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Lucky Peach's Odd Flavor Sauce

by:
October  3, 2015
4
4 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes about 1/2 cup
Author Notes

Serve the sauce with chicken, fish, pork, or tofu—and always some rice. Really, just put it on whatever needs a little extra "oomph," like soba noodles or roasted or steamed vegetables. It would also work as a stellar sauce for okonomiyaki.

Recipe from Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes. —Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm

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Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tahini, almond butter, or peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar (Chinese black rice vinegar) or red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil (like canola, vegetable, or grapeseed)
  • 1 small scallion, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (or more to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns
Directions
  1. Combine the soy sauce, tahini (or nut butter), vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a small heatproof bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved and tahini is well incorporated. It’s okay if it’s not completely dissolved, though.
  2. Heat a small skillet over medium heat, add the oil, and heat until shimmering. Add the scallions, ginger, garlic, chili flakes, and crushed peppercorns. Remove from the heat and stir for 10 seconds, until the scallion is bright green and everything’s aromatic. Pour all this into the liquid seasonings and whisk until well blended. Once cool, the sauce will keep in the fridge for one or two days.
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25 Reviews

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AKeyte December 21, 2016
Delicious! This sauce has such a unique flavour. It took little bit of adjusting for me to wrap my around it and start to love it. But now that I do, I definitely can see myself using this on many things. I used Asian sesame paste instead of tahini because I like the roasted flavour it brings. I didn't add any salt because I felt it was salty enough.
Mary G. January 24, 2016
Why does this have such a short "shelf" life? One-2 days is no time at all. I used grey salt and the sauce is delicious. Grey salt has less sodium and is worth using almost exclusively. I also used low-sodium soy sauce.
michael M. November 7, 2015
how many calories?
Mom 2. October 21, 2015
Yes. It is correct. I actually ended up using 1/2 t. Salt, but I did use low sodium soy sauce and put it on pasta. 1/4t. Is probably enough for other uses and if you use regular soy sauce.
Iko October 21, 2015
Is this recipe correct as it stands? Afraid to make it if it's not.
And does it really only keep 1-2 days? Is it freezable?
Allie S. November 16, 2015
I too would really like to know why it only keeps 1-2 days. From the ingredient list, it doesn't seem like it should spoil so quickly. Was that a typo? 1-2 weeks seems more reasonable.
catharina October 21, 2015
this is utterly delicious!!!!
Riddley G. October 20, 2015
The recipe should now read 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Thank you, all, for the comments. My apologies for the error!
Regine October 19, 2015
Mary, LOL. Re Ridley, I dont think she has yet read or acted upon our suggestion to remove the salt. I ended up redoing recipe due to the oversaltiness.
Mary E. October 19, 2015
Riddley -- can you tell us how much salt is in the correct recipe? My browser still pulls it up at 2 tsp.
Regine -- I don't have a guardian angel. The only time I don't read the comments, there is essential info there! ;-)
Mom 2. October 19, 2015
It now says 1/4t. I used 1/2t. because I was putting it on pasta, and it worked well....
Riddley G. October 20, 2015
Mom 2_3 is correct—the recipe should read 1/4 teaspoon! My apologies for the mistake.
Regine October 19, 2015
Mary, i and others did comment to skip the sallt. This is why i always read the comments before i follow a recipe. i agree with u. Recipe should be fixed!
Mary E. October 19, 2015
I just made it today... still over salted! Was the ingredient list changed? It says 2 tsp. kosher salt...
Riddley G. October 19, 2015
The recipe was updated yesterday but due to browser issues, may not have shown! The correct amount should appear now.
Better T. October 18, 2015
Sorry to be too picky-but red or green Sichuan peppercorns? They have very different flavor profiles
Riddley G. October 19, 2015
Great question! I used red.
Mom 2. October 18, 2015
I started out with low sodium soy sauce and no salt, then ended up adding about a 1/2 t.
This will only keep one or two days?
Regine October 15, 2015
Marit, I am glad you too thought it was overly salted. I think recipe should be edited to exclude the salt. I am now getting ready to add the sauce to some noodles.
Marit K. October 15, 2015
Just made it and yes, really too salty. Made a second one with no salt and just half the soysauce and then mixed it together. WOW this a new favorite! We will eat it with pulled turkey, mashed potatos and veggis, yummie ;)
Regine October 14, 2015
just made it but i dont yet know what i will eat with. It is very tasty but overly overly salty. I had to do a second batch and this time skipped the kosher salt. It is NOT necessary and even without the salt it has enough of it due to the sodium in the soy sauce. Consider using a low sodium soy sauce, skip the salt and maybe add 2 or more scallions.
susan G. October 13, 2015
Sometimes I think I like the condiments and sauces better than the food I put them on. I too have all the ingredients! It rises to the top of the must make pile.
Gardener October 6, 2015
I don't see sugar in the ingredients list but it is included in the instructions. What quantity is used in this recipe?
Riddley G. October 6, 2015
My apologies! The ingredient list has been updated.
Gardener October 6, 2015
Thank you! I'm anxious to try this recipe.