10 Popular Asian Sauces for Authentic Flavors: From Sambal to Mala Sauce

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Apart from being endowed with endlessly explorable cultural richness, Asia is also abundantly blessed with spices that form the basis of a diverse range of richly-flavored cuisines. In addition to being added to dishes, these spices also appear as the main components in various Asian seasonings.

Taste Atlas in the "Top 49 Asian Sauces" invites you to discover various popular spices and sauces in Asia. The list includes Indonesia's shrimp paste chili sauce and Sichuan sauce. Have you ever tried any of them?

1. Toum

Toum is one of the popular seasonings, especially in Lebanon and Syria. Made from crushed garlic with a dash of olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt, toum often serves as a spread or marinade for various shawarma dishes.

2. Curry Paste

Thailand has a variety of curry pastes, namely yellow, red, and green. Among the three, green curry paste is the spiciest, made from ingredients such as coconut milk, green chilies, lemongrass, and coriander roots.

3. Yuxiang

Although its name translates to 'fish fragrance', yuxiang does not contain seafood. This spice, which often enriches Sichuan dishes, is actually a fundamental component in various vegetarian and beef, pork, or chicken recipes. Its flavor tends to be savory and spicy.

4. Sichuan Sauce

One of the most popular Asian sauces, Sichuan sauce is made from various spices such as Sichuan pepper and star anise, as well as oil and chili. This sauce is both soupy and oily and is known for its spicy taste and numbing sensation.

5. Vietnamese Fish Sauce

When enjoying fried spring rolls, Vietnamese people commonly serve them with a dipping sauce called Nc chm or fish sauce. Vietnamese fish sauce is basically made from vinegar or lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and water. Other ingredients, such as shallots, garlic, and chili, are often added.

6. Shrimp Paste Chili Sauce

Shrimp paste chili sauce is another popular Asian sauce found in Indonesia and Malaysia. In addition to red chilies, there is another main ingredient that brings a unique flavor to this sauce, namely shrimp paste. Similar to Vietnamese fish sauce, shrimp paste chili sauce is often used as a condiment for various dishes, such as grilled chicken.

7. Panang Curry

There is a distinctive Thai dish named after Penang Island, Malaysia, called Panang Curry. This dish is made from a paste of the same name, which consists of red chilies, lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, shallots, garlic, and several other ingredients. This seasoning offers a rich flavor that combines savory and slightly sweet tastes.

8. Nam Phrik Phao

In addition to paste, Thailand also has a condiment similar to Indonesia's sambal called nam phrik phao. Serving as a sauce, dip, or spread, nam phrik phao is made from a combination of many ingredients, such as chili, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and tamarind. Additionally, this seasoning is often present in many authentic Thai dishes.

9. Pecal Sauce

Pecal sauce is a type of peanut sauce that serves as the main ingredient in a typical Javanese cuisine made from bean sprouts, long beans, and other selected vegetables of the same name, pecal or pecel. To make it, you need peanuts, sugar, tamarind juice, lesser galangal, shrimp paste, brown sugar, garlic, and kaffir lime leaves.

10. Zhoug

Zhoug concludes the list of the most popular seasonings and sauces in Asia. Made from green or red chilies, coriander, garlic, cumin, cardamom, and other spices, this must-have spicy seasoning is perfect as a dip or accompaniment for grilled meat.

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