Asian Sauces

[Rinshinomori]

My refrigerator is also packed to the max Duonyte. My husband is afraid to open sometimes. I have so many sauces it is out of hand. Not only store bought ones, but I make lots of homemade ones too. What is probably need is 3 large sized refrigerators and 2-3 medium sized freezers. And that's for two people hahahaha

[Leggy Peggy]

Rinshinomori wrote:
My refrigerator is also packed to the max Duonyte. My husband is afraid to open sometimes. I have so many sauces it is out of hand. Not only store bought ones, but I make lots of homemade ones too. What is probably need is 3 large sized refrigerators and 2-3 medium sized freezers. And that's for two people hahahaha

What she said, but at my house too!

[Rinshinomori]

Peggy, we need help

Stella, my husband is much like you and do not care for any hot foods. It's a challenge for me sometimes trying to accommodate his taste. But, the hot foods is more than liking or not liking, I think it affects him physically. I used to eat much more spicy/hot foods when I was younger, now my taste has tempered somewhat too. Plus I have GERDS.

[Leggy Peggy]

Poor John and I both love hot/spicy food.
Not blow-your-head-off stuff, but a decent kick.
I like the flavour to come through too.

And yep, Nona, we need condiment counselling!

[duonyte]

Mr Grumpy and I also like spicy foods. He steals the sriracha out of the kitchen and adds it to everything, even things that really are not intended to be spicy. I found some hot sauce at the Mexican market that is quite a bit cheaper but quite good, so I load up on it when it's on sale....

I've got a large refrigerator and a freezer for just the two of us. I am on a mission to really dig through that freezer and use up what I hve.....

[Stella Mae]

This month it's my turn to host the bible study at my house. It is the hostess's job to provide a nice meal after wards. Last week, one of the couples -- who is Chinese -- brought their own hot sauce with them, the chili bean sauce like is pictured on the first page of this thread. This couple declare this sauce is not hot, but I find it too hot for me. I definitely have cat's tongue!

Anyway, I thought it was funny that this cute couple would bring a jar of hot sauce with them. They haven't been in this country long enough to appreciate Western food. They doused the lasagna in this sauce and I must admit, it might have been tasty but I like the taste of food and I really don't appreciate bearing the heat. (That goes for the Mexican food in my part of the country, too!)

The Chinese lady is called Le Jian. She's pregnant and due any day, so she said she couldn't eat very much because her stomach was too restricted. She ate two big servings of the lasagna, two servings of the assorted fruits, one large roll with butter, a piece of cake and several small Kolachi pastries I had set aside to take to the massage parlor near my house. Le Jian spied the box of pastries and said, "May I have one?" She took three or four.

I thought this was so funny, because I remember when I was expecting and I ate everything in sight! But I was equally amused that they'd bring their own hot sauce.

[dianegrapegrower]

When my son started college in upstate New York, he missed the spicy foods common where we live in So. Cal. So he got a Big bottle of "rooster sauce" (Sriracha) and took it to meals in the cafeteria. Squirted it on everything to make it more palatable. (And yes, we have a fair number of sauces in our fridge too - maybe there's a 12 step program for folks like us...)

D

[Leggy Peggy]

Good story Stella Mae.

Diane, would that 12-step program be to increase or decrease hot intake!

[Rinshinomori]

Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (Thailand) - I am making spring rolls tonight in celebration of Okinawan food. Okinawan food for Thai sauce you may wonder but it is the first Thai food I've ever tasted when I lived on Okinawa back in early 1970's. I just did not know that it was a Thai sweet chili sauce the most famous spring roll place on Okinawa was using. Their cooks were mostly from Taiwan or Hong Kong and I assumed it was Chinese origin.

I have a feeling this is the sauce most people are requesting in forums when asking about the sweetish red sauce used in Chinese restaurants. It does taste a little like plum sauce, but it is spicier.

This sauce is indeed sweetish but with a bite and goes very well with spring rolls and egg rolls. The color is red and sauce is viscous perfect for dipping. This sauce also goes well with any deep fried foods. There are lots of brands available if you are near Asian markets. Look for sweet chili sauce like this:

This was our dinner on Easter - spring rolls stuffed with ham and shrimp with Thai sweet chili sauce

[Leggy Peggy]

Oh yum! I adore sweet chilli sauce. Poor John and I are driving across Australia and it is one condiment I brought.

[Rinshinomori]

Sambal Oelek is a Indonesian chili paste made from ground red chili. It is often made with only chili or small amount of other ingredients such as vinegar and salt. Unlike Korean kochujang which has complex taste from fermented soy beans and rice, sambal oelek is more of pure chili taste.

Strange but I only see one company selling sambal oelek in the US. The company is Huy Fong Foods. Hmmmm - very strange. They also sell the more popular Srirachi sauce as well.



Sambal oelek is not so much sauce as a taste enhancer used in cooking. It can be used in curries or in development of other sauces such as dipping sauces and barbecue sauces for grilling. It adds heat without interfering with other tastes. Here is curry using sambal oelek in small amount:

[Leggy Peggy]

We love sambal oelek. Lots of brands are available, but that's probably because we are so close to Indonesia.

[Rinshinomori]

I searched here for sambal oelek recipes and came up with these:

Sambal Oelek - Condiment
Sambal Oelek
Hot Pepper Paste Like Sambal Oelek
Homemade Sambal Oelek
Sambal Oelek

Of these, the newest one (top) is very close to the pure sambal oelek and it still has not been reviewed yet.

And just found close to 300 recipes here on food.com which use sambal oelek in the recipes. I need to get cooking different foods again.

[Leggy Peggy]

I need to try more variety too. We'll be home from our travels in a few days, so look out!

[Rinshinomori]

I've tried my hand with homemade tonkatsu sauce using several recipes in the past and although ok, I was not completely satisfied and never attempted to make it better only because it's so easy for me to purchase the commercial sauces near me. I've even searched Japanese web sites with similar results. Many Japanese are requesting to make homemade tonkatsu sauce too but most find the recipes posted to be mostly unsatisfactory.

That said, I have not tried these recipes posted here on food.com. I looked through them and these seem to be very similar to those posted in Japanese sites as well. Many tonkatsu (deep fried foods only) restaurants in Japan make their own tonkatsu sauce and I thought for sure there may be something really good out there, but nothing. But, if you cannot get a hand on store bought tonkatsu sauce then certainly having something close is better than not having anything.

One thing about tonkatsu sauce is that it should not be sour ie vinegar taste and instead it should be sweeter. Also the spices should only be subtle and not be too prominent like one I made from one the books in the past. That one had too pronounced taste of cloves coming through.

Here are tonkatsu sauces here and perhaps you would like to make one yourself if you are not able to purchase one readily. If you already know what it supposed to taste like, perhaps you can make adjustments and post your own creations here on food.com

Crisp Panko Chicken Cutlets w/Tonkatsu Sauce,
Korroke with Tonkatsu Sauce (Japanese Potato Croquettes with Eas,
Tonkatsu Sauce,
Sliders With Caramelized Onions, Tonkatsu Sauce, and Quail Egg,
Tonkatsu Sauce,
Pork Cutlets Tonkatsu