Chinese Garlic Sauce (Stir Fry Sauce)

This Chinese garlic sauce is a stir-fry sauce for all purposes. You can add them to your rice, noodles, or vegetables. This stir-fry sauce is versatile and enhances the flavor of the dish.

Chinese garlic sauce is a flavorful sauce made with a few readily available ingredients in our kitchen. It does not have fancy ingredients, no meat-based sauces added, and no artificial flavoring, but it is still an amazingly delicious sauce. This is also known as stir-fry sauce or brown stir-fry sauce.

This stir-fry sauce is soy-based. You can substitute the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari to make it gluten-free. However, this is vegan since I'm not adding any oyster sauce to my brown stir-fry sauce. You can add vegan oyster sauce to it, too.

Chinese Garlic Sauce

This Chinese garlic sauce, aka stir-fry sauce, is a perfect blend of sweet, savory, and spicy elements, which enhances the dish's taste and satisfaction.

This sauce has 5 - 6 main ingredients that balance the flavor, and it hardly takes 10 minutes to make this yummy stir-fry sauce. So, it is one easy sauce that is versatile to use, too.

More than anything, this sauce has no artificial flavoring like MSG. This homemade brown sauce is a delicious sauce/ condiment that takes only 10 - 15 minutes.

Ingredients for Chinese Garlic Sauce or Stir-fry Sauce

Garlic - raw garlic

Garlic is one of the main ingredients that is essential for this sauce. Raw garlic has a strong aroma or flavor, which enhances the taste. You can substitute it with garlic powder if you don't have it.

When fresh garlic is replaced with garlic powder or granules, the flavor intensity will be different. The flavor of the chunky minced fresh garlic is different and more intense.

However, you can substitute one garlic clove with

• ⅛ tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp garlic flakes

• ¼ tsp granulated garlic

Add garlic to your sauce, depending on the strong garlic flavor you want. If you don't like more garlic flavor, you can reduce the amount of garlic. I like it strongly, and nothing can substitute the real flavor of raw garlic for me.

Ginger - Raw ginger

Ginger adds a strong and spicy flavor to the sauce. Add fresh minced or finely chopped ginger. I recommend only fresh ginger, not ground ginger.

Soy sauce -

This is the base of this stir-fry sauce, also known as Chinese garlic sauce. However, use gluten-free dark soy sauce or tamari for a gluten-free sauce. If you want a soy alternative, you can also use coconut aminos.

Hot sauce -

Add any hot or chili sauce, depending on how spicy you need. For spicier garlic sauce, use a hint of sriracha.

I have also added some red chili flakes since I love this to bite a little spicier. Green chilies are also a great option to make it spicy. You can skip or reduce the quantity of hot sauce and chilies/ flakes if you want mild and hot brown sauce.

Sweetener -

I usually add brown sugar or maple syrup to my sauce. Even regular granulated sugar is okay. If you are looking for a low-carb option, you can add stevia or agave syrup.

There is another alternative I use - i.e. tomato ketchup for sweetener. It has added sweetness along with sourness. So this works well if you don't want too much sweetness. It gives a mild sweetness. If you don't like the sauce to be very sweet, you can substitute sugar with an equal amount of tomato ketchup.

Oil -

Toasted sesame oil for the authentic Asian flavor. You might need only a few tablespoons of oil to saute garlic, and you can add a little to the sauce.

Cornstarch -

This is required to make the sauce thicker. Mix the cornstarch with water to make a slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water).

Vegetable broth -

This adds flavor and dilutes the sodium level of soy sauce. You can substitute it with water.

Instructions to make stir fry sauce/ Chinese garlic sauce

Add broth, soy sauce, hot sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup/ sugar/ tomato ketchup, chili flakes, and toasted sesame oil in a bowl.

In a small bowl, add cornstarch and a little water. Mix to make a slurry.

Then, heat the oil in a pan. Add finely chopped garlic and ginger. Sauté on medium-low flame for a minute

Add the broth mixture to the pan. Bring it to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Now stir the slurry (starch settles down at the bottom) and pour it slowly into the simmering sauce, stirring it continuously. Turn off the heat when it's reached the desired thickness or consistency.

Note - Don't make this too thick since it becomes thicker when cooled.

How to store the stir-fry sauce or Chinese garlic sauce?

When cooled, transfer the sauce to a glass jar, cover it with a lid, and refrigerate for up to 4 - 5 days.

Transfer the completely cooled sauce to ice boxes if you want to freeze it. Once it's frozen, take it out, pack it in a zip-lock bag, and freeze it further. So when you need them, just remove that amount of ice cubes and thaw them before adding them to your stir fry. There is no need to thaw the whole jar of sauce. You can keep them in the freezer for 2 - 3 months.

How to Serve?

Chinese garlic sauce is a versatile sauce that can be added to many foods. You can also use it as a dip for dumplings, wantons, or momos. Add it to any vegetable stir fry of your choice. You can also add this to your noodles or rice preparation.

Check out my Asian stir-fried vegetables. This is the sauce you must use if you want to make your stir fry with a strong Chinese flavor. Check out my broccoli tofu stir fry recipe, which is delicious, quick, and easy to make.

Stir Fry Sauce Recipe:

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