Currently, Asian cuisine is very popular, and Asian sauces suitable for a large number of dishes acquire special love among housewives. There are a huge number of sauces recipes from Asia, but today we have selected for you the most popular, delicious and quick to prepare. Without much effort, you can treat your household to ordinary dishes with an updated taste.
Sweet and Sour Option
Recipes of sweet and sour Asian sauces appeared in China back in 1644, during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. As you know, most of the Chinese diet at that time was fresh fish. To discourage the unpleasant aftertaste and smell of tina, various combinations of spices and sauces were used. Centuries later, sweet and sour sauce began to be used not only for fish, but also in the preparation of meat dishes.
Essential Ingredients
Most recipes for Asian sweet and sour sauce contain vinegar, sugar, and ginger in the list of ingredients. Sometimes vinegar can be of several types. Of course, not one Asian recipe is complete without soy sauce. If you decide to prepare such a dressing for meat or fish, then be sure to take care of acquiring high-quality, tasty soy sauce.
So, let's move on to the list of products that will be required for cooking:
- two tablespoons (tablespoons) of apple or wine vinegar;
- one and a half tablespoons of granulated sugar;
- four tablespoons of table salt;
- one teaspoon of cornmeal;
- one spoon (tablespoon) of good tomato paste;
- three tablespoons (tablespoons) of orange juice;
- one spoon (tablespoon) of soy sauce.
Description of the cooking process
To make this Asian sauce, you need a small saucepan. It will need to pour orange juice, add vinegar and soy sauce, as well as tomato paste mixed with granulated sugar and salt. In a separate container, you need to mix the specified amount of cornmeal and four tablespoons of water. After breaking all the lumps, add the flour to the remaining ingredients in the pan. We put the dishes on a slow fire. We are waiting for the mass to boil.
Tip. If you like sweet and sour Asian sauce with a brighter flavor, we recommend adding one teaspoon of grated ginger root during cooking.
When the sauce boils, cook it for two minutes and turn off the heat. The prepared sauce is perfect for a side dish (rice, buckwheat, mashed potatoes), meat or fish dish.
Spicy sauce
For those who are looking for unusual tastes and prefer more spicy and spicy sauces of Asian cuisine, we suggest preparing a sauce that is called hellish or hellish mix among housewives. Fresh chili peppers give it a poignancy, while fruit and ginger give a bright taste.
Product List
As in the previous version, this Asian sauce is characterized by the use of vinegar and ginger in the recipe. The severity of this dressing is so good that it can be equated with the most popular spicy sauces of the Tabasco type. But there are much more flavoring accents and bright notes.
To prepare the "infernal mixture" you need to take:
- 45 g of grated ginger root;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- two tablespoons of granulated sugar;
- two fresh tangerines;
- 120 g of fresh chili peppers;
- 65 ml of soy sauce;
- one spoon (tea) of salt;
- 40 ml of wine vinegar (can be replaced with apple cider);
- 65 ml of sunflower oil.
How to make Asian sauce
The first stage is the preliminary preparation of all the ingredients. Hot chili peppers must be cut into small pieces. What to do with seeds that are distinguished by special acuity - you decide. If there is a love for spicy, then you can cut the pepper in the sauce directly with the seeds. If you want to slightly remove the sharpness and enjoy the tastes and other ingredients, then you should not add seeds.
Peel tangerines. White partitions are not used in cooking. We only need the flesh. Cut segments from tangerines. Put the tangerine slices and pepper in a blender. There we add peeled garlic and ginger, cut into small cubes. For piquancy, you can add one small onion. To ensure that all products are used to the maximum, squeeze the juice from the remains of tangerines and also add to the blender. Grind the mass, turning all the products into pulp.
Tip. To remove the sharpness of chili peppers from a blender so that it is not transferred to other products, including sweet sauces, wash the bowl with milk, and then with warm water and soap.
Continue cooking. We transfer the mass from the blender into a small pan or ladle. We put on a slow fire. Stirring, add butter, sugar, soy sauce, salt and vinegar. Cook for 10-12 minutes. After large bubbles appeared on the surface and the mass began to thicken, bake for another five minutes.
You can use such Asian sauce for salad, meat, served with barbecue or smoked fish. Note that this spicy sauce is perfectly stored. You can put it in a glass container, close it tightly with a lid and send it to the refrigerator.
Fish sauce
Quite often, in recipes of Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian cuisines, fish sauce is found. It can be served with main courses or used during the preparation of soups. Initially, Asian fish sauce was prepared right on the seashore. Fishermen used the remnants of unsold fish for the day, cooking them in a large cast-iron tub. Then the sauce had to be infused. As a rule, it took one to three years. The product that was fermented for more than three years was considered the most delicious and high-quality. Fresh cucumbers, capers, mushrooms and chopped eggs were added to the prepared fish sauce.
Ingredients
We must say right away that today they use small, but the freshest sea fish for cooking. There will be no more special, expensive or difficult-to-find products in the recipe:
- 1.2 kg of fish;
- 55 ml of cucumber pickle;
- 450 ml of water;
- one spoon (tablespoon) of grated lemon peel;
- three tablespoons of table salt;
- 4 cloves of garlic;
- three bay leaves;
- two tablespoons (tablespoons) of soy sauce;
- three spoons (teaspoons) of ground black pepper.
Recipe Description
The fish that is used in cooking needs only a good soul. After washing it does not need to be gutted or cleaned. Just cut the fish into small cubes and put it in a jar. Add the same water and the spices listed in the list of ingredients. Close the lid. Store the container at room temperature for 4-6 days. Then we put the jar in the refrigerator and leave it there for another three weeks. After this period, the contents of the banks are filtered through a colander. The resulting sauce is ready to use.
Sweet Meat Sauce
If you are a lover of grilled meat, we advise you not to miss the recipe for this Asian sweet sauce. It is perfect for kebabs or grilled chicken. Experienced housewives say that the store option does not compare with this homemade sweet sauce under any pretext. He is quick to prepare, and the price will be much cheaper.
What do you need for cooking
The list of products is as simple and accessible as the recipe itself. To make a sweet meat sauce, you need to take:
- 25 g of soy sauce;
- 35 g of high-quality tomato paste or delicious home-made ketchup;
- two tablespoons of granulated sugar;
- as much apple cider vinegar.
How to cook
To prepare a sweet sauce for grilled chicken, you need to take a small pan in which we place sugar, vinegar. Mix these two ingredients until vinegar helps sugar dissolve. When the liquid is well mixed, send the stewpan to the fire. Turn on the weak gas. Bring the mass to a state of syrup. Turn off the fire. Let the syrup cool slightly. Add soy sauce to the chilled syrup, put the stewpan on the fire again and cook for five minutes.
Next, tomato paste is added. Counting down five minutes again. Do not forget to stir constantly so that the sauce does not burn. Turn off the gas, pour the sauce into the saucepan. Great sweet sauce ready. It can be served not only with meat. It goes well with nuggets, french fries and even ordinary toasted bread.
The secrets of cooking Asian sauces
Any dishes of Asian cuisine are distinguished by unusual taste nuances. The basis of most recipes is soy sauce and several types of vinegar. But you can never send to the background spices, which are an important element of any Asian dish, sauces are no exception. For example, in Asia, fresh coriander is often added to sauces. In Europe, seeds are used, and in Asia it is a fresh product. This seasoning has a pleasant citrus-ginger aroma. If you are preparing an Asian sauce for fish or seafood, then coriander must be in it.
The second secret is chili peppers. Perhaps, not a single Asian dish can do without it. The amount of pungency depends on the particular variety. Hot peppers are often used in Asia for making sauces for vegetables or rice.
Do not forget about greens. Thai basil, as well as lemon grass (lemongrass) are very often used for making sauces. Basil gives the sauce a sweet anise flavor with hints of mint and lime. It can be put in sauces served with rice salad or fish. Lemongrass is most often added when preparing a sauce for chicken or mussels, fish.