Asia’s Best Chilli Sauces to Spice Up Your Meals

Is takeaway tasting a bit bland? Or, need a flavour boost for your home-cooked dishes? Asian chilli sauces are some of the most exciting, appetizing choices! In fact, some dishes like the Korean bibimbap and Malaysian Nasi Lemak simply can’t do without them; and some chilli sauces practically define the cuisine’s characteristic flavour, such as the tangy spicy Nam Prik Ong for Northern Thai food.

Here are our favourites!

Sweet Chilli Sauce

Sweet, tangy and mildly spicy, the Thai sweet chilli sauce is the perfect dip for spring rolls and fish cakes. It also accentuates your seafood tastes when used as a marinade.

Chilli Bean Sauce

A blend of fermented soybeans, chillies, oil and garlic, Chinese chilli bean paste brings a rich savoury, earthy and umami heat to Sichuan dishes.

Garlic Chilli Sauce

Garlic fragrance with chilli heat, this sauce brings an instant oomph to your stir-fried favourites and an exhilarating dip for meat and seafood dishes.

Sambal

The staple condiment of Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines, the spicy and savoury sambal goes well with almost anything from stir-fried noodles and boiled veggies, to braised meats and grilled seafood. There are two variants: Sambal belacan, made from chillies, lime, salt and dried shrimp paste, and gives a pungent, zesty and umami boost. Sambal oelek, a blend of ground chilli peppers, vinegar and salt, packs a tangy, spicy punch.

Sriracha

Made from garlic, sun-ripened chillies and vinegar, Sriracha brings a sharp heat to your favourite Thai dishes; used in marinades and a spicy condiment. Also a zesty complement to Vietnamese Pho. It can certainly serve as an all-purpose flavour-booster for other cuisines too, as Sriracha has gained global popularity in recent years.

Nam Prik Ong

The mountainous regions of Northern Thailand are home to fresh herbs like lemongrass, ginger and garlic gloves – the main flavouring ingredients of Nam Prik Ong, the chilli dip sauce that defines the cuisine’s zesty tastes. Creamy, spicy and aromatic, it makes steamed glutinous rice balls and a variety of meat and veggie dishes wondrous to savour.

Chilli Oil

A must-have in Sichuan dishes that add an instant peppery kick! Chilli oil is great for cooking and an appetizing dip for dumplings, stir-fries, meat, seafood and veggie dishes.

Nuoc Cham

Made from chillies, fish sauce, clove garlic, lime juice and sugar, the Vietnamese Nuoc Cham has a citrusy tinge and spicy, umami flavour that excites your taste-buds. Great with salad, savoury Banh Xeo pancake, grilled meat and noodles.

Gochujang

Korea’s signature spicy paste made from powdered chilli and fermented soybean paste, gochujang imbues your dishes with an earthy, umami zest. The core flavour-maker for bibimbap and Korean barbecue.