WHAT IS SACHA SAUCE?
Sacha sauce (also known as Chinese BBQ Sauce) is a highly umami sauce made mainly with soybean oil, brill fish, dried shrimp, garlic, shallots and chilies. It is used mainly in Asian cuisines and is a very popular sauce that is used frequently in hot pot dipping sauces but also widely used in marinades and grilling meats.
HOW IS IT USED?
Sacha sauce (Chinese BBQ Sauce) is also known as satay sauce but doesn’t tastes like the actual satay sauce which is actually more peanut-based.
A Few Ideas On What To Use Sacha On
It is also used in:
- Hot pot as your main dipping sauce along with other condiments
- Marinading meats
- Brushed onto grilled meats during grilling
- It can be added to dipping sauces
- It is also great in stir fries
- I personally find it is especially good with a bit of soy sauce with noodles, especially udon noodles.
When you first open up the tin, you will notice there is a layer of oil on top. You need to mix the oil with the sauce at the bottom to create a paste before using it.
There is also a vegetarian version of this sauce, although I have never tried it so I cannot say how it compares to the original one.
Since a bulk of the ingredients for this sauce is made with seafood, if you have any allergies to seafood or shellfish then I don’t recommend using this sauce as it may cause an allergic reaction.
WHERE DO I FIND IT?
You can find this at any Asian grocery store in the aisles with the soy sauces, oyster sauces etc or can find them online. They come in a few sizes with the smallest size in a glass jar.
- Chinese Sacha Sauce (Chinese BBQ Sauce) – 4.5oz (glass jar)
- Chinese Sacha Sauce (Chinese BBQ Sauce) – 8.5oz (tin)
- Chinese Sacha Sauce (Chinese BBQ Sauce ) – 26oz (tin)
- Chinese Sacha Sauce (Vegetarian BBQ Sauce) – 8.5oz (tin)
FLAVOR PROFILE
Although this is labeled as Chinese BBQ Sauce, it tastes very different than a traditional American BBQ Sauce. Traditional American BBQ sauce is usually sweet with a slight tang and almost ketchup-like. Sacha sauce on the other hand, tastes more like a caramelized seafood and onions with a slight savoriness to it. It has no sweet flavor or tang to it but is loaded with umami flavor which is why it is quite addictive.
Something to point out is, although there is a lot of flavor in this sauce, it is not salty. It is meant to give a base flavor to whatever you are using it in but you will need to add either salt or soy sauce to give it a bit more savoriness.
TEXTURE PROFILE
Sacha sauce is basically made of a combination of grounded up dried shrimp, brill fish, soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chilies. It has a slightly grainy gritty texture and a lot of oil it in, so it is also quite greasy as well.
STORAGE
Once the container is opened, it should be stored in the fridge. There is usually an expiry or best before date on the container as well.
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4 comments
I do like this Shacha sauce, you can use this sauce for many food, vegetables etc. It brings out the food with a sweet, taste good flavour, can be increased appetite too.
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We went to a small fondue party and my contribution was venison with sacha as a dipping sauce. It felt like an odd combo that should not have worked. But even the people who claimed “I don’t like venison” made numerous return trips. It was wonderful, thanks for sharing!
Hi Rick!
That sounds like a fantastic fondue party! Venison is such a great idea, I actually have not tried it with sacha sauce, so it’s good to know it works with the sauce! 🙂 Happy to share!