Bachan's Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce
Unlike grocery-store teriyaki sauces that include artificial preservatives or sweeteners, Bachan's uses only fresh, natural ingredients in its Original Japanese Barbecue Sauce. Authentic Japanese shoyu—soy sauce made with wheat—provides an umami flavor base, while cane sugar and mirin add the signature complementary sweetness. Bachan's also layers green onion, ginger and garlic, which add aromatic complexity and ground the sauce in earthy, savory notes. In a nod to Western barbecue sauce, the secret recipe also includes tomato paste, which adds a nuanced, natural fruitiness and thickens the sauce. Plus, this umami-packed sauce is now available gluten free.
Pure Indian Foods Alphonso Mango Puree
Rarely have we seen a mango puree in supermarkets and, if we do, it’s often full of sweeteners and additives. Made from Alphonso mangoes, which are renowned in India for their natural sweetness and buttery-smooth texture, this puree contains no added sugar or preservatives—it’s just pure, juicy mango. About five fresh mangos are packed into every jar of this luscious puree and its silky texture is pourable, yet decadent like yogurt, and has a rich, bright flavor that balances sweet and tart, akin to snacking on refreshing mangoes at their peak season.
BLiS Gourmet Barrel Aged Fish Sauce
This bourbon barrel-aged fish sauce is mellowed by seven months of sitting in oak, so the earthy, meaty funk that one expects from any fermented fish product is beautifully balanced by a complementary sweetness. BLiS's product is also rounded out with soft notes imparted by the seven-month aging process: warming spices, vanilla, and fruit woods, as well as a subtle smoky depth.
Tân Tân Vietnamese Hoisin Sauce
Too many supermarket hoisin sauces come across as cloying—usually candy-sweet with an occasional aftertaste of unpleasant chemical bitterness. Tan Tan’s version of the classic Chinese fermented soybean condiment, however, yields the perfect balance of sweet, earthy and savory notes with an addictive umami core that adds even more depth. An elegant hint of anise floats in and adds aromatic, nuanced complexity, while garlic grounds the sauce without overwhelming its other flavors. It’s texture is satisfyingly syrupy, not too molasses-thick like some brands, and it’s made with no preservatives from a family recipe—the epitome of an elevated pantry essential.
Hanamaruki Foods Liquid Shio Koji
A traditional condiment made from fermented malted rice, shio koji is known in Japan for packing a punch of umami into everything from marinated meats to savory soups. All shio kojis aren’t created equal, though, for Hanamaruki Foods distills the powerful flavor properties of this essential Japanese ingredient into an easy-to-use liquid form—the only Liquid Shio Koji available on the market—to create the ultimate pantry secret weapon. We love the condiment’s clean, yet bold flavor: salty rounded out with a pronounced sweetness and burst of umami. It’s made by pressing shio koji in its original paste form and filtering until it yields the clear, golden-hued liquid. The product isn’t heat-treated, so its enzymes remain active and effective in rendering meat remarkably moist and juicy, balancing bitterness in veggies like eggplant and adding amino acids for a full-flavored finish to any dish to truly change the way you cook. Use as a marinade for meats and fish, drizzle into salad dressings and sauces to balance savory flavors, or incorporate into baked goods to add a layer of tantalizing complexity.
Yugeta Organic Yuuki Shoyu Soy Sauce
This Japanese soy sauce has a light-tasting without being too thin or watery, with a rounded, mouth-filling umami flavor and clear, bright salinity that quickly yields to a light, wheaty nuttiness. Its clarity of flavor and clean finish are perfect for delicate foods like chicken and fish, as the shoyu won't overwhelm but rather enhance other flavors in a dish.
Fly By Jing Zhong Dumpling Sauce
This all-purpose condiment layers the spicy elements with salty-sweet soy sauce, umami-rich mushroom powder and brown sugar for a robust, well-rounded sauce; you can think of it as a variation of Sichuan chili oil with just as much bold aroma but less heat. Fly by Jing uses regional Sichuan dried chilies and mouth-tingling Sichuan peppercorns for a classic mala profile that defines much of Sichuan cooking.
Red Boat 40°N Fish Sauce
We love this fish sauce because it is smoother and more complex than other varieties, with a unique nutty quality. To make it, Red Boat ferments wild-caught black anchovies with sea salt for 12 months in wooden barrels, then presses out and bottles the resulting liquid—that's it. All of its flavor comes from the natural aging process, not added sugar like with most commercial fish sauces. Its name is a reference to degrees N: the scale used to measure the amount of nitrogen in fish sauce, which correlates to protein content and thereby flavor. Forty degrees is up to three times the amount of protein of other brands because the company doesn't dilute its product with water, another indicator of Red Boat's superior quality. Though the initial aroma is intense and pungent, the flavor of this fish sauce isn't fishy, but rather a bold and complex hit of umami. Use this fish sauce as a savory complement to aromatic Southeast Asian curry flavors, such as in our Lemon Grass-Coconut Tofu or Singaporean Shrimp and Chicken Noodle Soup (Laksa). It's also a key flavoring for our Thai Fried Rice and adds savory notes to sweet shrimp in our Thai Grapefruit Salad with Shrimp (Som Tom O) and Grilled Skewered Cilantro-Lime Shrimp. You can also make dipping sauces, such as the dressing of our Grilled Cilantro-Lime Skirt Steak inspired by our travels in Cambodia. Or try our Southeast Asian Chicken Salad with Cashews and Coconut or Vietnamese-inspired Caramel-Braised Chicken with Ginger and Lime to add a rich, savory element to chicken.
Milk Street Sofrito
We created our sofrito to be the perfect building block to cook a wide variety of recipes in less time, based on the tradition of Italian and Spanish grandmothers who make this by the jar to simplify cooking and boost flavor. After much testing, we came up with an aromatic base of sautéed onions, carrots and celery, complemented by the bright tones of tomatoes, white wine and vinegar. For additional depth, it has earthy, umami notes from mushroom powder, aromatic notes of rosemary and thyme, and just a hint of heat from black pepper and Kashmiri chili powder. A few tablespoons of this jammy sofrito is all it takes to spread rich, concentrated power into soups, sauces, stews, braises and nearly anything else that needs a boost of big flavor.
El Sabor de Oaxaca Mole Negro
Milk Street is the only vendor in the U.S. that carries this decadent mole crafted in Oaxaca, Mexico. The black paste yields a velvet-smooth sauce when diluted with water or stock that leads with aromatic sweet chili notes from four different chili varietals. The taste then transitions into layers of nutty richness from peanuts, walnuts and almonds. A touch of bitterness and moderate hit of heat rounds out the complex range of flavors. While many moles we sampled were too sugary, this one is perfectly balanced and can be sweetened to taste.
El Sabor de Oaxaca Mole Coloradito
Milk Street is the only vendor in the U.S. that carries this decadent mole crafted in Oaxaca, Mexico. Lusciously smooth with a brick red hue, this mole is thick and rich, yet bright with robust chili flavor. A pleasant hint of garlic lingers at the base, while the almond’s fruity nuttiness plays up the paste’s subtle sweetness and emphasizes the paste’s pleasant heat. While many moles we sampled were too sugary, this one is perfectly balanced and can be sweetened to taste. Simply dilute with water or broth for a smooth sauce.
Auria's Malaysian Kitchen Lime Leaf Sambal
Based on a family recipe, Lime Leaf Sambal by Auria's Malaysian Kitchen is a one-of-a-kind tangy and savory chili paste made with makrut lime leaves and lime juice. The clarifying aroma and complex floral notes of makrut lime complement the chili peppers' fresh, vibrant quality without making the hot sauce taste overwhelmingly citrusy. The sambal is rounded out with pungent garlic, cane sugar and kosher salt for a savory, balanced condiment that has both the brightness of fresh chilies and the depth of cooked chilies.
