Easy Chinese Curry Sauce – Homemade Takeaway Style

There’s something about Chinese curry sauce that immediately makes me think of a proper fakeaway night. It’s smooth, savoury, gently spiced and just as good poured over a pile of chips as it is served with rice or alongside your favourite Chinese-style dishes.

This homemade version uses curry powder with ginger, a little Chinese five spice, white pepper and soy sauce to give it plenty of flavour without making it ridiculously hot. Onion and carrot cook right down into the sauce before everything is blended until smooth, so you end up with that lovely thick curry sauce that’s just asking for a chip to be dunked into it.

It’s also surprisingly straightforward to make. Most of the time is simply spent letting the onion and carrot soften and the sauce simmer, and you can make it ahead if you’re planning a fakeaway night. If you prefer the slightly sweeter, tangier sauce you’d expect from a British chippy, have a look at my chip shop curry sauce instead.

Ingredients for my Chinese curry sauce

These are the ingredients needed for my Chinese curry sauce, it looks a lot but most of them you likely have already!

• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 tbsp medium curry powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp Chinese five spice
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp sugar
• Salt, if needed

How to make Chinese curry sauce

Start by heating the oil in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, then add the onion and carrot. Give them plenty of time to soften rather than trying to rush them over a fierce heat; around 8–10 minutes should do it, with an occasional stir to stop anything catching.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute before stirring in the curry powder, turmeric, Chinese five spice and white pepper. Give the spices around 30 seconds in the pan, just until you can really smell them, then stir in the flour.

It will look quite thick and slightly unpromising at this point, which is fine. Gradually pour in the vegetable stock while stirring so that the flour mixes smoothly into the liquid rather than forming lumps.

Add the soy sauce and sugar, bring everything to a gentle simmer and cook for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. By then the vegetables should be completely soft and the sauce should have thickened.

Blend it until completely smooth using a stick blender, then taste it. This is the point to decide whether it actually needs salt because the stock and soy sauce may already have done the job.

If it’s thicker than you’d like, add a splash of hot water. If it’s still too thin, simmer it uncovered for another few minutes.

To freeze, simply cool quickly and then freeze and defrost fully before heating another day.

What does Chinese curry sauce taste like?

The curry powder and turmeric provide that familiar curry flavour and colour, while the Chinese five spice, ginger, soy and white pepper push it in a different direction. I’ve deliberately kept the five spice quite restrained because I don’t want it taking over the entire sauce.

There’s only a tiny amount of sugar, too. This version is primarily savoury; my chip shop curry sauce is the one I’d choose if you want something noticeably sweeter and tangier with your chips.

What can I serve Chinese curry sauce with?

Chips. Obviously! I love curry sauce with proper chunky chips, but it’s equally good with air fryer chips if that’s what you’re making. You can also pour it over rice or use it as the sauce for a homemade Chinese-style curry.

My Chinese chicken and mushroom curry is another good fakeaway option if that’s the sort of dinner you’re craving.

If you’re having a full fakeaway night, have a browse through my Chinese fakeaway recipes because there are plenty of dishes you can put together without ordering enough food for twelve people when there are three of you. We surely can’t be the only family that does that?

Can I make it vegetarian or vegan?

I’ve used vegetable stock rather than chicken stock because I want this sauce to be something I can eat too.

As long as your stock, curry powder, soy sauce and other packaged ingredients are suitable, the recipe itself can be vegan. Check the individual labels if that’s important to you because ingredients can vary between brands.

Can I make Chinese curry sauce ahead?

Yes, which is quite handy because I’m unlikely to want to chop carrots and onions every single time somebody suddenly decides they fancy curry sauce with their chips.

Once it’s cooked, cool it promptly and store it covered in the fridge. It will thicken as it cools, so don’t be surprised if it looks considerably thicker the following day.

Reheat it thoroughly in a saucepan and add a splash of water if it needs loosening.

I’d also freeze it in small portions rather than one enormous container. That way you can defrost enough for a couple of portions of chips without committing yourself to Chinese curry sauce for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Chinese curry sauce or chip shop curry sauce?

This Chinese curry sauce is more savoury, with soy, ginger, white pepper and Chinese five spice.

My British chip shop curry sauce is slightly sweeter and tangier, with apple and malt vinegar, and is specifically designed to recreate that curry-sauce-and-chips flavour.

Of course, nobody is going to come round and confiscate your dinner if you put this one on chips instead. Make whichever you prefer!

More fakeaway ideas

If making your own Chinese curry sauce has put you in a fakeaway mood, try my Chinese chicken and mushroom curry, Singapore chow mein or have a browse through all my Chinese fakeaway recipes.

For Indian-style curries rather than takeaway-style Chinese sauce, my main curry recipes collection is the better place to start.

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