Not so long ago, I served as a judge at the Memphis in May International World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. I was dazzled by the virtuosity of the pork shoulders and astonished by the penetrating smoke flavor of the ribs. But what really took my breath away was the sheer diversity of the sauces.
Sauces have always been a touchstone of a pit master’s art. In North America they range from the sweet, tomatoey sauces you find in Kansas City to the vinegar-based sauces of northern North Carolina, and from the mustard-based sauces of southern North Carolina to the fiery salsas of the American Southwest.
Grill jockeys are equally ingenious elsewhere. No South American barbecue would be complete without a garlic-parsley sauce called chimichurri, while it’s hot peppers that give the North African harissa its kick. Spaniards dote on the roasted sweet red peppers and nuts that flavor their romesco, and fruit dominates many other of the world’s barbecue sauces.
This chockablock chapter includes sauces that are an integral part of other recipes in this book and ones that are ecumenical in spirit—that go well with almost any sort of meat, bird, or seafood. The important thing about any barbecue sauce is for it to complement, not overpower, the meat. In this chapter sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and hot flavors are combined into a balanced, harmonious whole. The goal is a sauce that tastes great on a spoon (or on the tip of your finger) and even better on grilled food.
A good barbecue sauce is a study in contrasts: sweet versus sour, fruity versus smoky, spicy versus mellow. Here’s a great all-purpose sauce that’s loaded with flavor but not too sweet. It goes well with all manner of poultry, pork, or beef. The minced vegetables give you a coarse-textured sauce, which I happen to like. If you prefer a smooth sauce, puree it in a blender.
1 medium-size onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and minced
½ cup ketchup
½ cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar, or more to taste
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons pineapple juice (optional)
1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce, or more to taste
½ teaspoon liquid smoke, or
2 tablespoons meat drippings
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, or more to taste
2 tablespoons prepared mustard of your choice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Salt
1. Heat the oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and cook until softened but not brown, about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in the ketchup, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pineapple juice (if using), hot sauce, liquid smoke, molasses, brown sugar, prepared and dry mustards, black pepper, and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.
3. Remove the barbecue sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding salt to taste and more cider vinegar, hot sauce, and/or brown sugar as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
4. Transfer the barbecue sauce to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several weeks.
Tomato- or ketchup-based barbecue sauces rule most parts of the country. But in the southern part of North Carolina (and in a few parts of South Carolina and Florida), barbecue simply isn’t barbecue unless it’s served with a bright yellow sauce made from mustard, honey, and vinegar. If you haven’t grown up with such a sauce, the very notion might seem off-putting. But even if you come from tomato sauce country, mustard barbecue sauce quickly becomes addictive.
Tradition calls for using inexpensive ballpark-style mustard and you’ll certainly be in good company if you use this kind of mustard. But I like the sharper, more refined flavor of Dijon mustard—particularly an “old-fashioned style” mustard imported from France. Look for the words à l’ancienne on the label.
½ cup prepared mustard of your choice
½ cup honey
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Combine the mustard, honey, brown sugar, and vinegar in a nonreactive saucepan and whisk to mix. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook gently, uncovered, until richly flavored, about 5 minutes, whisking from time to time. Remove from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste and more vinegar as necessary.
2. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several weeks.
Here’s a mango-based barbecue sauce that fairly explodes with tropical flavor. Grilled bell peppers and tomatoes pump up the smoke, while Scotch bonnet chiles stoke the fire. (Tender of tongue take comfort: The sauce is piquant but not incendiary.) This sauce was inspired by Florida superchef Mark Militello, who serves it with grilled swordfish. I can’t think of a single grilled food that doesn’t shine in this sauce’s presence, but it goes especially well with seafood and chicken.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
1 cup wood chips, soaked for 1 hour in cold water to cover and drained
INGREDIENTS
1 medium-size green bell pepper
1 medium-size red bell pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 large or 2 small ripe mangoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (about 2 cups)
⅔ cup finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 Scotch bonnet chile, seeded and cut in half (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
⅔ cup cider vinegar
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Tamarind Water (page 241); frozen tamarind puree, thawed; or fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
1½ teaspoons fresh thyme, or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
1½ teaspoons fresh marjoram, or ¾ teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box.
2. When ready to grill, if using a charcoal grill, toss all of the wood chips on the coals. Brush and oil the grill grate. Place the red and green bell peppers and the tomatoes on the hot grate. Grill the bell peppers and tomatoes, turning with tongs, until charred on all sides, 12 to 20 minutes in all. Transfer the bell peppers and tomatoes to a cutting board to cool.
3. Scrape most of the charred skin off the bell peppers and tomatoes, then cut them in half and core, seed, and coarsely chop them. Transfer the bell peppers and tomatoes to a large nonreactive saucepan and add the mango, onion, garlic, Scotch bonnet, cider vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, Tamarind Water, soy sauce, cinnamon stick, thyme, marjoram, cumin, ½ cup of water, and a little salt and black pepper. Let the sauce come to a simmer over low heat and cook gently, uncovered, until richly flavored, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water as needed to keep the sauce soupy.
MARK MILITELLO’S MANGO BARBECUE SAUCE
4. Discard the cinnamon stick, transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender, and process to a puree. For extra smoothness, press the sauce through a fine-meshed strainer. Season the sauce with salt and black pepper to taste.
5. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several weeks.
North Carolina occupies a unique position in the realm of American barbecue. Unlike the rest of the country, which enjoys tomato-based sauces, the preferred condiment here is a piquant mixture of vinegar and hot pepper flakes, with just a little sugar to take off the sharp edge. The meat it is served with is always pork, and the pork is shredded or finely chopped, not sliced. When you put the pork and vinegar sauce together, you have some of the most delectable barbecue ever to grace a bun. The jalapeño peppers aren’t strictly traditional, but I like their added bite.
1½ cups cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar, or more to taste
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine the cider vinegar, sugar, hot pepper flakes, onion, jalapeño, salt, and black pepper in a medium-size nonreactive bowl and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or sugar as necessary. Use the sauce the day it is made; it does not store well.
Readers of my previous books will recognize the name Elida Proenza, a good friend and Cuban cook extraordinaire. Elida is forever proving this central gastronomic truth: While anyone can make a great-tasting dish with a lot of ingredients, it takes true talent to make unforgettable food with only two or three. Elida watched with what I imagine was secret amusement as I lined up several dozen bottles of spices and condiments to experiment with barbecue sauces. When I wasn’t looking, she blended honey, guava paste, and commercial barbecue sauce to make this exotically fruity sauce, which instantly became a Raichlen family favorite. It is particularly good with chicken and pork.
Guava paste is a thick, fragrant red tropical fruit jelly sold in flat tins at Hispanic markets and most supermarkets. Once opened, it keeps for months wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator. Don’t be disconcerted if the paste becomes crystallized or grainy—the sugar will melt back in when you cook the sauce.
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons guava paste
⅔ cup commercial barbecue sauce (see Note)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
1. Combine the honey, guava paste, and barbecue sauce in a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes, whisking to mix. The sauce is ready when all the guava paste is dissolved. If it tastes too sweet, add a squeeze of lemon juice.
2. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several weeks.
NOTE: What’s amazing about this recipe is that you can use almost any commercial barbecue sauce to make it. Obvious choices include KC Masterpiece or Bull’s-Eye, but you can also use vinegar-based sauces in the style of Arthur Bryant’s or even the mustard sauces of South Carolina (for example, a sauce like the one on page 464).
Thinking farther afield, you could substitute peach or apricot preserves for the guava paste—or even a ginger jam from Australia. But, guava has a musky tropical flavor that makes the original version of this recipe hard to beat.
A deliciously tart table sauce made with sour plums and cilantro, tkemali is the Republic of Georgia’s answer to ketchup. Pronounced tek-MA-lee, it accompanies everything from grilled sausages to fish. Since dark red tkemali plums are very sour, I suggest using the large underripe red plums found at most American supermarkets. They work well for this recipe. You can also use other tart fruits, like rhubarb (see Note).
1 pound underripe red plums
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar, or more to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or more to taste
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or dill
1. Fill a large saucepan half full of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immerse the plums in the water for 1 minute, then drain and rinse under cold running water. Slip off the skins, using a sharp paring knife. Cut each plum around its circumference all the way to the stone, then twist the halves in opposite directions to separate them. Use a spoon to pop out the stone. Cut each plum half in half again.
2. Combine the quartered plums, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, coriander, salt, hot pepper flakes, and ¾ cup of water in a small nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer, covered, until the plums are very soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the plum mixture to a food processor or blender and process to a smooth puree. Return the puree to the saucepan and stir in the cilantro. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer until the sauce is reduced to about 2 cups, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding more lemon juice, salt, and/or hot pepper flakes as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned. Let the sauce cool to room temperature before serving. The sauce can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for at least 2 weeks.
NOTE: You can prepare rhubarb sauce as described in the recipe starting with Step 2, substituting 1 pound of fresh rhubarb, trimmed and diced, for the plums. You may need a tablespoon or so more sugar to balance the rhubarb’s acidity.
Here’s a contemporary Asian barbecue sauce, made with tangy sweet plums, that is delicious on duck, pork, and ribs. The recipe was inspired by Romy Dorotan, chef-owner of the restaurant Cendrillon in New York City, and it far surpasses the sugary bottled plum sauces from China. To pit a plum, cut it around its circumference all the way to the stone, then separate the halves by twisting them in opposite directions. Use a spoon to pop out the stone left in one of the halves.
12 ounces ripe plums (4 to 5 plums), pitted
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped, or 1 strip lemon zest (2 by ½ inches), removed with a vegetable peeler
1 hot chile, seeded (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
2 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste
2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis), or 1 tablespoon each regular soy sauce and molasses
2 tablespoons honey, or more to taste
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
1. Combine plums, ginger, lemongrass, chile, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, lemon juice, and ½ cup of water in a heavy nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer, uncovered, until the plums are very soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the plum mixture to a food processor or blender and process to a puree, then return it to the pan. Taste for seasoning, adding more soy sauce, honey, and/or lemon juice as necessary; the sauce should be sweet, sour, and spicy. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little more water.
2. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 1 week.
This recipe is based on a sauce I never actually tasted prior to making it. But the Bengali cab driver who told me about it described it with such passion I could easily imagine its flavor. The sauce belongs to a family of tamarind chutneys popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. Spoon it over grilled meats, poultry, and seafood.
1½ cups Tamarind Water (page 241) or frozen tamarind puree, thawed
1 cup diced ripe mango
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
1 piece (3 by 2 inches) green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, or more to taste
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1. Place the Tamarind Water, mango, onion, bell pepper, serrano peppers, ginger, brown sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer, uncovered, until the mango and onion are very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice and remove from the heat.
2. Transfer the mango mixture to a food processor or blender and process to a puree. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar and/or salt as necessary; the sauce should be both sweet and sour.
3. Transfer the sauce to small individual serving bowls and serve at room temperature. The sauce can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for several days.
Mam nem is certainly one of the more exotic dipping sauces in the Vietnamese culinary repertoire. Despite the odd-sounding combination of flavors—shrimp and apple—it’s extremely tasty and easy to make. I first sampled this sauce in Saigon, where it was made with pureed pineapple. I like the no-fuss sweetness of applesauce. Serve mam nem with any sort of grilled fish or pork.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined (see box, page 361), then very finely chopped
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce, or more to taste
1 teaspoon sambal ulek or other hot chile paste or sauce, or more to taste
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1. Heat the oil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant but not brown, about 15 seconds. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce, sambal ulek, and applesauce and bring to a boil, then remove the sauce from the heat. Taste for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or sambal ulek as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
2. Transfer the mam nem sauce to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days. Let it return to room temperature before serving.
Most North American barbecue sauces play the sweetness of sugar or molasses against the sharpness of vinegar and hot sauce. A similar contrast of sweet and sour characterizes the barbecue sauces of Thailand. The following sauce, inspired by one served at the restaurant Bahn Thai in Bangkok, derives its piquant flavor from tamarind. It is particularly good with grilled chicken or fish. I leave the number of chiles you use up to you.
¼ cup Tamarind Water (page 241) or frozen tamarind puree, thawed
¼ cup Asian fish sauce
¼ cup sugar
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1 to 6 Thai chiles or serrano or jalapeño peppers, seeded and thinly sliced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
Combine the Tamarind Water, fish sauce, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the shallots and Thai chiles. Serve the sauce at room temperature at once—or at least the same day you make it.
The most famous sauce in Catalonia, romesco is a gutsy puree of tomatoes, garlic, and fresh and dried chiles bound together with two characteristic Catalan thickeners: toasted bread and ground almonds. Traditionally, these ingredients would be roasted in the oven to intensify their flavor before pureeing. That set me thinking about an even better way to heighten the flavor: charring the vegetables and bread on the grill. Catalans would use a dried chile called anorra. These are difficult to find in the U.S., but a Mexican ancho or pasilla chile makes a good substitute. (In a worst-case scenario, you could use one to two tablespoons of chile powder.) Romesco is traditionally served with grilled seafoods, chicken, and meats. I like to eat it straight off the spoon.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Vegetable grate (optional)
INGREDIENTS
3 dried anorra chiles, or 1 ancho or pasilla chile
1 small red bell pepper
2 large or 3 medium-size ripe tomatoes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small onion, quartered
1 slice country-style white bread
3 tablespoons whole almonds, lightly toasted (see box, page 113)
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Place the anorra chiles in a bowl and add warm water to cover. Soak until soft and pliable, about 30 minutes.
2. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking liquid, and blot the chiles dry with paper towels. If a milder sauce is desired, remove the seeds.
3. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.
4. When ready to cook, preheat a vegetable grate (if using) for 5 minutes, then brush and oil it or the grill grate. Brush the bell pepper and tomatoes with olive oil and grill until the skins are nicely charred, 10 to 15 minutes in all. Place the garlic and onion in a small bowl and toss them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then arrange them on the hot grate and cook, turning with a spatula, until nicely browned all over and aromatic, 4 to 8 minutes. Grill the slice of bread until nicely browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Grill the soaked and drained anorra chiles until crisp and fragrant, about 20 seconds per side. As they are done, transfer the grilled vegetables, bread, and chiles to a platter and let cool.
5. Remove any very charred skin from the bell pepper and tomatoes; core and seed the pepper. Transfer the tomatoes to a food processor or blender and puree to a smooth paste. Add the grilled garlic, onion, bell pepper, bread, and anorra chiles, and the almonds, bay leaf, parsley, wine vinegar, and remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the sauce with salt and black pepper to taste. Process until smooth, adding enough of the reserved chile soaking liquid to make a pourable sauce. Taste for seasoning, adding more vinegar and/or salt as necessary.
6. Serve the romesco sauce at room temperature; it will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days.
Nicaraguans call this tangy tomato sauce marinara, but it sure doesn’t taste like any pasta sauce I’ve ever sampled. It is one of the three traditional accompaniments to Nicaraguan grilled meats. The other two are chimichurri, a parsley-based sauce (see page 477), and cebollita—Pickled Onions (page 445). Serve the salsa marinara with Nicaraguan-Style Steak (page 147).
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded (see page 454), then finely chopped
2 medium-size onions, thinly sliced
½ medium-size green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the vinegar, ketchup, and ½ cup of water in a small nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, garlic, parsley, and jalapeños. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer gently until the sauce is thick and flavorful, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste and more vinegar as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned. The tomato sauce can be stored, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days.
Khashkesh isn’t your typical tomato sauce—not by a long shot. Charring the tomatoes lends a distinctive smoke flavor, while the pomegranate molasses adds an unexpected sweetness and tartness. (The pomegranate molasses is available at Middle and Near Eastern markets, but I have also included a recipe for it.)
1 large ripe tomato
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Pomegranate Molasses (page 243), or 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.
2. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. ace the tomato on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until charred on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the tomato to a platter to cool.
3. Scrape most of the burnt skin off the tomato, then place it and the garlic, Pomegranate Molasses, and cayenne in a food processor. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and process to a coarse paste. Taste for seasoning, adding more cayenne and/or salt as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned. Serve the khashkesh sauce, at room temperature, within 4 hours.
Many Americans think of teriyaki as a marinade, but in traditional Japanese cuisine it’s actually a glaze or barbecue sauce brushed on simply grilled meats and seafood. Teri is the Japanese word for gloss or luster; yaki means grilled. Zen-like in its simplicity, this recipe was inspired by the late Shizuo Tsuji, founder of the Ecole Technique Hôtelière Tsuji in Osaka and author of the seminal book Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art.
½ cup dark soy sauce
½ cup sake or dry sherry
½ cup mirin (sweet rice wine) or cream sherry
2 tablespoons sugar
1. Combine the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar in a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer until the sugar dissolves and the sauce is thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove the sauce from the heat and let cool before using it as a glaze or as a sauce for serving. The teriyaki sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 2 weeks.
Ask for ketchup in the world’s fourth most populous nation, and you’re likely to be served ketjap manis, a thick, syrupy, sweet, spiced soy sauce. At first glance, nothing could be more different from the blood-red sauce most Americans think of as ketchup. But the two condiments are closely related, kissing cousins as it were, descended from a common historical ancestor.
Here’s a homemade ketjap manis that makes an intriguing condiment for simple grilled meats and seafood. Mixing equal parts ketjap manis and melted butter makes a fabulous basting mixture for grilled fish. For the sake of convenience, I’ve westernized the recipe slightly, substituting the more readily available ginger and bay leaves for the traditional galangal and salam leaf. If you have the patience to search out these ingredients at an Asian market, your ketjap will taste even more authentic.
Throughout the book, I have suggested an even easier substitute for the ketjap—equal parts soy sauce and molasses—but if you like Indonesian grilling as much as I do, it’s worth buying real ketjap manis or making your own.
2 cups soy sauce
1½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar, or more to taste
¾ cup molasses, or more to taste
2 cloves garlic, flattened with the side of a cleaver and peeled
2 slices ginger or fresh galangal (each ¼ inch thick), peeled and flattened with the side of a cleaver
2 whole star anise, or 1 teaspoon anisette liqueur plus ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
1 bay leaf or salam leaf
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, molasses, garlic, ginger, star anise, bay leaf, and coriander seeds in a medium-size, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the brown sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer, uncovered, until the ketjap manis is richly flavored and slightly syrupy, 8 to 12 minutes, stirring it as it cooks. Taste for seasoning, adding more brown sugar and/or molasses as necessary; the ketjap manis should be quite sweet.
2. Strain the ketjap manis into a clean jar and let cool; it will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several months.
Enjoyed over a huge area, including China and Southeast Asia, this sauce is simplicity itself. It contains only two ingredients: hoisin sauce (a dark sweet sauce made from soybeans) and chile sauce. There are lots of options for the latter: I like a Thai chile sauce, like Sriracha, but almost any good-quality bottled chile sauce will do. You can increase or decrease the proportion of chile sauce according to the intensity of the sauce and your tolerance for heat. Serve this sauce with satés and other Asian-style grilled meats.
⅔ cup hoisin sauce
⅓ cup chile sauce
Combine the hoisin and chile sauce in a bowl and whisk to mix (see Note). Transfer the sauce to tiny bowls to serve.
NOTE: For a more striking presentation, spoon the hoisin sauce into tiny bowls and squirt or spoon a puddle of the chile sauce in the center of each. Mix the sauces in the bowl with the tips of chopsticks as you’re eating and use the sauce for dipping.
These creamy, sweet-salty sauces are two of the glories of Japanese grilling. You find them at humble yakitori parlors and at grand restaurants. They owe their rich tangy flavor to miso, a nutritious paste made from cultured (fermented) soy beans and grains. It’s impossible to describe the exact flavor of miso, but if you imagine the salty tang of a bouillon cube crossed with the richness of cream cheese, you’ll start to get the idea.
Miso is readily available in natural foods stores and Japanese markets, and in the produce section of many supermarkets. Stored in the refrigerator, it keeps almost indefinitely. Here are two miso barbecue sauces used widely in Japanese grilling.
White miso (actually it’s beige in color) is the most readily available miso and is best known as an ingredient in miso soup and miso salad dressing. Called shiro-miso in Japanese, it’s made with soybeans and rice, which give it a sweet flavor. This recipe breaks with tradition in two ways. First, I’ve substituted mayonnaise for the customary egg yolks. Sometimes the sauce is served warmed but not cooked, so I prefer not to use raw yolks. Second, I use vegetable stock instead of dashi (a light fish broth usually made with dried bonito flakes and kelp). The purist could certainly use two egg yolks and two tablespoons of dashi instead. White miso sauce is delicious on grilled tofu and vegetables.
1 cup white miso
2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine), or cream sherry
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vegetable stock, dashi (see headnote), or water
1. Combine the white miso, sake, mirin, sugar, and mayonnaise in the top of a double boiler and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the vegetable stock. Cook the sauce over simmering water, stirring occasionally, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from over the water and let the sauce cool to room temperature.
2. Transfer the white miso sauce to a serving bowl. It can be refrigerated, covered, for at least 3 days. Let it return to room temperature before serving.
Red miso (actually a reddish brown in color) has a deep, rich, salty flavor and isn’t quite as sweet as white miso. Known as aka-miso in Japanese, it contains barley as well as soybeans and rice. Red miso barbecue sauce is particularly good on grilled vegetables and salmon.
1 cup red miso 2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry
2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine), or cream sherry
2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vegetable stock, dashi (see White Miso headnote), or water
1. Combine the red miso, sake, mirin, sugar, and mayonnaise in the top of a double boiler and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the vegetable stock. Cook the sauce over simmering water, stirring occasionally, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from over the water and let the sauce cool to room temperature. Taste for seasoning, adding more sugar as necessary; be sure to stir any added sugar in thoroughly.
2. Transfer the red miso sauce to a serving bowl. It can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days. Let it return to room temperature before serving.
Peanut sauce is the traditional accompaniment to Southeast Asian satés. There are probably as many individual recipes as there are street vendors. You might find this version—enriched with coconut milk—at a Thai saté stall.
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 to 2 Thai chiles or serrano or jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and minced
⅓ cup chunky peanut butter
⅓ cup coconut milk, canned or homemade (page 522), or more as needed
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce or soy sauce, or more to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or more to taste
2 teaspoons sugar, or more to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1. Combine the ginger, Thai chiles, garlic, scallions, peanut butter, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and cilantro (if using) in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to mix well, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer, uncovered, until richly flavored, 5 to 10 minutes. The peanut sauce should be thick but pourable; thin it with more coconut milk, if needed.
2. Remove the sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding more fish sauce, lime juice, and/or sugar as necessary; the peanut sauce should be highly seasoned. Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature; it will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days.
Tamarind lends a fruity tartness to this peanut sauce, a West Indian version of an Indonesian classic. The sauce is designed to be served with Dutch West Indian Chicken Kebabs (page 73), but it’s great with any type of saté, as well as grilled chicken or seafood.
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sambal ulek or other chile paste or sauce
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup Tamarind Water (page 241) or frozen tamarind puree, thawed
2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis), or 1 tablespoon each regular soy sauce and molasses, or more to taste
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
1. Combine the onion, garlic, and sambal ulek in a mortar and pound to a smooth paste with a pestle. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, combine all these ingredients in a food processor or blender and process to a smooth paste. Transfer the mixture to a nonreactive heavy saucepan and stir in the peanut butter, Tamarind Water, sweet soy sauce, vinegar, and ¾ cup of water.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is dark and well flavored, about 5 minutes, adding more water as necessary to obtain a thick but pourable sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding more sweet soy sauce and/or vinegar as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
3. Serve the peanut sauce warm or at room temperature; it will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days.
This isn’t like any barbecue sauce Bubba used to make. Not with ingredients like cardamom, coffee, and hoisin sauce. The recipe comes from chef Jake, my stepson, who likes to serve it with grilled grouper and rich meats like pork and lamb.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
1 medium-size red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1½ cups brewed Turkish coffee or espresso
¼ cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1½ teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 tablespoons honey, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the olive oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger and cook until softened but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the coffee, hoisin sauce, balsamic vinegar, cocoa powder, and cardamom. Increase the heat and let come to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer gently, uncovered, until thick and richly flavored, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little water. Puree the sauce in a food processor or blender, adding the honey to give the sauce sheen. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste and more honey as necessary.
3. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several weeks.
The traditional accompaniment to South American grilled meats, chimichurri turns up everywhere, from roadside barbecue stalls to pricey steak palaces, as far north as Nicaragua, as far south as Chile, and in just about every Spanish-speaking country in between. No two chimichurri recipes are exactly alike, although the most basic recipe contains just four ingredients: parsley, garlic, olive oil, and salt. This recipe comes from Marono Fraga, owner of the Estancia del Puerto in Montevideo’s colorful Mercado del Puerto (port market). Don’t be alarmed by the seemingly enormous quantity of garlic. The parsley acts as a breath sweetener.
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, stemmed
1 medium-size carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small head garlic, broken into cloves and peeled (8 to 10 cloves in all)
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup white wine vinegar or distilled vinegar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Combine the parsley, carrot, and garlic in a food processor and pulse to chop as fine as possible.
2. Add the olive oil, wine vinegar, salt, oregano, hot pepper flakes, black pepper, and ¼ cup of water and process to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more vinegar, salt, or hot pepper flakes as necessary; the chimichurri should be highly seasoned. The chimichurri will keep for several days in the refrigerator (you may need to reseason it just before serving), but it tastes best served within a few hours of making.
Traditional chimichurri is a garlicky green sauce made with olive oil and fresh parsley. But many variations exist in Argentina and Uruguay, including red chimichurri—a specialty of the venerable Buenos Aires steak house La Cabaña. This chimichurri differs from most in two significant ways: It’s cooked (most are raw) and it’s flavored with anchovies and tuna. The anchovies suggest parentage shared with two other of the world’s great steak sauces, A.1. and Worcestershire, while the tuna recalls Italy’s tonnato sauce, which is so delightful with cold roast veal or grilled beef and seafood. Here’s how I imagine La Cabaña prepared the chimichurri sauce.
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ medium-size red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
½ medium-size carrot, peeled and diced
2 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and diced
¼ medium-size onion, diced
1 medium-size rib celery, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons drained canned water-pack tuna
1 anchovy fillet, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons drained capers
1 cup tomato sauce
½ cup homemade chicken stock, canned low-sodium chicken broth, or water
¼ cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium-size nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, carrot, scallions, onion, celery, and garlic and cook until softened but not brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the tuna, anchovy, parsley, capers, tomato sauce, chicken stock, tomato paste, wine vinegar, and oregano. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and cook, uncovered, until thick and fragrant, about 10 minutes.
3. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and process to a puree, then return it to the pan and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Remove the chimichurri from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding more wine vinegar and/or salt as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
4. Transfer the chimichurri to a serving bowl and serve hot or at room temperature. The sauce can be stored, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days.
This is the simplest of chimichurris: olive oil flavored with dried herbs and hot red pepper flakes. I first tasted it at the Estancia Cinacina, a horse ranch in Argentina that also stages barbecues and equestrian events for tourists. Argentinean food markets sell packages of premixed chimichurri herbs for people who don’t have time to buy and chop fresh herbs. Spoon the chimichurri over grilled beef.
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea), or more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
Place the olive oil, wine vinegar, oregano, basil, paprika, thyme, hot pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or black pepper as necessary. The chimichurri will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least 3 days.
FROM THE TOP CLOCKWISE: RED CHIMICHURRI | PREVIOUS • BASIC CHIMICHURRI | PAGE 477 • “DRY” CHIMICHURRI | PREVIOUS
The Portuguese learned to love chiles in their former colony, Brazil. The chile in question here is one of the smallest members of the capsicum family, a bullet-shaped brute one quarter to one half inch in length; its diminutive size belies its ferocious bite. Piri-piri peppers go by the name of pimenta malagueta in Brazil and gindungo in Angola. Piri-piri sauce has become an indispensable part of barbecue all over the Portuguese-speaking world. If you live near a Portuguese or Brazilian market, you may be able to find fresh or bottled piri-piri or malagueta peppers. Acceptable substitutes include fresh or pickled cayenne peppers; péquin chiles from Mexico; Thai chiles; or in a pinch jalapeños.
The sauce goes especially well with grilled fish or chicken; serve it with any dish you feel could use an Iberian blast of heat.
ADVANCE PREPARATION
At least 3 hours for the sauce to stand
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
One 1-pint jar, well washed
INGREDIENTS
6 to 12 pimenta malagueta or other hot red chiles
1 teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt, or more to taste
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1. Thinly slice the pimenta malagueta, then combine them with the salt and wine vinegar in a clean 1-pint jar with a lid. Seal the jar and shake it until the salt dissolves. Add the olive oil and ¼ cup of hot water and shake again. Let the piri-piri sauce sit, in a cool place, for at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
2. Taste the piri-piri for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. The sauce can be refrigerated for several weeks. Place a piece of plastic wrap between the mouth of the jar and the lid (to prevent the sauce from corroding the metal lid).
This salsalike hot sauce turns up wherever Brazilians grill meats. The chile of choice is a pepper called pimenta malagueta; the strength of its fiery bite is inversely proportional to its tiny dimensions. Pimenta malagueta come packed in vinegar in bottles at Brazilian markets. Other possibilities for chiles include Thai or bird peppers, serrano or jalapeño peppers, or even hot red pepper flakes. The traditional way to eat grilled meats in Brazil is to spoon this sauce on top, then sprinkle the meat with farofa (toasted manioc flour—see page 434 for Rainbow Manioc, a more exotic version).
1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
1 large, ripe tomato, finely chopped
½ green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
1 to 6 pimenta malagueta or other hot red chiles, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the onion, tomato, bell pepper, pimenta malagueta, olive oil, lime juice, wine vinegar, and ¼ cup of water in a small nonreactive bowl and stir to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste and more wine vinegar if necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned. Serve the sauce at room temperature—the same day you make it.
Harissa is North African hot sauce. The concept is sufficiently broad to include simple fresh tomato purees warmed with onion and hot paprika and complex sauces flavored with preserved lemons and cayenne. Homemade harissa is quite different and vastly more tasty than the salty canned harissas one finds in specialty food shops and ethnic markets.
Here’s a quick and simple version of harissa. Serve it alongside grilled lamb, kebabs, and other North African–style meats.
2 large, ripe tomatoes
1 small onion, or 2 shallots, peeled
3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon hot paprika, or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (see Note), or more to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Cut the tomatoes in half and gently wring out the seeds and liquid over the sink. Grate each tomato half on the coarse side of a grater into a bowl by holding the cut side of the tomato half against the grater and grating the flesh just to the skin. Discard the tomato skin.
2. Grate the onion into the bowl. Stir in the parsley, paprika, olive oil, and lemon juice. Season the harissa with salt and black pepper to taste; it should be highly seasoned. Serve the harissa at room temperature at once—or at least no longer than 4 hours after you have made it.
NOTE: For a milder harissa, omit the hot paprika or cayenne pepper.
Here’s a more sophisticated harissa, one flavored with fresh chiles and preserved lemons. The preserved lemons—one of the most distinctive flavors in Moroccan cuisine—are a sort of pickle made with fresh lemons and salt. You can buy them in North African and Middle Eastern markets and at specialty food shops. A little of this intensely flavored pickle goes a long way.
4 to 10 hot peppers, such as jalapeño or serrano peppers, seeded (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon
2 large, ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded (see page 454)
1 tablespoon hot paprika, or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Place the peppers, shallots, garlic, preserved lemon, and tomatoes in a mortar and pound them to a puree with a pestle, then work in the paprika, cumin, oil, and lemon juice. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, combine all these ingredients in a food processor or blender and process to a puree. Season the harissa with salt and pepper to taste; go easy on the salt—the preserved lemon is already quite salty. The harissa should be tart and spicy, but there should be more to it than just heat.
2. Transfer the harissa to a bowl and serve it at room temperature at once—or at least no longer than 4 hours after you have made it.
Literally dog sauce, sauce chien is a high-voltage vinaigrette served throughout the French West Indies. How did it get its odd name? One theory holds that the “dog” refers to the fierce bite of the chiles. Another refers to the fact that this is a humble sauce, made without the egg yolks, butter, or cream found in more “noble” French sauces. Whatever its origins, sauce chien is an indispensable accompaniment to grilled seafood, chicken, and vegetables.
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ to 2 Scotch bonnet chiles, seeded and minced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives or scallion greens
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup boiling water, or more as needed
1. Combine the garlic and salt in a mortar and pound to a paste with a pestle. Then work in the Scotch bonnets, shallot, chives, cilantro, parsley, thyme, lime juice, and pepper to taste. Work in the olive oil, then add enough boiling water to obtain a mellow, pourable sauce. Or combine all of the ingredients at once in a food processor or blender and run the machine in short bursts until just coarsely pureed. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or lime juice as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned.
2. Serve the sauce at once at room temperature—or at least no longer than 4 hours after you have made it.
You might think that the staggering amount of garlic in this recipe would render the sauce inedible, but the lime juice and salt have a mellowing effect that makes it mild and palatable. This sauce was originally designed to be served with Grilled Shark and Bake (page 322), although it’s hard to imagine a grilled dish that wouldn’t benefit from a spoonful of this elixir.
8 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
½ cup fresh lime juice, or more to taste
½ cup distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt, or more to taste
Combine the garlic, lime juice, vinegar, salt, and ¼ cup of water in a blender and process until creamy and smooth. Taste for seasoning, adding more lime juice and/or salt as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned. Serve the garlic sauce at once or refrigerate it, tightly covered, for up to 3 days. Let the sauce return to room temperature before serving.
Coriander sauce is a tart, tangy condiment that can be spooned over grilled kebabs, chops, and chicken. (Cilantro is the Mexican—and by extension American—name for the pungent leaves of the coriander plant.) This version is a permanent fixture on the Afghan table. Similar sauces are found as far east as India and as far west as the Republic of Georgia. Walnuts help thicken and bind the sauce.
1 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed (about 1 cup loosely packed leaves)
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper or other hot chile, seeded (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
½ cup walnut pieces
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1. Combine the cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, and walnuts in a food processor or blender. Add the lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and cumin (if using) and process to a smooth paste. Add enough water to obtain a pourable sauce (2 to 4 tablespoons).
2. Taste for seasoning, adding more lemon juice and salt as necessary; the sauce should be very highly seasoned. Serve the sauce at once at room temperature—or at least no longer than 4 hours after you have made it.
This is one of the three sauces that invariably accompany grilled meats and seafood in Barcelona (the others are romesco—page 472—and alioli, cousin of the Provençal aioli, a simple garlic-spiked mayonnaise). If you think of vinaigrette as too delicate a sauce to stand up to a steak, try this caper, shallot, and pickle–flavored version. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 small sour pickle, such as cornichon, finely chopped
1 ripe plum tomato, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained and coarsely chopped, if large
1. Combine the wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of hot water in a small nonreactive bowl and whisk until the salt dissolves. Add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly to make an emulsified sauce. Whisk in the shallot, pickle, tomato, and capers.
2. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper as necessary. Let the vinaigrette stand for at least 10 minutes and up to 4 hours before serving. If you refrigerate the vinaigrette while it stands, let it return to room temperature before serving, making sure you stir and reseason it.
Sweet, sour, slightly hot, and decidedly pungent, this sauce is the quintessence of Thai cooking. To be strictly authentic, you’d use cilantro (aka coriander) root, which tastes like a cross between fresh cilantro and parsnip. If you live near an Indian, Hispanic, or Southeast Asian market, you can probably buy cilantro with the roots still attached. If not, use cilantro leaves—the sauce will be almost as good. Don’t be put off by the quantity of garlic and chiles: The lemon juice and honey neutralize these ingredients. This sauce can be served with grilled chicken, beef, or pork, but it’s particularly good with seafood.
8 to 10 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 6 Thai chiles or serrano peppers, or other hot chiles, seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh coriander roots or cilantro leaves
½ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup Asian fish sauce, or more to taste
3 tablespoons honey, or more to taste
Combine the garlic, Thai chiles, coriander root, lemon juice, fish sauce, and honey in a bowl and whisk to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or honey as necessary. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours.
Mint sauce is such a popular accompaniment to lamb in Britain and other Commonwealth countries that it would seem a grievous omission to leave it out here—even though said sauce is usually served with lamb that has been roasted or boiled, not grilled. To jazz up the traditional recipe, I’ve added fresh mint and Scotch bonnet chiles.
¾ cup mint jelly
¼ cup distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
1 Scotch bonnet chile or habañero or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
3 tablespoons thinly slivered fresh mint leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried mint
Combine the mint jelly, vinegar, and Scotch bonnet in a small nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer gently, uncovered, until thick and richly flavored, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mint leaves and let cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove the sauce from the heat and, if it tastes too sweet, add a little more vinegar; if it’s too thick, add a little water. Serve the mint sauce at once or let it cool and refrigerate it, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.
Vietnam’s national table sauce, nuoc cham is a delicate, topaz-colored, slightly sweet, salty, and sour condiment that is obligatory for any Vietnamese grilled fare. Traditionally, finely slivered carrots are added for color and texture. And when I say finely slivered, I mean like dental floss!
1 piece of carrot (2 inches), peeled
2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
⅓ cup Asian fish sauce, or more to taste
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1 small hot red chile, thinly sliced, or ¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1. Slice the carrot lengthwise with a vegetable peeler and pile the slices on top of one another, then, using a sharp slender knife, slice the carrot lengthwise into the thinnest imaginable strips.
2. Combine the sugar and ½ cup of warm water in a small bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, chile, garlic, and carrot strips (see Note). Taste for seasoning, adding more sugar and/or fish sauce as necessary; the nuoc cham should strike a delicate balance between salty, tart, and sweet.
3. Serve the nuoc cham at room temperature at once—or at least the same day you make it.
NOTE: You can also blend the ingredients for the sauce by shaking them in a sealed jar.
BASIC VIETNAMESE DIPPING SAUCE | PREVIOUS
Readers of this book will know of my unbridled enthusiasm for Korean cooking—a cuisine, I might add, that is grossly underappreciated in the West. This sauce reflects the Korean penchant for combining sweet, salty, and nutty flavors in a single dish. Serve it with any Korean meat dish.
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup sake or dry sherry
¼ cup sugar
1 small Asian pear, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
4 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (see page 113)
Combine the soy sauce, sake, sugar, pear, scallions, onion, and sesame seeds in a medium-size bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed and the sugar dissolves. Divide the sauce among as many small bowls as there are people, so each person has his own for dipping, and serve at once.
Here’s a simple tasty dipping sauce modeled on Vietnamese nuoc cham. The peanuts add a characteristic Southeast Asian sweetness.
1 piece of carrot (2 inches), peeled
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
¼ cup Asian fish sauce, or more to taste
¼ cup fresh lemon or lime juice, or more to taste
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
1 or 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, seeded and thinly sliced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
3 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1. Slice the carrot lengthwise with a vegetable peeler and pile the slices on top of one another, then, using a sharp slender knife, slice the carrot lengthwise into the thinnest imaginable strips.
2. Combine the garlic and sugar in a mortar and pound to a fine paste with a pestle. Or mash them in the bottom of a bowl with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the fish sauce, lemon juice, rice vinegar, carrot strips, jalapeños, peanuts, and enough water to obtain a mild, mellow sauce (5 to 6 tablespoons). Taste for seasoning, adding more sugar, fish sauce, and/or lemon juice to taste; the sauce should be a little sweet, a little salty, and a little sour.
3. Serve the sauce at once at room temperature—or at least no longer than 4 hours after you have made it.
Mention Indonesian saté and most Westerners will think of peanut sauce. Equally beloved in Indonesia is this simple dipping sauce made at the table by the eater, who customizes it by adding the preferred proportions of lime juice, fried shallots, and chiles. Sweet and salty, tart and hot, smooth yet crisp, with bites of fried shallot, the sauce launches a bold assault on the taste buds. And it goes without saying that any food you make and mix at the table is fun food. Serve as a dip with any type of saté or grilled meats.
1 large shallot, cut into thin wedges
¾ cup sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis), or 6 tablespoons each regular soy sauce and molasses
2 to 4 Thai chiles, serrano peppers, or other hot chiles, seeded and thinly sliced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
4 lime wedges, for serving
1. Heat the peanut oil in a small, heavy skillet, over medium-high heat until rippling (350°F). Add the shallot wedges and fry until crisp, about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried shallot wedges to paper towels to drain.
2. Divide the sweet soy sauce among 4 small bowls. To eat sprinkle a bowl of soy sauce with sliced Thai chiles and fried shallots to taste, then add a generous squeeze of lime juice. Use the sauce as a dip; the dipping action will mix the ingredients.
Tamarind is the sweet-sour pulp of a tropical seed pod. Its mouth-puckering tartness makes a bold counterpoint to the grilled fare of Southeast Asia. Serve this lively sauce with satés, but don’t stop there. Grilled shrimp, chicken, pork, and even hamburgers shine in its presence.
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, or 1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 to 2 hot chiles, seeded and minced (for a hotter sauce, leave the seeds in)
¾ cup Tamarind Water (page 241), or frozen tamarind puree, thawed
¼ cup Asian fish sauce, or more to taste
2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1. Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add the garlic, shallots, ginger, and chiles and cook until fragrant but not brown, about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
2. Stir in the Tamarind Water, fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer gently, uncovered, until thickened and the flavors are well blended, about 5 minutes. Remove the dipping sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding more fish sauce and/or sugar as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned. Stir in the cilantro (if using) and transfer the dipping sauce to bowls. Let the dipping sauce cool to room temperature, then serve at once.
