Some useful sauces and dips (甜辣醬, 甜酸醬, 麻辣紅油, ...)

Some sauces and dips are so frequently that they deserve to be listed separately from the main recipes they are associated with. This post will be updated from time to time to include more items.

I. Sweet and Spicy Sauce (甜辣醬) - a sauce for snacks

Simply mix 2 Tbsp of Ketchup, 2 tsp of soy sauce, and 1-2 tsp of any hot and spicy chili pepper sauce (Tobasco, Tabatio, etc.)  Add (or subtract) hot sauce to tune the level of spiciness.  Add some black pepper to enhance the flavor a bit, if desired.

We use this sauce with the Chicken Rolls, the Shrimp Rolls, and other snacks. We often purchase this item from a Chinese market, so often it occurs to me that it might be worthwhile to make it at home, especially when we run out at a time when the market is closed.  A product package is shown to the right here.


II Traditional Sweet and Sour Sauce (甜酸醬 or 糖醋調味料) - A traditional sauce for some Shanghai dishes.

1. (Low Heat) Heat 1 Tbsp vegi-oil in a small pot (~6" in diameter), add minced green onion (1 stalk) and garlic (3-4 cloves)  and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  
2. Add 1/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp vinegar.  Bring to boil and let simmer.  
3. Add corn-starch water slowly and stir constantly until the sauce is thick.  Note- Corn Starch Water = mix 1 Tbsp Corn Starch and 3 Tbsp water in a bowl.

III Hot Chili Pepper Oil (麻辣紅油) - An essential ingredient for Szechuan dishes, as used in this Been Vermicelli Dish.

1. Get a mid-size heat-resistant ceramic bowl in which your strainer can fit comfortably.
   
2. Add 3 Tbsp of crushed chili pepper into the bowl.  Note- use the type of chili pepper that is spicy hot enough to your taste. To the right is an example product package.
3. (Low Heat) Heat 4 Tbsp vegi-oil in a small pot (~6" in diameter), add Sichuan Peppercorns (2 Tbsp,  花椒).  Cook till the Sichuan Peppercorns turn dark brown. Turn off heat.  Let oil sit for a full minute.  Note- the oil is still sizzling hot even after a minute of cooling.
4. Pour the sizzling hot oil (after cooling for a minute) into a strainer that is sitting on top of the bowl with the hot chili peppers.  Stir constantly as you pour.  Continue to stir for 1-2 minutes.  Note- To make the oil "red" in color, the calling card of this sauce, add 1 tsp of New Mexican Chili Pepper Powder, or 1 tsp of Cayenne Chili Pepper Powder, and mix thoroughly.
5. Repeat Step 3-4 above (to double the quantity of spiced oil).
6. Let the sizzling hot bowl sit till the oil is cooled down to room temperature before use.

IV Taiwan-Style Minced Pork Sauce (台式香菇肉燥, see this post)

V (to be added in the future)