1. Chilli sauce
Chilli sauces come in all shapes and sizes. This one is a well-balanced brew of aromatics like ginger and garlic, with tangy citrus juice and meaty chicken stock, making it extremely versatile. It's particularly dreamy with chicken dishes like Hainanese chicken, poached chicken and chicken wings.
2. Walnut, garlic, yoghurt sauce
This sauce is creamy and nutty, but has a lively little garlic kick. Roast the walnuts to add extra richness and depth.
3. Romesco sauce
There's a handful of sauces that are regarded as essentials. This Spanish classic is one of them, a blend of almonds, bread, tomatoes, peppers, sourdough and a few other seasonings. Serve it as a sauce for fish, steak, potatoes, a dip, or slather it on a burger.
4. Lexington red dip
To serve the ultimate barbecue, you need the ultimate barbecue sauce. If you're from North Carolina, this means red dip. It's a thin, vinegary and hot barbecue sauce incarnation, so cuts through the rich and smoky meat flavours, and can also be used as a slaw dressing.
5. Chilean salsa (pebre)
Chilean cuisine doesn't get as much attention as its fellow Latin cuisines like Mexican or Peruvian, but this sassy little sauce is a case-in-point that it should. Use it on seafood, meat, empanadas, potatoes, soup, eggs on toast... you get the picture.
6. Walnut-coriander sauce
A pesto-not-pesto. If you have the time, let the sauce chill out overnight in the fridge to let the flavours settle—but if not, it's fine to serve as-is, in all its vibrant verdant glory.
7. Satay
A good satay goes a long way. And the good news is, this insanely good satay recipe goes a long way, so you can cook up peanut sauce-based concoctions for days: marinated meat skewers, dipping sauces for grilled veggies, stir-fries, Buddha bowl dressings.. or, freeze the leftovers for a quick meal another night.
8. Sweet chilli ginger sauce
Have a chilli bush going bananas and not sure what to do with them all? Whip up a homemade version of this pantry staple, and win friends by sharing a bottle with them.
9. Mango habanero hot sauce
Seafood tacos are calling you (and this sauce).
10. Green sauce (salsa verde)
Italian salsa verde is a combination of fresh green herbs with lemon juice, olive oil, and a salty—this recipe uses capers, but others use anchovies as well. It's one of those goes-on-everything sauces that will make you wonder what do you did before it.
11. Chilli-garlic sauce (mojo picon)
Paprika, garlic, vinegar, bread, olive oil, chilli flakes—this Spanish sauce has serious mojo.
12. Worcestershire sauce
Ever wondered what makes Worcestershire sauce so good? Now you can find out, by making your own.
13. Kansas City BBQ sauce
Kansas BBQ is about meat - all meat, not strictly pork - cooked low and slow. It's also about a heap of sides, like baked beans, French fries and coleslaw. And, it's about this thick, sticky, tomatoey BBQ sauce.
14. Red hot sauce
Of all red hot sauces out there, why choose this one? There's only one way to find out.
15. Newland's tomato sauce
Apples and aromatic spices like cardamom, cloves, allspice and ginger give this tomato sauce borderline chutney appeal. Sauce or chutney (a rose by any other name...), it works with everything from cheese platters to curries.
16. Chimichurri
Apparently, chimichurri should "taste like it has been dragged through the herb garden", which is pretty on point for this herbaceous sauce. Traditionally for meat, but it works a treat with barbecued fruit and vege like this grilled pineapple, and these grilled potatoes:
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