Cooking Sauces

Cooking sauces are ready made sauces that finish a dish on their own. Indo-Chinese sauces come from the Chinese style cooking of Kolkata and Mumbai: Manchurian is a soy, garlic and chilli sauce for vegetable balls, gobi or chicken, and Schezwan, the Indian spelling of Sichuan, is a hot red chilli and garlic sauce for noodles and fried rice. Sri Lankan devilled sauces are sweet, sour and hot, made with chilli, tomato and vinegar. Both families belong to curry pastes and mixes.

For gobi or chicken Manchurian, deep fry the battered florets or chicken pieces, then toss them in the sauce with spring onion and capsicum. Schezwan sauce coats hakka noodles and fried rice, or doubles as a dip for momos and spring rolls. Devilled sauce goes over fried chicken, prawns, cuttlefish or boiled chickpeas with onion and pepper, for a classic Sri Lankan bite with drinks.

Heat the wok until very hot before adding the sauce, so it caramelises slightly and clings. Once opened, keep jars in the fridge. For noodles to go with these sauces, see hakka noodles, and for the Sri Lankan chilli paste that often joins a devilled dish, chilli paste. For curry bases, try Indian curry pastes.