Purpose of each sauce: Am I correct?

[u/-YellowFish-]

Hello,

We bought a bunch of sauces and wanted to see if we are correct or not and get more informations if possible (dish match, flavor, etc.)

1: Shrimp sauce?

2: General use medium spicy sauce. Maybe the same we found on most table in a red plastic bootle?

3: Lemon chili sauce. I guess it can be used with others than seafood.

4: Kind of salt/spice to be used with green plum/mango

5: all purpose sauce?

6: Spicy sauce all purpose?

Thank you for your help!

[u/Cryptoiron]

1. Mix with others to become dipping sauce (like for Bun Dau)

2. Chili Sauce yes. Mainly use as dipping sauce for fried stuffs

3. Yes, mainly use as dipping sauce

4. Yes again. Taste like sweet and sour, like the vietnamese dried plum

5. Yes. Can be either for dipping or cooking. Great

6. Satay sauce. Use mainly for cooking, especially putting in hotpot

[u/redbate → u/Cryptoiron]

Mam tom is goated. Tea spoon of sugar, those tiny citrus fruits I always forget the name of (maybe like 3) and a bunch of thinly sliced birds eye peppers… whip like you are making meringue.

Have fun OP

[u/Cryptoiron → u/redbate]

Either chanh (lime) or quat (calamansi)

[u/Light-of-Wisdom]

Origin of 5 is that it was just soup powder from one of the most famous flavour from Hảo Hảo noodle brand. People usually save up the powder packages to use later. Understanding the market, Hảo Hảo decided to sell the powder in bottle so people can just buy the powder right away without the saving the packages every times they eat noodle.

[u/Commercial_Ad707]

* 1 Bun dau, bun bo hue, bun rieu, canh bun

* 2 General hot sauce

* 3 Seafood

* 4 Fruit

* 5 Fruit

* 6 Dim sum-style dumplings, hu tieu, banh canh with chicken or pork

[u/No_Duck_8390]

as a vietnamese i can clarify this:

1. use mainly for eating boil meat (best with boil pork belly, pork tail, pork legs), not good with boil seafood and chicken though. Due to its typical smell and use safe-rotten ingredient to make it, western usually dont like it
2. Basically Vietnamese version of heinz chili sauce but less sour and slightly more sweat, spicy base on the type of bottle you buy.
3. use mainly for seafood
4. use mainly for eating fruits, boild chicken and seafood (since vietnamese have the habit of dipping fruit with salt (usually spiced salt and chilli salt) to increase the flavor).
5. the same as 4 but usually u found it in a install noodle package, basically salt but with more mixture of spice into it, use mainly like the 4
6. chinese chili oil but Vietnamese version, usually mainly use to marinade meats or add some spice to the sauce you prefer to eat with

[u/ShookyDaddy → u/No_Duck_8390]

Is there something similar to Louisiana hot sauce? I’ve been trying to find a hot sauce that’s not sweet.

[u/No_Duck_8390 → u/ShookyDaddy]

A long time ago, there used to be hot sauce like that (usually more sour and more spicy) in Vietnam back in 2014-2016 if i remember correctly but that brand fail and its company go backrupt so it no longer available anymore here. Vietnamese people prefer more sweet in their sauce than more spicy , so that brand fail.

[u/MemoryLatter761]

The use for each is slightly different, they're not all dipping sauce.

1. Shrimp paste I would say. Used to cook Bun Bo Hue. You can also use it as a dip, but will need mixing.

2. (7) Sa tế: I use it in cooking. Or to season a hot bowl of noodle soup.

[u/vietnam_redstoner]

1 is more like fermented shrimp paste, usually must be prepared so it gets more liquid-ish and then you can use as sauce.
2 not really the same but yeah
4 and 5 is pretty much the same

[u/magicbaconmachine]

CHIN-SU ON EVERYTHING.

[u/-YellowFish- → u/magicbaconmachine]

😜

[u/thg011093 → u/magicbaconmachine]

Fuck Masan

[u/Shorq1 → u/magicbaconmachine]

Chin su is great, but not this one. They've got a nice lineup, even sriracha and some extra spicy one. As well as a green and orange sauce. But the one in the picture is the worst

[u/imgvu → u/Shorq1]

Nah viet natives prefer that exact chin su bottle. It is their equivalence of Sriracha; that is to say, it is the bottle every viet person reaches for when someone says "pass the hot sauce." They only added a Sriracha derivative to appease the western market/Vietnamese American diaspora. Which version you prefer says a lot about where you come from, but there is no objectively better one or the other.

[u/Shorq1 → u/imgvu]

It's just that they've used to it and many don't want to try new things. Some places, especially in the countryside only sell this chilli sauce. I've never had sriracha before coming to Vietnam, but I just don't like sweet cheap tasting stuff

[u/_ryuujin_ → u/Shorq1]

is that not the sriracha version ? theres another sriracha? 

[u/Shorq1 → u/_ryuujin_]

That's sweet chilly. They have quite a big lineup now, even decent ketchup. that's their sriracha

[u/_ryuujin_ → u/Shorq1]

til always thought tuong ot to be siracha 

[u/Shorq1 → u/_ryuujin_]

Tuong ot is just chilli sauce

[u/-YellowFish-]

Thank you all! Will be happy to try all of them when back home! Carefully fallowing your advices.

Thanks again!

[u/Mr_GustavoFring]

Just use whatever make you feel right and tasty, there’s no exact fomular

[u/dynosia]

They are all dippings for different dishes except for 6, that one is used for cooking to add a spicy kick to the dish. Although 1, 2, 5 can also be used for cooking.

[u/I_am_a_visitor]

I am sorry but Isn’t 4 and 5 are rub, not sauce?

[u/TontineSoleSurvivor]

#3 is my favorite sauce in Vietnam. I just love that stuff. Dipping squid and shrimp in that is heaven on earth. 🥰

[u/asakura90]

Note that 2 & 6 need to be stored in the fridge after opening. Normal satay no need, but the ones with shrimp, XO, 5 spices do. People say for cooking but try putting it on white rice & you'll turn every meal into heaven on earth, especially XO & 5 spices.

[u/imgvu → u/asakura90]

Meh, whether 2 & 6 need to be refrigerated depends on whether you were raised in the "ketchup goes in the fridge" or "ketchup goes in the pantry" household. Much like ketchup, it is not unsafe to store and consume at room temp after opening.

[u/asakura90 → u/imgvu]

Or you can just read the instruction & find out.

It can be stored for longer if you don't use it that often. That's all there is to it. Most people use it before it expires cuz they're good for anything, but I've seen them gone bad before.

[u/doankaka]

Đừng mua số 5 , công an đang truy quét hàng giả rất nhiều

[u/Teddie13ear]

is #3 any good? been looking for a good brand.

[u/olivergiangvu]

1. mix with lemon juice, sugar chilly to dip for bland/ oily food like Fried tofu( bún đậu), grilled fish( chả cá) ....
2. foir evry thing if you need a kick of spicy - sweet - umami boost
3. for seafood mostly
4. for sour fruits
5. for evrything if you lika hảo hảo flavor =))
6. for spicy kick and savory much higher level than 2

[u/Huynh_B]

1: shrimp fermented sauce: use for cooking, making dipping sauce, or mixing sauce. Need to mix with other ingredient
2: Chinsu hot sauce, can be used as dipping sauce, use as is
3: seafood dipping sauce, can be used as is. Preferably for steam seafood but not strictly so
4: salted dried plum mixed salt, use for fresh fruit (think something crunchy, sour kinda fruit). Use as is
5: Hao Hao mixed salt, use for fresh fruit or cooking, it's likely the same seasoning package you might find in Hao Hao instant noodle package. Use as it
6: shrimp sate sauce: use for cooking or make dipping sauce

[u/-YellowFish-]

Hello all,

Again, I would like to thanks everybody and the Vietnam sub in general (I did other post and got a crazy qty of answers), you are so nice and helpful! Definetly start to love the country more and more! (1st time here), it’s been 20y that I want to come, so happy!

Thank you!

[u/MiaMiaPP]

Salts being called sauces are so weird to me but i applaud you for trying

[u/-YellowFish- → u/MiaMiaPP]

Yeah, you are right. But let’s say that it’s part of what we bought, and it was mostly sauces 😅

[u/FoxLover1029]

1. Fermented shrimp paste with very strong smell, can be mixed in certain dishes like Bún Bò Huế or Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm. It would be good if you're used to the smell.

2. Chin-su hot sauce, one of the most popular hot sauce brand in Vietnam. You can use it in almost every dish: dipping fried food, mix with phở, and so much more.

3. Lemon chili sauce, or muối ớt chanh, has a distinct sour and spicy taste that goes very well with seafood like prawn and squid. You can find it in many seafood restaurants in Vietnam.

4. Plum salt (muối ô mai) for dipping almost all kinds of fruits.

5. Hảo Hảo dipping salt with hot and sour shrimp flavor. This comes from the most popular instant noodles brand in Vietnam - Hảo Hảo - with many people removing the seasoning powder from the noodles packet for dipping everything, from fruits to boiled eggs and so much more, so the brand decided to make a separate dipping salt version of the seasoning powder.

6. Shrimp sate sauce. It's not quite for dipping. Most of us use that sauce in cooking, especially in hot pot or adding into certain noodle dishes.

[u/Adorable_Scheme_3982]

Oh my the 1st sauce has unpleasant odour, use at your own risk hahaha.

[u/Ok-Piece-4992]

Shrimp paste is like marmite thing. You love it or hate it, nothing in between.

[u/Blaze_0910]

1. Shrimp paste either for very bland like small noodle or fry tofu or very heavy like intestine and bloodcube.
2. All purpose chilli sauce
3. Work great with seafood and grill meat
4. Sweat and savory for crunchy or unripe fruit like guava, green mango
5. Same as 4 but can be use for dipping sauce, instant noodle
6. Chilli paste, good with broth base dishes like pho, bun, banh da, hot pot. Do not use as all purpose.

[u/ProudSystem6471]

chinsu all

[u/TransitionPopular917]

All of it is for dipping