Chinese White Sauce

5 from 2 votes

A simple and flavorful Chinese white sauce recipe for all your Asian stir-fry dishes. It's incredibly easy to make, yet it adds a depth of flavor that will make your meals feel like they came straight from a high-end restaurant.

Prep Time1

Cook Time14

Total Time15

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: cup

Calories: 125kcal

Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

5 teaspoons chicken powder
1½ cups water (or no sodium chicken broth)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine (or Shaoxing cooking wine)
1 slice ginger
1 clove garlic
1 stalk green onion (tied in a knot or folded in half to fit inside the pot)
1½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil (add at the end when heat is off)

Cornstarch Slurry (Thickener)

2 tablespoon cornstarch (add an additional 1 teaspoon if you like thick sauces)
1 tablespoon cold water

Instructions

Preparation

Peel 1 clove garlic, and use the side of your knife and press on it until it is crushed but still intact. We want all our aromatics intact so they can be easily removed later. Set it aside for later.
Wash 1 stalk green onion green onion and tie it in a knot (or fold it in half to fit into a pot. Set it aside for later.
Cut 1 slice ginger and set it aside later.
In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoon cornstarch, with 1 tablespoon cold water and set it aside for later. (If you like thicker sauces, use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch instead.)

Infusing the Chinese White Sauce with Aromatics

In a small pot, add 1½ cups water, and mix in 5 teaspoons chicken powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine.
Add in the green onion, garlic clove and slice of ginger.
Set the pot over the stove on medium heat until the sauce starts to simmer, then adjust it to low heat, and set a timer for 10-15 minutes, and simmer it with the lid on. We don't want any sauce to evaporate.
After 10-15 minutes, do a taste test. If you want it more salty, add an additional ¼ teaspoon of chicken powder.

Thicken the Sauce

Turn the stove back up to medium heat until the sauce simmers and bubbles again.
Mix the cornstarch slurry in the bowl (the starch settles to the bottom), and slowly pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce, while quickly stirring for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens.
You'll know the sauce is done once it starts to bubble and thicken into a clear sauce.
Turn off the heat, and remove the aromatics and discard them.
Add in 1½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil and stir until it is mixed into the sauce.
Enjoy the sauce by drizzling over seafood, chicken, or white rice!

Notes

Keep Aromatics Whole: I personally like my stir fry sauces smooth and silky so I keep my aromatics whole and simmer the flavors out before thickening it with the cornstarch slurry, that way I can easily fish them out right. If you like your aromatics in your sauce, you can finely mince or grate your ginger, garlic and green onions.
Chicken Powder vs Chicken Bouillon Cubes: Not all chicken powder are created equal and the flavor will vary depending on the brands as well. I personally find bouillon cubes not as flavorful as chicken powder and you always want to make sure it has 'chicken' in the ingredient list (sometimes it will say chicken fat, or chicken meat). I use Knorr or Lee Kum Kee brand at home (not sponsored). Just make sure you see the word chicken in the ingredient list. That being said, if you can't find it you can still use the bouillon cubes.
Always Add in your Sesame Oil Last: Add in the sesame oil after the heat has been turned off. This helps retain the sesame oil flavor better because the intense heat doesn't break down the oils.
Adjust Cornstarch for Desired Thickness: If you prefer a thicker Chinese white sauce, add an additional 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the 2 tablespoons. Remember, cornstarch loses its thickening power over time, so leftover sauce may need to be re-thickened.
How Much To Use: To use this in stir-fries, I use about ½ cup of sauce. This recipe makes about 1 cup of sauce, which is enough for 2 stir-fries.
Don't worry if you see the sauce congeal into a jelly once it has cooled. That is normal. Once you add it to a hot pan, it will melt and become a sauce again. That being said, the longer you keep it, the less thickening power it will have as well. If you find the sauce runnier than when you first made it, use a bit of cornstarch slurry to thicken it again.

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