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    Home » All Recipes » Sauces

    Chinese White Sauce - Easy Stir Fry Sauce

    Published: Aug 26, 2020 · Modified: Aug 26, 2020 by Jamie · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 31 Comments

    25.3K shares
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    easy Chinese white sauce
    easy Chinese white sauce dripping off a spoon
    Easy Chinese White Sauce with close up of the sauce dripping off a spoon
    Easy Chinese White Sauce
    Easy Chinese white sauce with two images of sauce poured off a spoon

    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!

    Chinese white sauce poured off a spoon into a pot

    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

    Chinese white sauce poured over stir fry

    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

    Chinese white sauce ingredients in glass bowls with text label overlays
    • 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

    1. 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.
    sesame oil added to broth to make a clear stir fry sauce
    1. Once the stock mixture comes to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture and keep stirring.
    chicken stock boiling in a pot
    1. You'll see the sauce thicken and become clear. Taste and adjust for seasoning if your stock was lightly seasoned to begin with.
    clear Chinese stir fry sauce poured off a spoon into a pot

    Ways to use Chinese white sauce

    Moo goo gai pan sauce being added to chicken and vegetables stir fry

    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!

    Chinese white stir fry sauce in a glass mason jar with lid

    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

    How long can I store Chinese white sauce?

    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.

    Can I make this vegan or gluten free?

    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.

    What stir fries can I make with Chinese white sauce?

    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 poured off a spoon into a pot

    Chinese White Sauce

    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! 
    5 from 115 votes
    Pin Share Print
    Prep Time 2 mins
    Cook Time 4 mins
    Total Time 6 mins
    Course Sauces
    Cuisine Asian, Chinese
    Servings 8

    ☑ 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
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    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.
      Chinese white sauce ingredients in glass bowls including chicken stock, ginger, and garlic
    • 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.
      sesame oil added to broth to make a clear stir fry sauce
    • 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.
      chicken stock boiling in a pot
    • 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.
      clear Chinese stir fry sauce poured off a spoon into a pot

    ✎ Recipe Notes

    Makes about 3 cups of sauce.
    For stir fry recipes: 
    • 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. 
    Storage: 
    • Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 55kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 644mg | Potassium: 6mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 188IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was and give it a 5 star rating! Tag @drivemehungry to show off your creations! I love seeing your photos!

    *Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.

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    « Moo Goo Gai Pan - Quick and Easy!
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    25.3K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sophie

      May 08, 2021 at 9:33 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
    2. Florence

      April 28, 2021 at 9:59 pm

      5 stars
      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!!

      Reply
      • Jamie

        June 09, 2021 at 2:25 am

        Thanks Florence!

        Reply
    3. Mary W

      April 13, 2021 at 10:26 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
    4. Bob

      March 28, 2021 at 9:51 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Jamie

        April 01, 2021 at 2:00 am

        Thanks Bob! Glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Aneesha

      February 26, 2021 at 3:51 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Jamie

        February 28, 2021 at 12:41 pm

        Thanks Aneesha! So glad to hear that! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Susan Rawlings

      February 03, 2021 at 10:25 pm

      5 stars
      This sauce is so easy to make and tastes amazing!! Will probably become a staple in my kitchen. Thank you

      Reply
    7. Jen O'Brien

      January 29, 2021 at 1:43 pm

      How many cups of sauce does this recipe make?

      Reply
      • Jamie

        February 01, 2021 at 3:00 pm

        Hi Jen! This makes about 3 cups of sauce. Hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    8. Linda

      January 28, 2021 at 12:19 pm

      5 stars
      I always use this sauce for making corn soup or vegetable stir fry. It saves so much time making this in advance!

      Reply
    9. Addison

      January 27, 2021 at 7:48 pm

      5 stars
      This sauce has the best flavors! So yummy!

      Reply
    10. Amy

      January 27, 2021 at 4:56 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
    11. Angie

      December 08, 2020 at 3:02 pm

      Trying tonight but my local stores dont have the wine. Will it be ok without??

      Reply
      • Jamie

        December 08, 2020 at 3:24 pm

        Hi Angie! Yes you can still make it without the wine. Hope you enjoy! 🙂

        Reply
    12. Manon

      December 04, 2020 at 3:02 pm

      Great sauce . Cut down the cornstarch to 1 tablespoon at my second go because it was too thick for me 🙂

      Reply
      • Jamie

        December 08, 2020 at 3:35 pm

        Thanks Manon! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂

        Reply
    13. Jacinta

      November 17, 2020 at 10:34 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
    14. jill

      October 15, 2020 at 5:51 am

      I don't cook with wine or have any in the house, can I leave it out? Is there a substitute?

      Reply
      • Jamie

        January 03, 2021 at 4:20 am

        Hi Jill! You can certainly leave it out and it would still taste great. Hope you enjoy this! 🙂

        Reply
    15. Anjali

      September 10, 2020 at 4:17 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
    16. Pris

      September 08, 2020 at 3:40 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
    17. Julia

      September 06, 2020 at 11:56 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
    18. Kaitlyn

      September 04, 2020 at 3:24 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
    19. Callie

      August 29, 2020 at 12:28 am

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
      • Jamie

        August 29, 2020 at 3:22 am

        Thanks Callie for giving it a try! That's a great idea using it on stir fried veggies!

        Reply
    20. Genevieve

      August 28, 2020 at 11:50 pm

      5 stars
      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! 😍

      Reply
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