This is a list of notable Chinese sauces, encompassing sauces that originated in China or are widely used as cooking ingredients or condiments in Chinese cuisines.

Chinese sauces

These sauces are commonly used as ingredients for dishes in many Chinese cuisines. There may also be regional variations on the sauces, such as seasoned soy sauce or fermented bean curd. * Light soy sauce () – a lighter-colored salty-flavored sauce used for seasoning and not as a dipping sauce * Dark soy sauce () – a darker-colored sauce used for color *Seasoned soy sauce – usually light soy sauce seasoned with herbs, spices, sugar, or other sauces *

Sweet bean sauce Tianmian sauce (), also known as sweet bean sauce, sweet flour sauce or sweet wheat paste, is a thick, smooth, dark brown or black paste with either a mild, savory or sweet flavor. It is commonly used in Northern Chinese cuisine, Northeastern ...

() – a thick savory paste *

Oyster sauce Oyster sauce describes a number of sauces made by cooking oysters. The most common in modern use is a viscous dark brown condiment made from oyster extracts,The Times, 22 January 1981; ''Cook Accidentally on purpose'' sugar, salt and water thic ...

() * Fermented bean curd () – usually cubes of tofu, and sometimes other spices and seasonings, which are used as a condiment or marinade along with some of the brine *

Douchi ''Douchi'' () or ''tochi'' (also known as fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans (), salted black beans, salty black beans, or just black beans) is a type of fermented and salted black soybean most popular in the cuisine o ...

() – fermented black beans, usually in a brine *

Cooking wine The classification of wine is based on various criteria including place of origin or appellation, vinification method and style, sweetness and vintage,J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 752 & 753 Oxford University ...

() *

Sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. ...

() * Black vinegar () * White vinegar ()

Cantonese cuisine

* Haixian sauce (, Cantonese: Hoisin) *

XO sauce XO sauce is a spicy seafood sauce from Hong Kong with an umami flavour. It is commonly used in southern Chinese regions such as Guangdong. History Developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, XO sauce is made of roughly-chopped dr ...

– a spicy

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

that originated from

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. It is commonly used in

Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Macau.H ...

* Shao Kao sauce (, Cantonese: Siu Haau) – a thick, savory, slightly spicy BBQ sauce generally known as the primary barbecue sauce used within Chinese and

. *

Shacha sauce Shacha sauce (; also spelled sa cha sauce) is a savory, slightly spicy Chinese condiment used in Teochew, Fujian, and Taiwanese cuisines. It is made from soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chilies, Chinese brill, and dried shrimp. It is also sometim ...

() – A sauce or paste that is used as a base for soups, hotpot, as a rub, stir fry seasoning and as a component for dipping sauces. * Cha Shao sauce (, Cantonese: Char Siu) *

Plum sauce Plum sauce is a viscous, light-brown sweet and sour condiment. It is used in Cantonese cuisine as a dip for deep-fried dishes, such as spring rolls, noodles, and deep-fried chicken balls as well as for roast duck. It is made from sweet plums or ...

() *

Fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao ...

()

Hunan cuisine

* Duo Jiao () – chopped chilis pickled in a sour brine *

Yongfeng chili sauce Yongfeng chili sauce () or Yongfeng hot sauce is a traditional product made at Yongfeng, Shuangfeng County, Hunan, China. It is recognized by China as a Geographical Indication Product. Yongfeng chili sauce is made of Yongfeng chili, polished gl ...

() - finely chopped chilis that are mixed with flour and bean powder and fermented

Guizhou cuisine

* Ci Ba La () * Zao La () *Lao Guo La (,

Lao Gan Ma Lao Gan Ma (; also called Laoganma) or Old Godmother is a brand of chili sauces made in China.

is a brand of Guizhou Lao Guo La

chili sauce Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces ...

s.Spice cream: Try a Lao Gan Ma chili sauce sundae｜Society｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
The illiterate woman behind the Laoganma chili sauce excelene salsaempire｜Economy｜People｜WantChinaTimes.com
)

Jiangsu cuisine

* Rib sauce ()

Northern Chinese cuisines

* Sesame Paste () *

Soy bean Paste Fermented bean paste is a category of fermented foods typically made from ground soybeans, which are indigenous to the cuisines of East, South and Southeast Asia. In some cases, such as the production of ''miso'', other varieties of beans, such a ...

Yellow bean paste Yellow soybean paste is a fermented paste made from yellow soybeans, salt, and water. Yellow soybean paste is produced in China and is used primarily in Beijing cuisine and other cuisines of northern China. Etymology In Chinese, the full na ...

()

Sichuan cuisine

Doubanjiang Doubanjiang (, pinyin: ''dòubànjiàng'', IPA: ), also known as douban, toban-djan, broad bean chili sauce, or fermented chili bean paste, is a hot and savoury Chinese bean paste made from fermented broad beans, chili peppers, soybeans, salt ...

() – a mix of fermented beans, chilis, salt, and flour used for flavor and color *

Chili oil Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with chili peppers. Different types of oil and hot peppers are used, and other components may also be included. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, Southeast Asian cuis ...

() – usually made by pouring hot oil that's been seasoned with spices onto ground chili flakes and left to steep

Notable exceptions

While

can be considered the " mother sauce" of Sichuan cuisine, there are some prominent flavors in modern Sichuan cooking that are often referenced as sauces but are composed of other ingredients and sauces during cooking. These include: *

Yuxiang Yuxiang () is a famous seasoning mixture in Chinese cuisine, and also refers to the resulting sauce in which meat or vegetables are cooked. It is said to have originated in Sichuan cuisine, and has since spread to other regional Chinese cuisines ...

() *

Mala Mala may refer to: Comics * Mala (Amazon), an Amazon from Wonder Woman's side of the DC Universe * Mala (Kryptonian), a villain from Superman's corner of the DC Universe Films and television * ''Mala'' (1941 film), a Bollywood drama film * , ...

() * Guaiwei ()

Taiwanese cuisine

* Soy sauce paste

References

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Sauces In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

Chinese

Chinese sauces

Cantonese cuisine

Hunan cuisine

Guizhou cuisine

Jiangsu cuisine

Northern Chinese cuisines

Sichuan cuisine

Notable exceptions

Taiwanese cuisine

See also

References