What are the essential sauces in Asian cooking?

There's the classics: black vinegar, soy sauce, Chinese five spice. The veterans: fish sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, chili oil. The remixes: char siu sauce, sriracha, teriyaki. Any one bite takes you through the worlds of salty, sweet, nutty, umami, tangy, spicy.

What are the 5 basic sauces?

The five mother sauces are hollandaise, tomato (sauce tomat), bechamel, Espagnole, and veloute . French chef Auguste Escoffier identified the five mother sauces, forever associating them with French cuisine.

How many Asian sauces are there?

There are many Asian sauces from many different cultures, this list outlines the differences between 9 different sauces from East Asian cuisines including light soy, dark soy, shoyu, kecap manis, oyster sauce, fish sauce and more.

What are the 5 key Flavours in Chinese cooking?

The Chinese categorise the taste of food into five flavours: sweet, bitter, sour, spicy and salty . Chinese medicine regards that eating certain flavours can help the function of the five organs to balance your health, as well as treat disease and recover from illness.

What gives Chinese food its distinctive taste?

A blend of cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel and star anise , these five spices give the sour, bitter, pungent, sweet and salty flavors found in Chinese cooking. This spice works extremely well with meats and in marinades.

What do they put in Chinese food to make it taste better?

MSG, or monosodium glutamate , is a flavor-enhancing food additive used in Asian cooking, fast foods, and commercially packaged food products.

What is the most basic and important seasoning for Chinese food?

Green onions, ginger, and garlic are the three most common Chinese herbs and spices, which are commonly used together to cook all kinds of vegetables and meat, especially in stir fry. Also known as scallions, green onions can also be substituted with spring onions and similar herbs.

What is the mother sauce of Chinese?

While Doubanjiang can be considered the "mother sauce" of Sichuan cuisine, there are some prominent flavors in modern Sichuan cooking that are often referenced as sauces but are composed of other ingredients and sauces during cooking. These include: Yuxiang (魚香) Mala (麻辣)

Which oil is best for Chinese cooking?

cooking methods are common in Asian cuisines, peanut oil is a popular choice. color, neutral flavor, and is generally used for cooking. Toasted sesame seed oil has a darker color, a stronger aroma, and a distinctively nutty flavor. It's most often used as a seasoning or condiment.

What are the 5 basic flavors in East Asian cuisine?

The Chinese categorise the taste of food into five flavours: sweet, bitter, sour, spicy and salty . Chinese medicine regards that eating certain flavours can help the function of the five organs to balance your health, as well as treat disease and recover from illness.

What are the 4 core sauces?

To the original four sauces ( Velouté, Béchamel, Allemande, and Espagnole ) enshrined by his predecessor, royal chef Marie-Antoine Carême a century earlier, Escoffier added Hollandaise and Sauce Tomate, and reclassified Allemande. (Mayonnaise, one of his essential cold sauces, is now considered the sixth mother.)

What is a common sauce found in Southeast Asian cuisine?

Southeast Asians generally use fish sauce as a cooking sauce. However, there is a sweet and sour version of this sauce which is used more commonly as a dipping sauce.

Essential Sauces for Asian Cooking | Essential Chinese sauces (2024)

Over the years we’ve created a specialised sauce range designed for cooking classic Chinese dishes and fusion recipes from scratch. Based on select ingredient pastes and oils, our 8 essential sauces cover everything from black bean to teriyaki flavours, plus they’re all suitable for vegans.

Char Siu Sauce

Considered by many as the best, our Char Siu Sauce is the secret to the authentic Chinese barbeque pork A.K.A “Char Siu.” With its honey-sweet flavour, it’s a perfect marinade for meat that’s going to be barbequed, grilled or roasted. Ideal for summer suppers, we love using it in our ‘Grilled Lamb Skewers in Char Siu Sauce’ recipe.

Hoisin Sauce

Made from a balanced blend of spices and ground soybeans, Hoisin Sauce is a sweet-savoury ingredient commonly used in Asian food. Our favourite way to champion this sauce is in our ‘Plum & Ginger Pork Belly’ recipe – they are packed full of flavour, completely irresistible and fun to eat… what’s not to love?! Find out all about this versatile sauce in our Hoisin Sauce feature blog.

Teriyaki Sauce

Teriyaki Sauce has a sweet and tangy flavour which delivers a big hit of salty umami thanks to the soy sauce base. Our Teriyaki Sauce has a rich tasting blend of quality soy sauce and good selection of spices. It's afuss-free option when recreating your favourite Teriyaki dishes from Japanese restaurants,and it tastes even better in our ‘Baked Salmon Parcels’ recipe.

Chu Hou Paste

Chu Hou Paste is made with a special blend of soybean, sesame paste, spices and fermented soybean curd. It’s a savoury pasteand is primarily used in Cantonese-style braised dishes such as Chu Hou Braised Beef but can also be used in fusion recipes such as vegetable crock pots or roasted lamb.

Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Based on a blend of black beans and minced garlic paste, our Black Bean Garlic Sauce has a truly authentic Chinese flavour profile, allowing you to cook many restaurant-quality black bean based recipes at home. One of our go-to dishes to cook up for friends and family is the renowned ‘Black Bean Chicken’.

Plum Sauce

With spices such asginger and chilli peppers, our Plum Sauce is a perfect balance of fruity sweet and savoury flavours. Plum sauce can be used in such a range of ways from dipping sauces, to roast duck and even with finger foods. It’s also used as a glaze for roast meats, cooking sauce in stir fries, dressings for salads, and even as an ingredient for desserts… such as our juicy ‘Pineapple Skewers’. If you’re feeling creative, why not try it in our latest drink recipe 'Apple Punch'.

Soy Bean Sauce

Made from naturally fermented whole soybeans, our Soy Bean Sauce is an aromatic savoury sauce. Full of complex flavours, it’s a versatile seasoning which enhances flavours of most dishes. Try our ‘Sweet Soy Silky Aubergines’ for a delicious plant-based dish.

Black Pepper Sauce

Our ready-to-use Black Pepper Sauce is a savoury sauce made with aromatic black pepper and garlic.Packing a punch of flavour, it’s ideal to use in stir fries and steamed dishes.

We’re proud of our select range of sauces that are essential in any classic Chinese and fusioncooking. Which one is your favourite? If there is one you haven’t tried, browse our range of classic ingredient saucesand find out where to buy them.