Chinese Dipping Sauces
from http://chinesefood.about.com/
Popular appetizers like spring rolls and potstickers just wouldn’t taste the same without a flavorful dipping sauce. But did you know they’re also great for livening up a main dish? Below are descriptions of popular Chinese dips and suggestions for pairing them with appetizers or main dishes.
Note: Unless otherwise specified, do not add dips directly to the food, but serve in a small bowl or cruet at the table.
Chili Oil
Made from chili peppers, it only takes a few drops of hot chili oil to add spice to noodles or simple stir-fry dishes. When preparing at home, it’s easy to increase or reduce the level of heat by using hotter or milder chili peppers. Either way, use chili oil sparingly at first.
Serve with:
- Steamed dim sum dishes, particularly dumplings
- Stir-fries and Noodles (add a few drops to the dish or serve at the table)
- Try adding to other dipping sauces, such as soy ginger or a hoisin-based sauce
Soy Sauce-based Dipping Sauces
In Northern China, dumplings are commonly eaten with a dipping sauce made of vinegar and chili oil or paste, and occasionally with some soy sauce added in.
Soy Sauce, Vinegar, and Chili Oil
The classic dipping sauce combination for steamed dim sum dishes. Restaurants will often serve them individual bowls, allowing diners to mix the three condiments together according to their own tastes.
Soy Sauce and Ginger
The clean taste of ginger combines nicely with light soy sauce. For extra flavor, add a bit of rice vinegar and brown or white sugar.
Serve With:
- Dumplings such as Jiaozi (boiled dumplings), Siu Mai (cup shaped dumpling with soft and puffy filling), and Potstickers.
- Noodles, White Cooked Meat and other relatively bland dishes
Dumpling Dipping Sauce (w/ hot chili oil)
Ming Tsai's Dim Sum Dipper (w/ sambal, a chili garlic sauce)
Ginger Dipping Sauce
Sesame Dipping Sauce
Hoisin-Based Dipping Sauces
Hoisin’s main claim to fame comes from its being brushed on the Mandarin pancakes served with Peking Duck and Mu Shu Pork, two classic Beijing restaurant dishes. As a dipping sauce, hoisin-based sauces can be used in place of plum sauce. In fact, plum sauce gets its nickname, “duck sauce,” from the fact that westerners initially confused the two, believing plum sauce was served with Peking Duck.
Since hoisin sauce is quite thick, it is frequently thinned with a bit of water and/or sesame oil before serving. Other seasonings may include sugar, garlic, ginger and chili oil.
Serve with:
- Chinese pancakes, steamed buns
- Meat, particularly chicken and pork (use as a marinade for chicken thighs – the thighs are placed in a zipped-lock bag with the hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and other seasonings, refrigerated and marinated for 2 hours).
- Stir-fries, deep-fried food, grilled satays and noodles (Add during cooking or serve at the table)
Hot Mustard
A classic dip for egg rolls and spring rolls, hot mustard’s potent flavor goes well with most deep-fried appetizers. And just like less fiery mustard brands, it marries nicely with ketchup.
Serve with:
- Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls, Spareribs, Fried Wonton and other deep-fried appetizers
- Deep-fried dishes, particularly chicken and shrimp
Duck Sauce
Duck sauce (or orange sauce) is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at American Chinese restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as wonton strips, spring rolls, egg rolls, duck, chicken, fish, or with rice or noodles. It is often provided in single-serving packets along with soy sauce and Chinese hot mustard. It is named as such because it is a common accompaniment to Chinese-style duck dishes.
Serve with
- Fried Appetizers, including Egg Rolls and Chinese Spring Rolls
- Meat, particularly Chicken and Pork, and Fish
- Batter-coated Fried Food
- Fried Tofu
Plum Sauce (earlier Cantonese version of Duck Sauce)
Plum Sauce
Plums provide the sour flavor in this popular dip, with sugar and chilies adding sweetness and spice respectively.
Serve with:
- Fried appetizers such as Gow Gees, a type of Chinese dumpling
- Meat, especially pork. Plum sauce with Stir-fried Pork makes a great combination
Sweet and Sour Sauce
A Chinese favorite for centuries, sweet and sour sauce gets its unique flavor from marrying vinegar with sugar. Ketchup, tomato sauce, or Worcestershire sauce are frequently added for color. Another version uses pineapple. When preparing Sweet and Sour Sauce, feel free to adapt a recipe to your own tastes by adjusting the ratio of vinegar to sugar.
Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe
Sweet & Sour Pork/Chicken
Szechuan Salt and Pepper Mix
Not actually a sauce but a dry mix, the combination of roasted Szechwan peppercorns and salt makes a wonderful dip for fried appetizers. When preparing, feel free to experiment by mixing in other types of peppercorns.
Serve with:
- Fried appetizers
- Deep-fried or roasted dishes, particularly deep-fried chicken
- Fried Tofu
