.  Store sauce for up to 3 – 5 days.   Reheat sauce in a saucepan by adding a bit of water and mixing to thin out. 

Substitutions

Cornstarch

Any starch can work for this sauce.  Use a 1 to 1 substitution for potato starch or arrowroot flour.  Tapioca starch would produce a glossier look to your sauce and use twice the amount (2 to 1 substitution) as you would cornstarch.

Sugar 

Brown sauce needs a sweet component (unless you’re not using oyster sauce and using hoisin instead).  You can use brown or white sugar as well as honey or maple syrup.  Most Chinese restaurants (and my parents) use white sugar in their sauces..

Rice Wine/Shaoxing Wine

If rice wine is not available, use a good quality dry sherry instead.  Don’t use rice wine vinegar which isn’t the same as rice wine at all and will leave a sour note to the sauce.  Japanese wines like sake and mirin will also change the flavours and I wouldn’t recommend it.  If sherry isn’t available, I would leave the wine out altogether.

Oyster Sauce 

Hoisin sauce can be used as a 1 to 1 substitution for oyster sauce.  It will change the flavour and make the sauce sweeter.  Oyster sauce has a more seafood umami flavour, is much saltier and derived with oyster extracts.  Hoisin is based from soybean with flavours of sesame and is used more as a standalone dipping sauce.  If using hoisin sauce, I would recommend removing the sugar from this recipe entirely and adding an extra tablespoon of soy sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions