Thai seasoning sauces are offering a unique flavor that you can’t find in any other cuisine. Be sure to check the variety of flavors used in Thai Food Cooking on your trip in Thailand and bring some of Thai seasoning sauce back home to enrich your cooking experience.
Fish Sauce (Nam Pla) : น้ำปลา
Fish Sauce, called "Nam Pla" in Thai, can be found in almost every Thai dish. It is the most important element of Thai Food Cooking to provide saltiness to it. Good fish sauces are made from a mixture of anchovy extract, salt, sugar and water. It should be clear and brownish in color. Some of the best brands of Thai fish sauce are made by Tiparos, Golden Boy and Squid. We personally recommend Squid or Tiparos brand fish sauce which has no msg, preservatives or added color.
Oyster Sauce (Sauce Hoy Nang Rom) : ซอสหอยนางรม
Oyster Sauce is a must have in the kitchen. It has a distinctive taste which is not fishy at all. It is a good choice for flavoring stir-fried vegetables, meat, seafood, noodle dishes and can also be used as a dipping sauce. The ingredients of the sauce are oyster extractive, sugar, water, salt, corn starch and wheat flour.
Soy Bean Paste (Tao Jeow) : เต้าเจี้ยว
Soy Bean Paste or "Tao Jeow" in Thai is used for cooking and food preparation. This yellow soy bean paste is made from yellow beans and provides salty taste. You will see it served with the noodle dishes like Rad-Na and some stir-fried dishes. It can be used for making chicken rice dipping sauce, by mixing with lime, fresh chili and garlic.
Thin Soy Sauce (Si-Ew Kao) : ซีอิ๋วขาว
Thin Soy Sauce is also known as light or white soya sauce or Si-Ew Kao in Thai. It is made from selected soy beans, salt and sugar. You simply add a few drops to all dishes when cooking; it will enhance the flavor of chicken, fish, shrimps, crab, meats, soup gravies and all vegetables.
Black Sweet Soy Sauce (Si-Ew Whan) : ซีอิ๋วหวาน
Black Sweet Soy Sauce is the cooking sauce made from soybean-starch, sugar and salt. It is a sweet and much thicker than regular soy sauce. Usually, it can be a seasoning sauce for many dishes like noodle soups and stir-fried dishes. It is another dipping sauce for chicken rice menu.
Black Thick Soy Sauce (Si-Ew Dum) : ซีอิ๋วดำ
The black thick soy sauce is also made from soybean-starch, sugar and salt. It is thicker than regular soy sauce but less sweet than black sweet soy sauce. It is mostly used for stir-fried flat noodles or beef noodle soup. Black soy sauce can be used for dipping sauce as well.
Green Cap Seasoning Sauce: ซอสปรุงรสฝาเขียว
Green Cap seasoning sauce is made from soy bean sauce, salt, sugar, water and other food enhancers. It can be used in any dish cooking for adding flavor or as a dipping sauce. In many recipes it can be used for marinating pork or chicken. If you don't like the fishy flavor, this seasoning sauce can be used to substitute Fish Sauce.
Yellow Cap Seasoning Sauce: ซอสปรุงรสฝาเหลือง
When it comes to home cooking, if you don't have Thai soy sauce or fish sauce, you can use this Yellow Cap seasoning sauce. It is a salty brown seasoning sauce similar to soy sauce, but more intense and saltier in taste. This type of sauce is perfectly balanced with many Thai food recipes. You can just add a few dashes to your food. It brings out the flavor of soups, sauces, salads and vegetable dishes. Usually, on the breakfast table you will see a bottle of this seasoning sitting next to the salt. The well-known brands in Thai market are Golden Mountain and Maggi.
Chili Sauce (Sauce Prik): ซอสพริก
Chili Sauce is a Thai style hot sauce with a warm garlic accent. The chili is completely mashed into chili paste. However, it has a level of sourness and spiciness that you can choose. It can be used as a cooking ingredient in some Thai stir-fried dishes. The sauce goes well on Thai-style omelet and can be used as a dipping sauce.
Thai White Vinegar (Nam Som Sai Chu): น้ำส้มสายชู
White vinegar is widely used in Thailand. You will always see a condiment made from vinegar served with your noodle dishes. For making this sauce, you just combine the vinegar and sliced fresh Thai chilies in a small bowl. It can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
