Know Your Chinese Sauces

Bean sauce

or “tau pan cheong” is made from black or yellow soya beans that have been fermented with flour and salt. Black bean sauce is the saltier of the two and much darker.

Hoisin sauce

is made from soya bean puree, sugar, flour, maltose, salt and spices. This sauce is used to marinate Chinese roast or barbecued pork. It has a sweet flavour rather than the more pungent taste of Western barbecue sauce.

Chilli paste

is prepared from chillies, soya bean extract, salt, sugar and flour.

Sesame oil

is the pure thick extract of roasted sesame seeds and used as a seasoning or condiment rather than as a cooking oil. It is typically added to soups and stir-fried dishes at the last minute to give a nutty fragrance.

Lemon sauce

includes lemon extract, corn syrup, sugar, rice vinegar, spices and cornflour and is very good for use in chicken and seafood dishes.

Oyster sauce

is thick, aromatic and salty. Made from oyster-extract and soy sauce, it is used both as a complete seasoning and a stir-fry ingredient.

Plum sauce

is made from Chinese plums, corn syrup, sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, chillies, spices and cornflour. It is useful for sweet and sour dishes and as a table sauce for barbecued meat or poultry and cold appetizers.

Soy sauce

is a salting agent made from fermented soya beans and comes in a number of varieties, including light, dark, very dark and thick and salt-reduced. Light soy sauce are used to season almost every Chinese dish. Dark soy sauce are caramelised and sweeter in flavour, so are used more as dips and colouring for soups and stews.

Bean curd sauce

is a thick sauce made from fermented bean curd and salt that is used in rich Chinese stews. It comes in two varieties, white or red. There is no difference in flavour between the two, but the red bean curd sauce will make some dishes look much richer.