3 Thai sauces you should have at home

Many of our readers have asked this question – what are the basic Thai sauces that we should have in or pantry for making Thai food? So today is a good opportunity to go through this with you all.

There is something that we call the “Trinity of Thai sauces” and with these sauces, you basically can cook any Thai food at home…kind of.

Fish sauce

Fish sauce is an essential seasoning in Thai cuisine and is a common Thai salting agent. We use it a lot in many different dishes, from curry to stir fry. Fish sauce has a pretty distinctive and pungent smell which some of you may not like, but trust me, it gives dimension to the Thai dish you make which is hard to replicate with something else. For example, Larb and Panang curry without fish sauce don’t have the same oomph as ones made with just soy sauce. It gives dishes saltiness, umami and a kick. It is a must-have for any Thai household.

A new fish sauce should have a translucent red color when you hold it up to the light. The color will change and become darker eventually. This does not mean the fish sauce has gone bad. Although, if mold is formed in the fish sauce, you should throw it away. 

This is the fish sauce we use and it is pretty common to have in Thai households. When buying a fish sauce, be sure to buy a Thai brand.

Light soy sauce

Light soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce (Sometimes known as Thai soy sauce) is a very versatile sauce to have at home and we use a lot in fried rice, stir fry dish or in the basic marinade. It is not as pungent as fish sauce and give a subtle umami flavor to the dish. It is also vegan friendly.

Disclaimer – all soy sauce doesn’t necessarily taste the same. Usually, it has a different level of saltiness. For example, Japanese soy sauce (Shoyu) tastes a lot different from Thai soy sauce. This is the Thai soy sauce we usually have in our pantry.

Oyster sauce

Oyster sauce is generally used in stir fry and basic marinade but rarely used in soups. It has a very subtle saltiness with a hint of sweetness. We usually use oyster sauce as the main seasoning in chicken or pork marinade (like we did for Namtok Mhoo) because it gives the meat a pretty balanced flavor. Also, it pairs well with veggie stir fry because it has a very balanced saltiness and sweetness with a hint of umami.

Similar to soy sauce – different oyster sauces has a different taste. The Chinese oyster sauce tastes very different from the Thai oyster sauce we use. This is the basic oyster sauce that every Thai household uses.

All these sauces are common in Asian grocery stores, we got ours at a local Asian grocery store here in our Stockholm suburb. We hope this post has cleared up some of the confusion surrounding these sauces. Hopefully, now you will be able to make more authentic Thai food at home with this trinity of Thai sauces!