About Chinese Sauces and Seasoning

To know how to season food properly is just as important as to know the right way to stir fry, steam or stew. Proper seasoning makes good cooking into first-class cooking and dull dishes into exciting ones. Seasonings are important in Chinese cooking because they create the special flavors that characterize different regional styles. Soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and chicken broth are the most important seasonings in Chinese food. Seasoning are used to enhance the natural flavor of the food and can be added before, during or after the cooking process. In Chinese cooking, where the dishes are eaten with rice, you would want to have the seasoning to a heavier taste. On the contrary, reduce the seasoning for a main dish eaten alone.

Savory dipping sauces are also a feature in a Chinese food. The three principal ones are chili, mustard and plum. Small spoonfuls of the chosen sauces are placed on one's plate. A morsel of the fish, shellfish, meat or poultry is taken up with the chopsticks, then it is dipped in sauce and eaten.

Popular appetizers like spring rolls and egg rolls just wouldn't taste the same without a flavorful dipping sauce. Here are some descriptions and recipes of popular Chinese dips, sauces and seasonings.

Authentic Sauces and Seasoning Dishes

Brown Sauce
Chili Oil
Chile Sauce
Hoisin Dipping Sauce
Hot Pepper and Black Bean Sauce
Hot Pepper Oil ( Szechuan peppercorns)
Hot Szechuan Pepper Oil (with red chilies)
Jalapeno Pepper Chili Oil
Oyster Sauce
Peanut Sauce - Chinese-Style
Peanut Dressing
Peking Style Sauce
Plum Sauce with Allspice
Quick and Hot Dumpling Sauce
Salt-Pepper Mix
Sichuan Chile Sauce
Sweet and Sour Fish Sauce (Vietnamese)
Sweet and Sour Sauce (with brown sugar)
Sweet and Sour Sauce (with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce)
Sweet and Sour Sauce (with Black Rice Vinegar)
XO Sauce

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