Recipe: Everything Everywhere Sauce

Whenever I host a dinner party at my place, people always ask me the same questions:

“How did you make the sauce for the wonton soup?”

“What’s the dipping sauce for the dumplings?”

“What’s in this cold beef dish? What sauce did you use?”

The answer is actually super simple. They’re all based on the same sauce — just slightly tweaked to suit each dish. Italian food has green sauce, French food has white sauce. Chinese food? It has Everything Everywhere Sauce.

Ingredients

These base ingredients are essential — they form the foundation of Chinese flavors.

There’s no exact amount you need to follow. To build more complex flavors, you can customize it with extra ingredients.

Want a more tangy favor for salads or cold dishes? Add more vinegar and coriander.

Need to balance out chili oil heat? Add a bit more sugar.

Get creative and make it your own!

Base Ingredients

• Soy sauce
• Vinegar
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Salt

Extra Ingredients

• Chili oil
• MSG
• Sugar
• Spring onions
• Coriander
• Sesame oil

Tips for Shopping

Soy Sauce

Use this soy sauce. No need for anything fancy or expensive like the Japanese brands.

• Light soy sauce is for flavor
• Dark soy sauce is for color (I usually don’t use it)

Chili Oil

You can make chili oil with this type of chili powder. Some types already include added spices.

To make chili oil:

1. Put all ingredients (chili powder, garlic, etc.) in a heatproof bowl
2. Heat oil until it starts to smoke, then let it cool for about 1 minute
3. Pour the hot oil over the ingredients

Or, if you’re not ready to make your own, you can buy a pre-made one. LaoGanMa is all over social media, but homemade chili oil hits different.

Rice Vinegar

Just grab a bottle of standard rice vinegar — it’s enough for most dishes. The so-called “dumpling vinegar” is simply rice vinegar with sliced ginger.

MSG

I like this one. My mom’s been using it for over 20 years. The brand name literally translates to: Happy Housewife.