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 cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...

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 In Chinese cuisine, dark soy sauce () is a dark-coloured soy sauce used mainly for adding colour and flavour to dishes. It is richer, slightly thicker, and less salty than other types of soy sauce. As the Chinese name () suggests, it is also ag ...

() – 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 thick ...

() *

Fermented bean curd Fermented tofu (also called fermented bean curd, white bean-curd cheese, tofu cheese, soy cheese or preserved tofu) is a Chinese condiment consisting of a form of processed, preserved tofu used in East Asian cuisine. The ingredients typically a ...

() – 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 of ...

() – 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. O ...

() *

Black vinegar Black vinegar is dark-colored vinegar used in Chinese cuisine. Types China One of the most important types of Chinese "black vinegar" is the Shanxi mature vinegar () from the central plains of Northern China, particularly in the Shanxi prov ...

() *

White vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

()

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 ...

– 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 word t ...

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 city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. 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 Maca ...

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

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

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, Laos, P ...

()

Hunan cuisine

Duo Jiao Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...

() – 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
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Jiangsu cuisine

* Rib sauce ()

Northern Chinese cuisines

Sesame Paste Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and Eas ...

() *

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 cuisi ...

() – 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 In French cuisine, the mother sauces (french: sauces mères), also known as in French, are a group of sauces upon which many other sauces"daughter sauces" or are based. Different sets and classifications of mother sauces have been proposed sinc ...

" 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 cuisin ...

() * Mala () *

Guaiwei Guaiwei (), literally "exotic taste" or "strange taste", is a seasoning mixture in Sichuan cuisine of China. Although it is popular in the Sichuan province, it is seldom used outside the region's cuisine, unlike yuxiang, another seasoning mixtu ...

()

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 word t ...

Chinese sauces

Cantonese cuisine

Hunan cuisine

Guizhou cuisine

Jiangsu cuisine

Northern Chinese cuisines

Sichuan cuisine

Notable exceptions

Taiwanese cuisine

See also

References