Hot pot sauces recipe
Easy hot pot dipping sauces with Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese flavors. Includes a quick beginner guide, sauce-building tips, and five delicious sauce ideas.
Servings: 1 serving
Ingredients
Taiwanese Shacha Hotpot Sauce
- 0.5 oz garlic clove crushed or grated
- 2 tbsp shacha sauce use 1.5 tbsp if store-bought
- 0.5 tbsp soy sauce or 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- 0.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- 0.5 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 scallion chopped
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp chopped Thai red chili peppers optional
Garlic Sesame Sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste or 1.5 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp cashew butter
- 0.5 tbsp soy sauce or 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 0.3 oz garlic clove crushed or grated
- 1/4 tsp Shiitake mushroom seasoning optional
- 1-2 tbsp water or more for a thinner sauce
Chinese Spicy Chili Garlic Hotpot Sauce
- 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce or your preferred store-bought version
- 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar or Chinese black vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 0.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 scallion chopped
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1/4 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder optional
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce or store-bought, optional
Japanese sesame miso sauce
- 1 tbsp white miso paste or chickpea miso
- 0.5 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste or 1.5 tbsp tahini
- 0.5 tbsp soy sauce or 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 2-2.5 tbsp water or more to thin the sauce
Spicy “peanut” sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted peanut butter or almond butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tsp sugar
- 0.5 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp water or more to thin the sauce
- 1 tbsp garlic chili sauce optional, or your preferred store-bought version
- 2 tsp chopping cilantro optional
Instructions
- Each sauce recipe serves one person. Choose one or more sauces below, and multiply the quantities by the number of people you’re making that sauce for.
Taiwanese Shacha Hotpot Sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the shacha sauce, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, aged balsamic vinegar, and sesame oil. If using sugar, stir until dissolved.
- Mix in the garlic, chopped scallion, and optional Thai chili peppers. Stir well before serving.
Garlic Sesame Sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the sesame paste (or tahini), cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar.
- Gradually stir in 1 tablespoon of water until smooth. Mix in the garlic and optional mushroom seasoning.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of water, a little at a time, until the sauce reaches your preferred dipping consistency. Add more water if needed.
Chinese Spicy Chili Garlic Hotpot Sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the chili garlic sauce, aged balsamic vinegar (or Chinese black vinegar), sesame oil, and rice vinegar.
- Mix in the chopped scallion and sesame seeds. Stir in the Sichuan peppercorn powder and vegetarian oyster sauce, if using.
Japanese Sesame Miso Sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the miso, sesame paste (or tahini), sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar.
- Gradually stir in 2 tablespoons of water until smooth, pressing out any lumps of miso with the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the sesame seeds. Add the remaining ½ tablespoon of water, or more as needed, until the sauce reaches your preferred dipping consistency.
Spicy Peanut Sauce
- In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter (or almond butter), soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and rice vinegar.
- Gradually stir in 2 tablespoons of water until smooth. Add more water, a little at a time, if you prefer a thinner sauce.
- Mix in the optional chili garlic sauce and chopped cilantro.
Notes
- Serving size: Each sauce recipe serves one person. Multiply the quantities by the number of people you’re making that sauce for.
- Chinese sesame paste: If unavailable, use the tahini amount listed in the individual sauce recipe.
- Shacha sauce: For a quicker option, use store-bought shacha sauce. Use 1½ tablespoons instead of 2 tablespoons homemade.
- Aged balsamic vinegar: It has a sweeter taste and thicker consistency than regular balsamic. If substituting regular balsamic, start with less and adjust to taste.
- Miso paste: For a soy-free sesame miso sauce, choose soy-free chickpea miso and coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Check the other ingredient labels, too.
- Make-ahead and leftovers: Prep the chopped aromatics ahead and refrigerate them separately until serving. Each sauce recipe makes one personal dipping bowl to enjoy during the meal. Discard any sauce left in bowls that have been used for dipping. Keep unused ingredients separate, and store them as you normally would.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 575mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 61IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg
