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【Learn Chinese】Chinese Sauces: Less Common Condiments
 
Over the last weeks we introduced popular Chinese sauces, vinegar, condiments and cooking wines.
Lastly on our list of Chinese sauces, we have a couple of the less commonly used condiments that are mostly just used in a few specific dishes.
 
Chee hou sauce 柱侯酱 zhù hóu jiàng
Chee Hou Sauce, also sometimes called “chu hou paste”, is another one of the Chinese sauces that is used in Cantonese cuisine. This is one of the less common Chinese sauces on our list but can be seen as quite similar to hoisin sauce.
Like hoisin sauce it is made from fermented soybeans mixed with garlic, ginger, sesame, Chinese spices and some more unusual ingredients such as salted plums and salted lemons.
However, unlike hoisin sauce it isn’t used as a marinade or as a dipping sauce but instead it is designed for braising meats.
As chee hou sauce has a very specific usage and can be switched out for hoisin sauce if needed, this is not seen too often in Chinese supermarkets and most Chinese people won’t keep a jar as a staple in their home.
 
Shrimp sauce 虾酱 xiā jiàng
Last up we have shrimp sauce/paste, which does not sound like the most appetizing of Chinese sauces. It is made from crushed or ground shrimp that is then salted and fermented.
It has a similar taste to fish sauce but has a stronger flavour and unsurprisingly a more shrimpy flavour.
Depending on the brand it can have more of a sauce like consistency or more of a paste like constancy. How salty and strong it is also varies brand to brand.
It is mainly used in Cantonese cuisine, especially in clay pot dishes (煲仔饭 bāo zǐ fàn) and for stir fried vegetable dishes like stir fried water spinach.

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