Shrimp Paste known as Kapi in Thailand, Terasi in Indonesia, Belacan in Malaysia and Hom Ha in China is an integral and indispensable ingredient in S.E. Asian cooking. Shrimp Paste has a unique pungent aroma, which many people find distasteful but when used in cooking this smell dissipates completely and adds a rich flavour to food. The smell of Shrimp Paste can vary enormously between the different brands but none can be described as pleasant.

In Thailand, no table is complete without a small bowl of Prik Nam Pla. This Thai Sauce is to Thailand what Ketchup is to the US or Soy Sauce is to Japan. Prik Nam Pla is a Thai sauce that has just 2 ingredients, Fish Sauce and small hot chillies known as Prik Kee Noo. [Read More...]

Nam Pla or Thai Fish Sauce is a seasoning sauce widely used in Thai and other Asian cuisines. Thai Fish Sauce is an absolutely indispensable ingredient in Thai cooking and is used instead of salt. Thai Fish Sauce is a brown, highly aromatic sauce made from fresh fish, mostly Anchovy but can be any fish. [Read More...]

Oyster Sauce was first created in China in 1888 and is made, unsurprisingly, with oysters. However, there is a vegetarian Oyster Sauce that is made with mushrooms, usually Oyster Mushrooms. Oyster Sauce is a dark brown viscous sauce that is used for flavouring in many Asian dishes and frequently used in stir fries. This type of flavour is described as Umami and is considered as the 5th flavour.

Sambal Oelek is a red chili sauce from Indonesia. Sambal Oelek can be made simply with just red chillies, sugar and salt but our Sambal Oelek red chili sauce recipe contains other ingredients to make a rich spicy sauce. Sambal is an Indonesian word for anything containing a large amount of chillies. When choosing the type of Chili to use in this recipe remember that generally speaking, the smaller the chili, the hotter it will be. Sambal Oelek is meant to be hot so try not to be too conservative with the Chillies.

Black Bean Sauce, one of the best known Chinese sauces, is made with fermented Chinese Black Beans. This Black Bean Sauce Recipe makes a thick Black Bean paste which is then liquidized to form a thinner sauce. It is important to soak the Black Beans in water for about 15 minutes and thoroughly rinse and drain them before using or the Black Bean sauce will be too salty.

Authentic Japanese Teriyaki Sauce is so simple to make. Our Teriyaki Sauce recipe has just 3 ingredients. Some Teriyaki Sauce purchased commercially includes other ingredients but that is not the Authentic Japanese recipe. The most important ingredient is Mirin which is a Japanese sweet white wine. The Mirin helps give the food an attractive lustre. If you cannot find Mirin you may substitute Sake with a little extra sugar or honey.