Chinese cuisine is one of the most loved cuisines in the world. It uses several different sauces, vinegar, and wines developed from a range of different ingredients to create each of the many distinct flavors in Chinese food.
Now, while it can become a little hard to keep the knowledge and track of the many sauces used in Chinese cooking, here is a quick guide to learn about the types of Chinese sauces, the flavors provided by them, and the ways to use them to try out different dishes.
Types of Chinese sauces
Chinese cooking features an array of different sauces which have their flavor and significance in the recipe of a dish. However, since it’s difficult to know about all the sauces and their variants in terms of richness, here are the five most commonly used sauces in China.
1. Soya Sauce
Soya sauce is one of the most widely used sauces in Chinese cooking. There is barely any Chinese dish that doesn’t involve the use of soya sauce. The key ingredients of soya sauce are soya beans, wheat, and wheat bran.
Soya sauce has a slightly salty flavor and is bright red or brown. There are further three different types of soya sauce, namely, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, and soya sauce paste.
2. Sichuan Sauce
Sichuan sauce is one of the most authentic sauces in Chinese cooking. It has extremely bold flavors because of the ingredients being garlic, chili peppers, and the authentic Sichuan spice.
Sichuan sauce with its hot flavor can add a spicy twist to any dish.
3. Oyster Sauce
Oyster sauce is made from oyster extract. However, it doesn’t taste like fish at all. It is very dark brown, almost black in color, and tastes sweet and salty. Oyster sauce is thick in consistency and used extensively in Chinese cooking, especially when cooking seafood.
4. Hoisin Sauce
Hoisin sauce is reddish-brown in color and tastes sweet and spicy. It is generally created from soybeans, garlic, and Chinese spices.
5. Chili Bean Sauce
Chili bean sauce is a uniquely blended paste of soybeans, salted chili peppers, and broad bean pastes. It is very spicy, salty, and savory in flavor. It is also used as dips to compliment some of the Chinese dishes.
How to use different types of Chinese sauces
Since each Chinese sauce is different in flavors and colors, therefore, they are used as dips, sauces, pastes, and condiments for various requirements in plenty of Chinese dishes. For example:
Soya Sauce
Soya sauce is used as a sauce in meat and vegetables and for marination. Now, while light soya sauce is used for the purpose of stir-frying, dark soya sauce is used to add color to dishes like noodles.
Sichuan Sauce
Sichuan sauce is employed in some ways in Chinese cooking for its versatile nature. It is used to stir-fry vegetables and meat. Also, it can be used as a dip with snacks. Furthermore, it is used for the marination of chicken and tofu.
Oyster Sauce
Oyster sauce is also used for stir-frying. But mostly, it is used directly to drizzle on vegetables, as a sauce on its own, or mixed with other sauces.
Hoisin Sauce
Hoisin sauce is a great ingredient to add color to noodle dishes. Also, it is used as a dip for Chinese snacks such as spring rolls and egg rolls.
Chili Bean Sauce
Chili bean sauce is another way of creating stir-fried recipes.
Final Thoughts
So let your imagination run as fast as it can. Put your hands on various ingredients and experiment with different Chinese sauces. Hence, create remarkable mouth-watering dishes with an authentic or regional touch.
