Chinese white sauce is a light, clear sauce made of stock, garlic, and ginger. It's thickened with cornstarch and can be used in any stir fry recipe!
This Chinese white sauce is a light, clear, delicate sauce that's perfect for any stir fry recipe! It's vegan friendly, gluten free, and adds a mild flavor to any Asian dish.
It's commonly used as moo goo gai pan sauce and in other dishes that call for a mild, non-spicy stir fry sauce.
Why you'll love this recipe
Check out this recipe for moo goo gai pan which uses this sauce!
- It's a versatile sauce that can be used with any combination of vegetables and protein!
- Quick and easy - ready in under 10 minutes and only a handful of ingredients you're likely to have on hand!
- Vegan friendly and gluten free - use vegetable stock as the base for a vegan stir fry sauce.
Ingredients you'll need
- Stock - use any clear stock you'd like. It's the main ingredient for this sauce so whichever stock you use will be the predominant flavor.
- Cornstarch - this is what thickens the sauce. The cornstarch will make the stock mixture look opaque but it will soon turn translucent and thicken as it boils.
Step by step instructions
- Mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup of the stock and set it aside. Then add the rest of the ingredients to a medium size pot and bring to a boil.
- Once the stock mixture comes to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture and keep stirring.
- You'll see the sauce thicken and become clear. Taste and adjust for seasoning if your stock was lightly seasoned to begin with.
Ways to use Chinese white sauce
Use this sauce for making moo goo gai pan, which is a chicken and mushroom stir fry with vegetables.
When adding it to stir fry, add towards the end when your protein and vegetables are fully cooked. You only need 30 seconds to 1 minute for the sauce to coat the ingredients.
You can also use this as a base for other stir fry sauces. Add flavorings like soy sauce, oyster sauce, and chili hot sauce to turn this into a flavorful brown sauce!
Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. The sauce will set into a gel consistency because of the cornstarch but it will melt when added to a hot pan.
Variations & substitutions
- Stock - use vegetable stock to make a vegan stir fry sauce or use chicken or seafood stock to keep this sauce a light, pale color. If you use beef stock, you'll end up with a darker sauce which would still be delicious!
- Aromatics - garlic and ginger are the most common aromatics to use but you can also add lemongrass, scallions, leeks, onions.
- Spices - to add a subtle spice, add a few peppercorns or whole dried chili peppers to the stock.
- You can also use this as a base for other stir fry sauces. Add flavorings like soy sauce, oyster sauce, and chili hot sauce to turn this into a flavorful brown sauce!
Frequently asked questions
You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The sauce will set once it's cool into a gel consistency. It will melt when you add it to stir fry recipes.
If you plan on storing your sauce for longer, leave out the cornstarch and add it into the stock mixture right before adding it to your stir fry. The reason for this is that cornstarch can lose its thickening power overtime and you can end up with a thinned out sauce.
Absolutely! To make this vegan, use vegetable stock as the base of this recipe. This recipe is naturally gluten free as cornstarch does not contain any gluten.
You can add this to any stir fry and it would taste delicious! Traditionally, this clear Chinese white sauce is used in moo goo gai pan which is a mushroom chicken stir fry with vegetables.
When adding this sauce to stir fry, wait to add it at the very end when your protein and vegetables are fully cooked. It only takes a minute to warm up the sauce and coat your ingredients.
More recipes to try:
- Moo Goo Gai Pan – Quick and Easy!
- 3 Classic Spring Roll Dipping Sauces
- Sweet and Tangy Sticky Soy Glaze
- Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Copycat
- Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken Copycat
- Chicken Chow Mein with Vegetables – Better than Takeout!
- Panda Express String Bean Chicken Breast Copycat
- Easy Japchae (Korean glass noodle stir fry)
Chinese White Sauce
☑ Ingredients
- 3 cups stock - - chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon Shaoxing wine - - substitute with mirin or cooking wine
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic - - minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger - - grated
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Set aside ¼ cup of the stock in a small bowl and mix together with the cornstarch. Set this aside as this will be used to thicken the sauce later.
- Mix together the remaining stock with the Shaoxing wine, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger, salt, and sugar. Add it to a medium pot and heat over medium high heat.
- When the stock mixture starts to boil, slowly drizzle in the cornstarch mixture while continually stirring. Be sure to stir the cornstarch first before adding it as it can settle.
- The sauce will start to thicken and turn from opaque to clear as it boils. Turn off the heat once it thickens. Adjust for seasoning, especially if your stock is unsalted. Add this to any stir fry dish or store in a jar for later use. This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. See the Notes section below for when to add to stir fry recipes.
✎ Recipe Notes
- Add the sauce towards the end of the recipe when your vegetables and protein are already cooked. It simply takes a minute on high heat to heat up and coat the ingredients. Avoid overcooking as it can thicken the sauce too much.
- If the sauce was stored in the fridge, it will have set into a gel consistency due to the cornstarch. That's ok as it will melt when added to a hot pan.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Sophie
This is my go-to stir fry sauce recipe. It is super flexible and can be used in so many dishes. We like to always keep a batch on hand. It is delicious as is, but there are so many different flavors you can add in to it also.
Florence
I have a family full of very picky eaters, but they are always happy when a meal is prepared using this sauce as a base. It is also great, as I have one child who is vegetarian and one who is gluten-free. I can't tell you how nice it is for us to all be able to sit down and enjoy a meal together!!
Jamie
Thanks Florence!
Mary W
Wow this was so good ! I have googled and searched for a good White sauce recipe for years and none of them were as good as this one. It tastes just like the sauce from my favorite Chinese restaurant in California. I moved to a small town and haven't found anyone who can make this sauce properly. Now I dont have to look any farther than my kitchen. My husband went nuts for this. Thanks for posting this. It was so easy.
Bob
I made using chicken stock and added in some lemongrass. Absolutely superb. We served over some steamed veggies and salmon. Delicious! Thank you for such an easy to follow recipe.
Jamie
Thanks Bob! Glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Aneesha
I was looking for a soy free & peanut free vegan asian stir fry sauce. This tasted great over some sauteed wombak & babycorn with rice. I added fresh red chillies to my sauce.
Jamie
Thanks Aneesha! So glad to hear that! 🙂
Susan Rawlings
This sauce is so easy to make and tastes amazing!! Will probably become a staple in my kitchen. Thank you
Jen O'Brien
How many cups of sauce does this recipe make?
Jamie
Hi Jen! This makes about 3 cups of sauce. Hope you enjoy it!
Linda
I always use this sauce for making corn soup or vegetable stir fry. It saves so much time making this in advance!
Addison
This sauce has the best flavors! So yummy!
Amy
Yum! What a great sauce to have as a go to when you need it. It's like a good salad dressing. Always good to have on hand so you can whip it up anytime. Love the idea of having it with kung po chicken or a simple chow mein. Yum!
Angie
Trying tonight but my local stores dont have the wine. Will it be ok without??
Jamie
Hi Angie! Yes you can still make it without the wine. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Manon
Great sauce . Cut down the cornstarch to 1 tablespoon at my second go because it was too thick for me 🙂
Jamie
Thanks Manon! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Jacinta
This sauce is superb. We use in stir fries and rice bowls, and I am going to try a noodle dish with it next. So full of flavour. Have tried with both veggie and chicken stock and love them both!
jill
I don't cook with wine or have any in the house, can I leave it out? Is there a substitute?
Jamie
Hi Jill! You can certainly leave it out and it would still taste great. Hope you enjoy this! 🙂
Anjali
This Chinese white sauce recipe was so flavorful! I made it with vegetable stock and added it to a stir fry I made today and it turned out great!
Pris
We made this for a seafood and vegetable stir fry and it was so tasty! We'll be using this as our go to Chinese sauce when we want something less spicy.
Julia
This is so great to have on hand for a quick stir fry. I always wondered why my sauces end up so thin, I've been missing the cornstarch. Now I know. Thanks for the recipe!
Kaitlyn
This was so delicious!! We make stir fry all the time, and have always used the same soy-based sauces. So I'm excited to find this Chinese white sauce especially since we love garlic and ginger. We'll be using this for stir fry from now on. Thank you!
Callie
We tried your chicken and mushroom stir fry the other night, and I came back looking for the sauce recipe today when I saw this new recipe on it. This white sauce is so delicious and I can imagine it will be so useful for so many stir frys. We are serving this sauce with some stir fried green veggies tonight - yum!
Jamie
Thanks Callie for giving it a try! That's a great idea using it on stir fried veggies!
Genevieve
This sauce is delicious and so easy to make. I love how I already have all of the ingredients in my fridge. Ginger is a staple in our household! Thank you! 😍