Thais employ a number of sauces and seasonings in food preparation and each plays its own role. The number of different labels and bottles can, however, be mind-boggling, so below is a brief description of the major sauces and their uses.
Light soy sauce (see ew khao): Also called white or light, this is your basic soy sauce, but with a Thai twist. Thai soy sauce has a mild and soft salty flavour not present in many other Asian soy sauces, hence I don’t think non-Thai varieties are appropriate for use in Thai recipes. My favourite brand is Healthy Boy, which comes in both large and small bottles. If you need to replace fish sauce in a recipe, use thin soy sauce.
Mushroom light soy sauce can be used interchangeably with plain light soy sauce. It’s a matter of preference.
Seasoning sauce: Golden Mountain brand is my favourite, but despite the difference in taste it’s interchangeable with Maggi seasoning (which is commonly found as a condiment in Thailand). Often considered the secret ingredient in Thai cooking, you’ll probably love this stuff so much you’ll need a new bottle before long. When seasoning sauce is called for in a recipe, assume it’s referring to Golden Mountain brand, which is ubiquitous across Thailand.
Things start to get confusing with dark/black soy sauce since there are many varieties, each with its own subtleties and varying levels of sweetness. I keep two on hand, one sweet bottle and one that contains molasses and is bolder and less sweet. Dark soy sauce is thicker than white or thin soy sauce, with a viscous, syrupy consistency. They are very different from dark soy sauces made in other Asian countries.
Dark/Black Soy Sauce (see ew dahm): Sometimes labelled as stir fry seasoning sauce (not to be confused with the seasoning sauce mentioned above), this is a strong and bold, salty and somewhat sweet soy sauce with a strong molasses flavour.
Dark Sweet Soy Sauce (see ew waan): Not dissimilar to Indonesian kecap manis, this syrupy sauce is thick, dark, and sweet. This is an essential ingredient in pad see ew and is often used as a dipping sauce.
Fermented soybean paste (Tao Jeow): Also known as yellow bean sauce and salted soy beans, there is nothing pretty about this much loved Thai condiment. There is also no doubt that it will heighten the flavour of food. Use in stir fries, rat na, and stir fried morning glory. If you absolutely cannot find it, use diluted brown miso paste as a substitute.
Sukiyaki sauce is served alongside sukiyaki (also called steamboat or hot pot), a communal dish where a pot of simmering broth at the table is used for cooking fresh ingredients such as dumplings and vegetables. Suki sauce was developed to accompany the Thai variation of the steamboat, and is suitable for pretty much vegetable you’d have along with your hot pot. Not a traditional preparation, but I also enjoy it mixed through noodles because it takes four seconds and sometimes I want four second noodles.
Thai sweet chilli sauce is a versatile condiment that can be used as a dipping sauce or marinade for just about anything. It is excellent with grilled foods or deep fried foods of joy like spring rolls.
Sriracha (pronounced see-rash-ah): Available in varying degrees of heat, this bright red garlicky chilli sauce also appears to be one of the most popular non ketchup table condiments in many countries outside of Thailand. The difference is that Thai versions are a little sweeter than those popularly available in North America and Europe (the Huy Fung rooster sauce does not taste like Thai sriracha). I love both and use them liberally.
I need to seek out the rest of the healthy boy brand, I get the mushroom one all the time but I’ve never seen the others!
The mushroom one is ace!
Love all of the condiments, use them in my Asian dishes almost everyday!
Same! I practically drink Thai soy sauce.
I feel like I know way more about soy sauce after reading this! I love the educational articles, thanks! 🙂 Where do you buy all these? Is there a Thai specialty shop or will anywhere in Chinatown sell them?
I’ve got a post scheduled for sometime this month with London resources for finding Thai ingredients, but in the meanwhile you will find many of them in New Loon Moon in Chinatown 🙂
Where’s the Kikkoman?
I think you made a mistake with the Sweet soy sauce. You just wrote the same thing as black soy sauce but with a different spelling. Thai sweet soy sauce is “see ew waan”/”Siu wahn”
So I did. Thanks for the correction!
I’m having trouble tracking Thai sriracha where I live, my local Asian grocer doesn’t have any. A search online reveals some online Aussie Asian grocers selling a Thai green sriracha, and I have the option of having Flying Goose brand shipped from the UK.
Is there something similar I can use to Thai sriracha? Is the green likely to be very different from the red?
I love this post, very informative! I couldn’t get the Black or Dark Sweet Soys locally either, but could order them online.
Hey Suzi,
Thanks for your nice words 🙂
Can you get Indonesian kecap manis? That is a reasonable stand in for the dark sweet soy sauce. As for the sriracha, maybe you could make your own? Hot Thai Kitchen has a simple recipe, and her site and Youtube channels are great resources in general. I’ve never had green sriracha so I can’t answer definitively, but I’d expect it to have quite a different (but good) flavour. Let me know if you try it! Flying Goose is a good hot sauce, but it is unlike Thai sriracha, so if I had to choose I’d go with making your own.
Mushroom suace is it halal
Hi Gene,
I don’t know enough about the laws that govern what makes a food product halal or not so I’m afraid I’m not in a position to answer this question.
Just a heads-up that many sauces, including golden mountain sauce contain isosinates made from animal by-products, which many be an issue for vegans.
The components of disodium ribonucleotides are sometimes produced from animal sources, but they can also be made from plants (e.g tapioca starch and seaweed). Since Golden Mountain sauce is labeled vegetarian I am happy to assume the latter. The Vegetarian Resource Group posted an article about this awhile back: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2011/03/21/disodium-inosinate-and-disodium-guanylate-are-all-vegetable-flavor-enhancers/
Oh no, healthy boy has msg and lots of additives, so I guess there is no authentic Thai kitchen without msg? I think my boyfriend’s mum had this, but she is Chinese so not sure. But I think she might have been feeding us oyster sauce in vegan 🙁
There is no good, peer reviewed research that indicates MSG is bad for you. Not one paper. Hence it isn’t something to worry about. The oyster sauce thing is frustrating and I have faced similar difficulty in some places. Now I just specifically say no oyster sauce to be extra clear.