Tamari or Shoyu, sir?

If a stuffy steward at a chic oriental eatery asked you that, what would you say? FYI brings you an all-you-need-to-know asian sauce guide to help you pick dishes at your next meal out, like a pro

You are at: Jap, Chinese, Indonesian eatery
Soy sauce
You'll find it: At your table
Soy sauces are of three kinds: Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian.
Chinese Soy sauces include a light soy sauce (salty in flavour), dark soy sauce (sweet in flavour) and a regular soy sauce (a mixture of both).
Japanese Soy sauces include Usukuchi soy sauce (light in colour and less salty as compared to Chinese soy sauces), Tamari (dark in colour and thick with a strong flavour) and Shoyu (full-flavoured sauce aged up to two years).
In Indonesia, you will find kecap manis (a thick, black soy sauce with a powerful aroma and a sweet syrupy taste) and kecap asin (also called white soy as it is thinner and weaker).
Tastes best with: Sushi. Pick the sushi between chopsticks and dip it into a bowl of soy before popping it into your mouth. A bland Chinese soup gets an added zing if a drop or two of dark soy is added to it.

You are at: Chinese eatery
Oyster sauce
You'll find it: On the menu, as a base in main course dishes. Never served as an accompaniment at your table
This is a Cantonese specialty. The thick brown soy-based sauce is flavoured with oyster juice, salt and caramel, then thickened with cornflour (corn starch). It is thicker than both soy sauce and fish sauce, but is lighter in colour.
What it tastes like: It has has a pleasant, fragrant aroma and a delicious and delicate flavour that surprisingly doesn't taste of fish at all. Nevertheless, it is widely used in many fish dishes, soups and sauces.
Tastes best with: Chicken, or a strongly flavoured meat like beef or shellfish. Beef in oyster sauce is one of the most popular Chinese dishes in the West.

Hoisin sauce
You'll find it: On the menu. It's used as an accent in marinades.
The Chinese name literally means 'sea flavour', which is a reflection on how delicious it is rather than an indication of its ingredients. In fact, it is made from fermented soya beans, sugar, vinegar, salt, chilli, garlic and sesame oil and may also include a variety of other spices.
What it tastes like: Light and dark Hoisin sauce has a rich, warm, sweet yet salty taste.
Tastes best with: All kinds of roast meats. It is also an excellent sauce to use with stir-fries with chicken, prawns or vegetables.

Black Bean Sauce
You'll find it: On the menu. It's used as an accent in marinades.
This sauce made from a mixture of pureed salted black beans with soy sauce, sugar ad spice is manufactured for the convenience of Western cooks, since Chinese and Asian cooks make their own version at home by crushing whole fermented black beans in the wok while cooking. It is usually blended with other strong flavoured seasonings, such as spring onions, garlic, ginger and chillies, before being added to stir-fries, and braised and steamed dishes.
What it tastes like: Fermented black beans have a powerful aroma and flavour.
Tastes best with: Steamed fish and stir fried noodles.

You are at: Japanese eatery
Miso
You'll find it: On the menu, as a base in soups
This is one of the best-known Japanese ingredients. Miso is the collective name for several different types of soya bean paste. The various pastes are made from steamed soya beans, fermented with the aid of different natural yeasts. Red miso, known as mugi miso in Japan, is the most popular paste. Miso is the key ingredient in a soup served at almost every Japanese meal, called miso ramen. The paste is also stirred in sauces, used as a marinade for meat and fish, and is an ingredient in dressings. When miso is mixed with mayonnaise it makes the increasingly popular miso-may.
What it tastes like: The soup is like a broth and includes and meat and veggies, and has a slight sour twang to it.

Sambals
You'll find it: At your table at a Thai restaurant
In the West, sambals have come to mean the side dishes served with a curry, but this is several steps away from the original South-east Asian term, which was, and still is, applied to a number of hot, saucy relishes, sauces and similar accompaniments that are based on chillies.
In a typical Thai meal, there may be one of two sambals in addition to the much-loved nam prik, a combination of dried prawns, shrimp, paste, garlic, chillies, fish sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar.
In Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, sambal blachan (chilli and shrimp paste) is a favourite. Fresh red chillies are coarsely chopped, then pounded with a little salt and prepared shrimp paste.
Tastes best with: Nam Prik complements raw, steamed, fried or boiled vegetables and is often simply stirred into a bowl of plain boiled or steamed Thai rice.

Pickles

You'll find it: At your table at a Chinese eatery Pickles, especially of the Japanese variety are served singly or in groups of two or three, and are beautifully arranged in small individual dishes.

Pickled Ginger: Pieces of fresh root ginger are sprinkled with salt, then pickled in a mixture of rice, vinegar, sugar and water. Pickled ginger is served with sushi and sashimi in Japan and preserved duck eggs in Hong Kong. Pickled ginger is known as gari in Japan.

Pickled Garlic: This is a great favourite in Thailand. Small bulbs of garlic are pickled whole in a sweet and sour brine.

Pickled Limes: Whole limes preserved in brine or a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, salt and vinegar are a Thai specialty.

Mirin Pulp Pickles: These traditional Japanese pickles are made of vegetables such as aubergine (eggplant), carrot, cucumber, daikon and turnips, pickled in a mash made from rice bran mixed with warm brine. These pickles have a mildly sweet enriched flavour.