This Chinese Garlic Sauce is a flavorful, hearty, and satisfying brown stir-fry sauce. It’s a delicious and healthy homemade alternative to takeout and has the perfect combination of spicy, salty, and sweet flavors! The recipe is vegan, low in fat and calories, and can be made gluten-free!
I simply can’t get enough of homemade stir-fries. They are so quick and easy to make, and also pretty healthy since we don’t use artificial flavors (like MSG powder) or too much oil. What makes a stir-fry exceptionally delicious and flavorful? It’s the brown sauce! And here I am presenting you my best version of a homemade Chinese garlic sauce.
What Is Chinese Brown Sauce?
A Chinese brown sauce is a popular flavorful sauce in every Chinese takeout. The main ingredients are soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, sometimes oyster sauce, and a meat-based broth. You’ll find variations with beef broth or chicken broth. My vegan brown sauce is meatless, of course, and therefore contains vegetable broth.
Other ingredients often found in a Chinese brown sauce are cornstarch (to thicken the sauce), fresh garlic & ginger, and some spices like pepper, chili, and sesame oil.
How To Make Chinese Garlic Sauce?
This recipe has only 4 simple steps and it actually takes less than 10 minutes to make this spicy garlic sauce! Check the following step-by-step photos:
STEP 1: For the sauce, simply add all ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and stir with a whisk. Set aside.
STEP 2: Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add the fresh garlic and ginger and sauté for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant. Stir frequently.
STEP 3: Whisk the sauce again as the cornstarch will sink to the bottom, then pour it into the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes until thickened, stirring frequently.
STEP 4: Use the garlic sauce immediately, for example, in your favorite stir-fry. Or let it cool completely and pour the sauce into a clean glass jar.
How To Serve?
This brown sauce is basically an all-purpose stir-fry sauce, which means you can use it in any stir-fry meal. My favorite way to serve this Szechuan sauce is over stir-fried broccoli. Have you ever tried broccoli with garlic sauce? If not, you are missing out! I also love to add slices of peppers, carrots, and onion.
The sauce also makes a great dip for summer rolls or even vegan dumplings! The possibilities are endless!
Tips & Substitutes
How to store? Store sauce leftovers in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days.
Make it spicier or less spicy: If you love spicy Chinese (or Asian) food, simply increase the amount of red pepper flakes. You can also use fresh chilis or add a little hot sauce or Sriracha to taste! If you are sensitive to spicy food or have a toddler/kid, then leave out the red pepper flakes and use less fresh ginger.
Vegetable oil: You can use canola oil or any vegetable cooking oil of choice.
Sweetener: I used maple syrup, however, any other sweetener is fine. Some examples are agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or date syrup. You can also use regular sugar to taste.
Cornstarch: If you have a corn allergy, simply use arrowroot flour, tapioca flour/starch, or potato starch. Any starch is fine and will thicken the sauce.
Soy sauce: I used gluten-free dark soy sauce. You can also use a combination of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Make sure to use tamari (or a gluten-free soy sauce) if you are a celiac. If you want a soy-free alternative then I would recommend using coconut aminos.
This Szechuan Sauce Is:
- Vegan
- Can be made gluten-free
- A little spicy
- Sweet, sour & salty
- Satisfying
- Hearty
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Ready in less than 10 minutes
- Can be made oil-free
Should you give this Chinese garlic sauce recipe a try, please leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan #elavegan because I love to see your remakes!
If you love Asian food, definitely also check out the following delicious vegan recipes:
Chinese Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
For The Sauce:
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (see notes)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or less/more to taste
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns (optional)
- 2 tsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry (optional)
For The Pan:
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (see notes)
- 4 tsp fresh garlic minced (4 garlic cloves)
- 2 tsp fresh ginger minced
Instructions
- Add all ingredients for the sauce into a medium-sized bowl and stir with a whisk. Set aside.
- Next, heat vegetable oil in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add fresh garlic and ginger and sauté for 30-60 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Whisk the sauce again, then pour it into the saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes until thickened, stirring frequently.
- Use the sauce immediately, for example, in a stir-fry or as a dip for vegan dumplings or summer rolls. Or let it cool completely and pour the sauce into a clean jar.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days. Enjoy!
Notes
- Vegetable oil: You can use canola oil or any vegetable cooking oil of choice. You can also leave it out and use more vegetable broth.
- Sweetener: I used maple syrup, however, any other sweetener is fine.
- Cornstarch: You can use arrowroot flour, tapioca flour/starch, or potato starch.
- Soy sauce: You can use a combination of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Make sure to use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce if you are a celiac. If you want a soy-free alternative then I would recommend using coconut aminos.
- Check the step-by-step photos above in the blog post.
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving (1/4 of the recipe).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Helena
I loooove your recipes! Thank you <3
Ela
Aww, that makes me so happy, Helena! 🙂
eileen frazier
can you freeze this?
Ela
Yes, that’s fine. 🙂
Kaleen
I made this today and it was delicious. So simple too. Will definitely use this again. I made a stir fry with mushrooms and broccoli with leftover spaghetti noodles
Ela
So happy you liked it, Kaleen. 🙂
Lugene Florio Zych
Do I really need the 1/2 tsp of sesame oil ?? Not in my cupboard at the moment….Thank you !
Ela
It adds a nice flavor but if you don’t have it, it’s fine to skip it. 🙂
Christina Lingley
I just made this sauce last night with a chicken stirfry over jasmine rice…soooo good!
Didn’t have fresh ginger, had to use ground ginger instead. Still came out awesome!
Thank you so much for this recipe.
So easy and so yummy ????????
Ela
So glad you liked it! Try fresh ginger next time, I promise it’s even more delicious. 🙂
Madelein
Hi Ella…the recipe sounds amazing , could one can this sauce?
Ela
Hi Madelein, I never tried it because we always use it within a few days but I think it should work!
Andrea E
This popped up on my Pinterest feed and I thought, Wow, that looks good. How excited was I when I saw it was from your vegan blog?? What a cool idea to have this in the fridge for when I’m not in a very cook-y mood to make an easy stir-fry. Thanks.
Ela
So happy you found the recipe on Pinterest, Andrea! I hope you will love it. 🙂
Terri
This just became my go to stir fry sauce. It is sooooo good! Thank you!
Ela
SO happy you love it, Terri! 🙂
David Ulrich
Very good sauce, Just made it for dinner and it was perfect. I wasn’t sure about using whole pepper corns in the sauce so I used and equivalent amount of black pepper. I also used 2 tsps of arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch. I liked it with maple syrup, but I am going to experiment with date sugar for a batch and see how that comes out Anyway excellent recipe thank you for sharing.
Ela
My pleasure, David! I am happy it turned out tasty. Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
Claudia
Thank you for this recipe. It was easy to make as I had almost all the ingredients or substitutes. We used it as a bbq chicken sauce/marinade. I think I’ll change out the maple syrup next time with brown sugar. What do you think about adding a touch of Chinese five spice instead of or in addition to the smoked paprika?
It certainly fun to change up the bbq sauce flavor!
Ela
Hi Claudia, I am glad you liked the sauce! You can definitely add the five-spice powder. I also used it in my homemade Hoisin sauce which you can check out here: https://elavegan.com/hoisin-sauce-recipe/
Monika
We enjoyed this sauce over a mushroom/squash stir fry with basmati rice. It was so flavorful and surprisingly easy! This will be our ‘go to’ sauce when we’re craving Chinese takeout. Thanks for the recipe Ela!
Ela
My pleasure, Monika! I am so glad you liked it. 🙂
Desiree Ventra
I made this tonight with the Cabbage Stir Fry and it was soo good!!! I add turkey chop meat to the stir fry and this sauce and it was perfect!! I will definitely be making it again and again and again. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Ela
I am glad you liked the sauce, Desiree. 🙂
Sue Dileanis
I made this tonight with a tofu stir fry. OMG, it was so good! And so easy to make too!
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been looking for an easy to make recipe for vegetable stir fry dishes and this is a winner!
PS I can’t have MSG either. It makes me feel intense pressure over my entire body, especially my head. It’s completely unbearable.
Ela
That’s wonderful, Sue! Sounds very delicious with tofu. I am so glad you loved the recipe. 🙂
Genii
I want to make this recipe this weekend but I need to buy the Szechuan peppercorns. Which brand would you recommend? Will I find that in a supermarket?
Thank you!
Ela
Hi Genii, I think any brand is fine, as long as the peppercorns are fresh. You should be able to get them in larger supermarkets and health food stores. 🙂
Alma Ohlhausen
Based on the ingredients involved, this sounds to be a great alternative to the store bought jars of ingredients filled with sugar that I would use to create “Spicy Garlic Green beans”. I can’t wait to try this. Thank you Ela, I love receiving your emails!
Ela
You are very welcome, Alma! I hope you will like the sauce. 🙂
Margaret Lane
Will this work for meat dishes?
Ela
Hello Margaret, you can use the sauce in most savory recipes. It’s perfect for stir-fries. I hope you will also try some of my vegan recipes. 🙂
Thomas
I love this recipe! Really tasty!
Ela
I am so glad you love it, Thomas! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
Bigeater
The recipevis good. However, please stop spreading the lie that MSG is unhealthy. You may not want to use it, but the rest is just plain wrong.
MSG is the salt form of a naturally occurring amino acid, usually produced by bacterial fermentation
Ela
Thanks for sharing but many people get headaches after consuming MSG, I included. Therefore, I prefer to stay away from it. 🙂
Janna
I get very sick after eating MSG. Not just headaches, but body aches, fatigue, GI issues and brain fog. No one can tell me that MSG is anything that should be ingested!
Ela
You are right, there can be more symptoms than just headaches. Thanks for your comment, Janna. 🙂
Bigeater
There is a difference between having a sensitivity to something (cross ref peanuts…mild to fatal), and the ingredient itself actually being unhealthy. I am assuming those with an MSG-sensitivity also avoid tomatoes and mushrooms, even fermented soy, as they contain free glutamate. What blinded studies were able to confirm is that people are only sick when they know they consumed MSG…otherwise, nothing.
And as with every food, there is such a thing as using the right dose score the magic taste (over-salted food, anyone?). Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with the recipe above. It’s delicious enough…but it could have been written without knocking down on other ingredients.
Yul
Hey, can i use date spread (not syrup) as a sweetener? 🙂
Ela
Hello! I never used date spread but I think it could work. 🙂
Yul
Thank you!!! What about tomato paste or apple juice?
Ela
You can add that but the result will be, of course, different from the original recipe. 🙂
Marcia
I haven’t got rice wine can I still do it without please?
Ela
Yes, Marcia, you can. As mentioned in the recipe, it’s optional. Hope this helps. 🙂
Jillian Fried
I made this sauce last night for dinner. It was so easy and quick to make. It tasted delicious and was better than any takeout Chinese garlic sauce that I’ve had. Plus, all natural ingredients and knowing what’s in the sauce makes this recipe a winner! Thanks so much!
Ela
That’s wonderful, Jillian! I am so glad it turned out very delicious. Thanks for your amazing feedback! 🙂