The 5 Sauces Behind Every Indo-Chinese Dish
Master these foundational sauces and you can make anything on the menu. This is what restaurants don't tell you.
Here's a secret from every Indo-Chinese restaurant kitchen: they're not making sauces from scratch for each dish. They have base sauces ready to go. Mix, match, and adjust — that's how they get food out fast and tasting consistent every single time.
These 5 sauces are your foundation. Make them once, store them in your fridge, and you're 5 minutes away from restaurant-quality Indo-Chinese any night of the week.
Schezwan Sauce
The Fiery All-Rounder
The backbone of Indo-Chinese cooking. Fiery, aromatic, and pungent. Use it in fried rice, noodles, as a dipping sauce, or stir it into any dish that needs heat.
Chilli Garlic Sauce
The Sharp Drizzle
Sharp, garlicky, and intensely savory. A pourable sauce perfect for drizzling, dipping, and tossing. The all-purpose Indo-Chinese condiment.
Manchurian Gravy
The Glossy Brown Magic
The mother sauce of Indo-Chinese gravies. Glossy, umami-rich, and restaurant-style. Make it once, create five different dishes all week.
Chilli Oil
The Finishing Fire
The finishing touch that separates home cooking from restaurant cooking. Layers of heat, colour, and fragrance with Sichuan peppercorns.
Spicy Soy Vinegar Dip
The Spring Roll Essential
The sauce on every Chinese restaurant table. Soy, vinegar, and heat in perfect balance. Five minutes, no cooking, infinite uses.
Which Sauce Do You Need?
Making Fried Rice?
Schezwan Sauce — 2 tbsp per portion
Making Manchurian?
Manchurian Gravy — the glossy coating
Making Chilli Dishes?
Chilli Garlic Sauce — the red glaze
Finishing Touch?
Chilli Oil — drizzle on everything
Dipping Sauce?
Soy Vinegar Dip — for spring rolls
Ready to Cook?
Put your sauces to work with these recipes:
Or explore our complete recipe collection