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Chinese Curry Sauce from Scratch
From Homemade Spice Mixes to Chip-Shop Curry Sauce
🍽️ 4 servings Prep 10 min. Cook 15 min. Total 25 min. ⭐ Easy

Make five spice, turn part of it into a curry blend and cook a concentrated paste. Use the paste in a dish or dilute it into a dipping sauce.

The Story Behind the Recipe

I fell in love with this sauce while studying for my master’s degree in Sunderland. Chip shops offered gravy or curry sauce with fish and chips, and the curry sauce became a favorite.

A British friend and fellow student helped me recreate it. First came the dipping sauce, then I used the same approach for chicken curry.

The stages below show exactly where the dry mixes become a paste and where that paste becomes a sauce. Use the concentrated stage in my Chinese Chicken Curry.

The Technique

  • Use ground spices.
  • Keep the spice blends, paste and sauce stages distinct.
  • Add liquid gradually while stirring.
Ingredients

Five-Spice Blend

  • Ground star anise: 2 tsp

  • Ground cinnamon: 2 tsp

  • Ground cloves: ¼ tsp

  • Ground fennel seeds: ½ tsp

  • Ground Sichuan pepper: ½ tsp, or black pepper

Curry Blend

  • Five-spice blend above: 2 tsp

  • Regular curry powder: 2 tsp

  • Turmeric: 2 tsp

  • Ground cumin: ½ tsp

  • Black pepper: 1 tsp

  • Garlic powder: 1 tsp

  • Chilli powder: to taste

Concentrated Paste

  • Butter: 60 g / 2.1 oz

  • All-purpose flour: 40 g / 1.4 oz

  • Curry blend above: 2 tbsp

Finished Sauce

  • Water: 240 ml / approximately 1 US cup

  • Stock: 240 ml / approximately 1 US cup

  • Sugar: 1 tsp

  • White wine vinegar: 2 tsp, or apple cider vinegar

  • Salt: as needed

Steps

Spice Mixes and Paste

  1. Combine the five-spice ingredients.

  2. Take 2 tsp and combine with the remaining curry-blend ingredients.

  3. Melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to form a smooth paste.

  4. Add 2 tbsp curry blend and cook, stirring, until fragrant.

Turning It into Sauce

  1. Stop at the paste stage if using it in another dish.

  2. For dipping sauce, gradually stir in the water.

  3. Add the stock, sugar and vinegar.

  4. Simmer while stirring until thickened and the flour is cooked. Adjust the salt.

Tips and Secrets

  1. You will not necessarily use all the dry spice mixtures.

  2. Store leftover dry blends separately in sealed spice containers.

  3. Regular supermarket curry powder is suitable.

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