Overview of Asian sauces
I like to cook Asian and many are not familiar with all sauces and their uses. That's why I've made a small list and overview of the most common Asian sauces and what they fit.
Most known from Chinese restaurants is probably ...
Sambal Olek
- This is an Indonesian spice paste from the seeds of red chili pepper.
- Sambal Olek is very spicy and tastes very spicy due to the addition of salt and vinegar.
- Care should be taken to salt the dish sparingly when seasoned with sambal.
- Sambal is served with fried meat, can be used as a marinade or added to a dip.
- Sambal is pure and also enriched differently, e.g. with shrimp or garlic.
fish sauce
- A Thai / Vietnamese sauce made from fermented fish, sugar, water and salt.
- The brownish, intense-smelling sauce is used to flavor wok dishes and Asian sauces.
- This sauce enhances the intrinsic taste of the dish, but leaves no overly strong fish flavor.
- She tastes milder in court as she smells.
Oyster sauce (Oyster sauce)
- In this sauce is oyster meat extract, garlic, soy sauce and sugar.
- She likes to be used in Chinese cuisine.
- The consistency is thicker than the fish sauce.
- It is salty in combination with a very slightly sweet spicy note.
- It is used for fish as well as meat and vegetables as well as for all wok dishes.
Hoisin Sauce
(my favorite sauce for all dishes)
- This Vietnamese / Chinese sauce is dark, viscous, tastes very strong and sweet.
- It consists of fermented soybeans, garlic, vinegar, flour, sugar, salt, sesame oil, star anise and chili peppers.
- This sauce is not just a sauce, but is also suitable as a dip to spring rolls.
Ketjap Manis
- A sweetish syrupy soy sauce made with palm sugar and rice vinegar and tastes slightly malty.
- It is not as salty as conventional soy sauce, it can also be used as a pure dipsauce or for marinating and seasoning meat!
- When searing, make sure that it burns very easily due to the high sugar content in the pan.
Teriyaki sauce
- A Japanese sauce made from soy, ginger, rice wine, sake, honey and sugar.
- This sugary sauce is perfect for barbecuing because it makes the food to shine.
- Also very suitable for marinating fish and meat.
Wasabi paste
- An extremely hot horseradish paste (usually unfortunately only from mustard powder and green dye), unlike chili not on the tongue, but in the throat burns.
- In very small quantities it is served with soy sauce to sushi.
- But it is important to ensure that it is used only minimally due to the sharpness.
Sweet Chili Sauce
- This sauce can be used like ketchup.
- It is thick, sweetish, includes chilli, garlic and sugar.
- Since it is not spicy and tastes pleasant, it can be used for dipping fried and roasted chicken or for marinading.
- I also like it on cold cuts and cheese (and on sausage only !!)
- Nobody needs to be afraid of this sauce: it does not ruin the taste buds!
soy sauce
are to be differentiated according to origin:
- Japanese soy sauces are full-bodied, viscous and brown.
- Chinese soy sauce it is dark and bright
The dark sauce is thick and salty
The light sauce is more fluid and less spicy
