All- Purpose Chinese White Sauce

Name: All- Purpose Chinese White Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6 serving
Ingredients: 3 cups stock; 3 cloves garlic; 3/4 teaspoon ginger; 1 teaspoon scallion; 1 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 teaspoon sugar; 1/8 teaspoon white pepper; 3/4 teaspoon sesame oil; 1 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce; 1 teaspoon MSG; 8 ounces meat; 3 cups mixed vegetables; 1/2 cup tofu; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine; 1/2 - 3/4 cup Chinese white sauce; 1 tablespoon cornstarch

User Reviews

5

48 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
10 mins
Total Time
10 mins
Servings
6
Calories
16 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Chinese-American Fussion

All- Purpose Chinese White Sauce

Yara Blevins

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This All-Purpose Chinese White Sauce is a versatile base for stir-fries combining stock with aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallion, seasoned with salt, sugar, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. It can be made in advance and stored, then mixed with velveted meats and blanched vegetables for quick, flavorful dishes.

Description

The All-Purpose Chinese White Sauce recipe involves creating a balanced sauce using chicken, pork, or vegetable stock as its foundation, infused with finely minced garlic, grated ginger, and minced white scallion parts. This sauce includes salt, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil, oyster sauce or its vegetarian alternative, and optional MSG to enhance umami.

The sauce can be prepared ahead and refrigerated for up to a week. It's shaken before use to recombine ingredients. For cooking, meats are thinly sliced and velveted to keep them tender, then stir-fried with blanched mixed vegetables and tofu. Cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce to a desirable consistency.

This sauce imparts savory depth and is adaptable to a variety of proteins and produce, making it a practical staple for home-style Chinese cooking.

Nutrition information provided pertains specifically to the sauce alone.

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Ingredients

Servings

For the Chinese white sauce:

3 cups stock (chicken stock, pork stock or vegetable stock, 700 ml)
3 cloves garlic (finely minced or grated)
3/4 teaspoon ginger (grated)
1 teaspoon scallion (white part only, minced)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce)
1 teaspoon MSG (totally optional!)

To make a stir-fry:

8 ounces meat 225g, pork, chicken, or beef; thinly sliced ¼ inch thick, of your choice
3 cups mixed vegetables (bell pepper, mushrooms, celery, carrots, snow peas, snap peas, broccoli/broccolini, cauliflower, bamboo shoots, lotus root, etc.)
1/2 cup tofu cubed, optional, firm
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 - 3/4 cup Chinese white sauce depending upon how much sauce you like, prepared
1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 tablespoon water; you may need a little more or less, depending upon how much sauce you use and how thick you like it)

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Instructions

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To make the white sauce:

Pour chicken, pork or vegetable stock into a resealable glass jar. It’s best to use home-made stock but you can use store-bought as well. If you use store-bought prepared stock, try to use a pure stock without any other flavorings added (herbs, spices, etc.), as usually store-bought stocks are usually made for western cooking.
Next, add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. It’s best if these aromatics are very finely minced. Add, salt, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil, oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce), and MSG if using.
Seal, and shake well to combine. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Shake before using. Makes enough sauce for 4-6 dishes.

To use this sauce:

Take your sliced meat, and velvet it using our method for velveting beef, velveting chicken, or velveting pork.
Bring 4 to 6 cups of water to a boil, and blanch the vegetables and tofu for 30 to 60 seconds. Drain thoroughly and set aside. (Blanch in 2 batches if you have lots of vegetables, or if vegetables require different cooking times. Dense vegetables like carrots will take a little longer than snap peas, for example).
Heat your wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke. Use 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to evenly coat the wok. Spread the velveted meat in the wok in one layer. Sear for 30 seconds on each side. Remove from the wok and set aside. Note, instead of searing the meat, you can also blanch it; just reduce oil to 1 tablespoon for stir-frying.
Next, without washing the wok, reheat your wok over high heat, and add the blanched vegetables and Shaoxing wine. Stir everything together, and add the meat.
Add ½ to ¾ cup of your white stir-fry sauce, and stir-fry everything together to deglaze the wok. Keep cooking until the sauce comes to a full simmer.
Mix the cornstarch and water into a slurry. Move the pork and vegetables to the sides of the wok. There should be a little well of sauce/liquid at the center of the wok. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the liquid, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Give everything a final stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Plate and serve over steamed rice.

Notes

Nutrition info reflects the sauce only, not including meat or vegetables.

Nutrition Information

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Calories 16kcal (1%) Carbohydrates 3g (1%) Protein 1g (2%) Fat 1g (2%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Sodium 1093mg (46%) Potassium 6mg (0%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 250IU (5%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 3mg (0%)