Chinese Brown Sauce – China Sichuan Food

I would love to introduce this all-purpose and well-balanced Chinese-style savory brown sauce to my fellow Chinese food lovers. You can use it for classic broccoli beef stir fry or easy vegetable stir fry dishes.

We all know that Chinese food, especially stir-fry and salad, is famous for its balanced flavor. This Chinese brown sauce is a basic Chinese-style sauce for protein and vegetable stir-fry and as gravy on steamed or blanched food. We will discover the details about the ingredients, how to use them, and possible variations.

What’s Chinese brown sauce

The short answer is that it is a brown soy sauce-based savory sauce. This sauce is thickened with cornstarch, which is well-suited for pork, beef, chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, and noodles.

Why make a sauce ahead

I used to cook in a freestyle, adding each ingredient individually. But ever since I started writing recipes, the bowl sauce, which means mixing and preparing the sauce ahead, has become my top choice.

• Firstly, there will be no hurry in the process of cooking. No mess up vs clean operating board. During busy working days, I always love to marinate the pork, beef, and chicken slices ahead of time, along with my preferred sauces.
• The sauce is a big time-saver. You can make a larger batch and store it in the fridge for several days.
• All-purpose usage: It can be used for stir-frying blanched or steamed vegetables. It also goes well with noodles and fried rice.
• Precise, well-balanced flavor: Preparing ahead means more time, which can lead to a more accurate flavor.

I believe I convinced you to try this sauce. Let’s find out how to make it.

Ingredients of this brown sauce

We will need just a few essential Chinese cooking ingredients- a short list.

How to Make Brown Sauce

Mix cornstarch with water first, and ensure no pump is inside.

Add oil and fry minced garlic in a small pot over a slow fire for about 10 seconds until slightly browned.

Add the seasonings, and let them combine for a while.

Stir the starch water and then pour it in. Let it simmer for about 1 minute or until the sauce slightly thickens. Then mix in with sesame oil. The brown sauce will be much thicker once it has cooled down.

How to use this brown sauce

This brown sauce is super versatile and can be used in many ways. Our classic way is to use it over crispy food, such as crispy rice, deep-fried chicken, or pork.

Another common usage is as a stir-fry sauce. Add the sauce to pork, chicken, or beef stir-fries to create a taste similar to Chinese take-out stir-fries. One recommendation for this method is to separate minced garlic from the sauce and fry garlic at the beginning of the stir-frying, adding the seasonings and sauce at the end.

Another way is to use it as a gravy for blanched vegetables or steamed vegetables like broccoli and lotus root.

• 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil

• Mix cornstarch with water first and make sure there is no pump inside.

• Add oil and fry minced garlic in a small pot over a slow fire for about 10 seconds until slightly browned.

• Add the seasonings, and let it combine for a while.

• Stir the starch water and then pour it in. Let it simmer for about 1 minute or until the sauce slightly thickens. I found that it would be much thicker once it cooled down.

• Mix in sesame oil. If you want to keep it for later, store in air-tight glass jars.

Over blanched broccoli

• In a large pot of boiling water, add pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of oil. Blanch the broccoli for around 15 seconds.

• Transfer out and then drizzle the brown sauce over.

Afterthoughts

I hope you love this super-easy, well-balanced, savory, shining, and versatile brown sauce. We also share many other pre-made sauces that may make daily cooking convenient. Remember to check black pepper sauce, Peking duck sauce, and black bean sauce.