5 Asian Condiments You Need To Have in Your Pantry

For authentic Asian dishes, stock your pantry with these flavor-packed condiments:

Thick and pungent, hoisin sauce is a dark, sweet-salty condiment that's commonly used as a dipping sauce, a glaze for barbecued meats, and a flavoring for stir-fries. made from soybeans, red chilies, garlic, and vinegar, it's often used as a dipping sauce for peking duck and as a seasoning for Vietnamese pho.

Originating from Indonesia, Kecap Manis or sweet soy sauce is a thick, syrupy soy sauce sweetened with palm sugar. It's often added to classic Indonesian dishes like satay and nasi goreng.

Oyster sauce is a thick, dark brown condiment composed of sugar, salt, water, oyster essence or extract, and a thickener like cornstarch. Popular in Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese cooking, it is used as a flavoring for meats, vegetables, and noodle stir-fries such as the classics Beef with Broccoli and Chicken with Cashew Nuts.

Composed of hoisin sauce, honey, dark soy sauce, Chinese wine, and five-spice powder, Char Siu sauce is a ready-made marinade for char siu, a popular Chinese roasted pork dish. Use this condiment to marinate pork and chicken or as a dip for deep-fried meats.

Widely used in Asian cuisine, Chili-garlic sauce is a blend of coarsely ground chilies, garlic, vinegar, and salt. It's added to soups, noodle dishes, and stir-fries to give them a touch of heat. It's also mixed with soy sauce to make a dip for dumplings and fried spring rolls.

See Also

Sweet Labuyo Chili Sauce Recipe

Aug 17, 2012

Text originally appeared in the July 2014 issue of Yummy magazine. Photography by Patrick Martires