Sauces and Condiments
This one is dedicated to the sauces that takes an average meal to a great one.
The Sauces Worth Having in Your Fridge Right Now
A good sauce can rescue an average meal, elevate a great one, and get dinner on the table in half the time. These are the ones I actually reach for — not the ones gathering dust at the back of the cupboard.
- Gochujang: Fermented Korean chilli paste. Sweet, spicy, deeply savoury. The backbone of so many Korean dishes and secretly brilliant stirred into non-Korean things too. Full guide here.
- Doenjang: Korean fermented soybean paste — think miso's earthier, more pungent cousin. Used in soups, marinades, and dipping sauces. A little goes a long way.
- Ganjang (soy sauce): Korean soy sauce is slightly less salty and a touch more complex than Japanese soy. Worth getting both — they're not interchangeable in every dish.
- Sesame oil: Finishing oil, not cooking oil. Drizzle over dishes at the end. The toasted kind from Asian supermarkets has a completely different (better) flavour than the pale stuff in supermarkets.
- Rice vinegar: Mild and slightly sweet. Used in dressings, marinades, and to balance rich sauces. Much gentler than white wine vinegar.
- Oyster sauce: Thick, glossy, savoury-sweet. A spoonful adds depth to stir-fries, noodles, and marinades in a way that's hard to replicate.
The Sauces You Can Make in Five Minutes
These are the formulas I come back to constantly. Each one takes less than five minutes and covers a wide range of dishes.
All-purpose Korean dipping sauce: 2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp rice vinegar + 1 tsp sesame oil + 1 tsp gochugaru (or chilli flakes) + 1 tsp sesame seeds + 1 spring onion, sliced. Works with dumplings, pancakes, tofu, grilled meat.
Gochujang glaze: 1 tbsp gochujang + 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp sesame oil + 1 tsp honey + 1 tsp rice vinegar. Toss with cooked protein or vegetables, or use as a marinade overnight.
Peanut sauce: 2 tbsp peanut butter + 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp lime juice + 1 tsp sesame oil + 1 tsp honey + hot water to loosen. Goes with noodles, salads, chicken skewers, spring rolls.
Quick ponzu: 3 tbsp soy sauce + 2 tbsp lemon or lime juice + 1 tsp rice vinegar + a little mirin if you have it. Lighter and more citrusy than regular soy — excellent with fish, gyoza, and cold noodles.
How to Build a Sauce From Scratch
Most Asian-inspired sauces follow the same logic: salt + acid + fat + sweet + optional heat. Once you understand this, you stop needing recipes.
- Salt: Soy sauce, fish sauce, miso, doenjang
- Acid: Rice vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, mirin
- Fat: Sesame oil, neutral oil, peanut butter, tahini
- Sweet: Honey, sugar, mirin, gochujang
- Heat: Gochujang, gochugaru, chilli oil, fresh chilli
Start with your salt base, add acid to taste, finish with fat. Taste and adjust. The sweet and heat are optional layers depending on the dish.
Five Sauce Ideas to Try This Week
- Make a batch of gochujang glaze and keep it in the fridge — it lasts two weeks and works on everything from chicken to roasted vegetables
- Try doenjang stirred into a simple broth with tofu and spring onions for an instant soup that tastes like it took hours
- Mix sesame oil + soy + a little grated ginger and use it as a dressing for any cold noodle dish
- Make ponzu once and you'll stop buying bottled salad dressing
- Keep a jar of chilli oil on your counter — drizzle it over eggs, noodles, dumplings, pizza, anything
Recipe Inspiration For You...
Easiest 5-Min Chilli Oil
Homemade Chinese Chilli Crisp Chilli Oil
Easy Sichuan Chilli Oil
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Korean soy sauce and Japanese soy sauce?
Korean ganjang and Japanese shoyu are both fermented soy sauces but have slightly different flavour profiles. Korean ganjang tends to be slightly less salty with a touch more complexity from traditional fermentation. Light Japanese soy (usukuchi) is saltier and paler; dark Japanese soy (koikuchi) is richer. For most Korean recipes, either works fine — but if a dish relies heavily on soy sauce as a primary flavour, using the right type makes a noticeable difference.
How long do homemade sauces keep?
Most simple sauces made with soy sauce as a base keep well for 1–2 weeks refrigerated in a clean jar. Anything with fresh garlic, spring onions, or herbs should be used within 3–4 days. Sauces with vinegar or citrus as a preservative last longer. When in doubt, make smaller batches — most of these take five minutes anyway.
Can I substitute fish sauce with soy sauce?
In a pinch, yes — but they're not the same. Fish sauce is more intensely savoury and has a distinct umami depth that soy sauce doesn't fully replicate. If avoiding fish sauce for dietary reasons, a mix of soy sauce and a little miso paste gets closer to the depth you're after. For most recipes, the substitution works fine even if it's not identical.
What's the best chilli oil to buy?
Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chilli Crisp is the one most people start with and never stop buying. It has crunch from crispy shallots and garlic, a savoury base, and manageable heat. For a more intense, oilier option, Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli Oil is excellent. Both are available at Asian supermarkets and increasingly in larger UK supermarkets.
Is sesame oil the same as toasted sesame oil?
No — and the difference matters. Regular (untoasted) sesame oil is pale, mild, and suitable for cooking. Toasted sesame oil is dark amber, intensely nutty, and used as a finishing oil — it burns easily and loses its flavour if cooked at high heat. When recipes call for sesame oil without specifying, they almost always mean toasted. That's the one to buy.
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