Thai Chili Sa-te Recipe? Tia Chieu – Relish – Sauce

[loki]

I really love the Thai sa-te sauce made with chiles. It's imported by Anhing out of California and the container also says "Caravelle". The market where I found it no longer has any, and can't remember what it was! I've looked at several other markets too - to no avail.

I have an abundance of chiles from the garden, so I would love to make it. Ingredients listed are chili pepper, soybean oil, garlic, and "spices."

I think the spices are the key! There is a certain umami flavor in this that I just can't figure out (may be MSG, but I think that would have to be listed).

Any ideas?

[prasantrin]

Look for Teochew (Chaozhou, Chiuchow, etc.) chili sauce recipes, sometimes called sha cha (sa cha) sauce.

Similar to this Cantonese one http://3hungrytummies.blogspot.ca/2009/11/cantonese-chili-oil.html

[Mjx]

. . . .There is a certain umami flavor in this that I just can't figure out (may be MSG, but I think that would have to be listed).

Any ideas?

As far as I recall, MSG doesn't have to be listed separately, but can be bundled with 'spices', 'seasonings', or '[natural] flavours', so your hunch is probably correct (but it's pretty easy to get, so you're not out of luck).

[liuzhou]

You might get a better response posting this in the Chinese food section. The sauce isn't really Thai, although it is also made there. It is Chinese, as prasantrin had pointed out.

That said, I've never heard of anyone making it themselves. It is industrially produced. A quick search in Chinese turned up zero recipes.

[loki]

There are a lot of things like this in Asian cuisine, and probably all cuisines, that have gone mostly to industrial manufacture. I would not mind a recipe from industry either - though these are rarely given out. I did have some home-made chile sauce once that was very similar, so I know it's possible. They were not very helpful and said they just threw it together! I guess it's sort of asking for a recipe for ketchup here in the US... (well there are old recipes for ketchup - but it's not that common, maybe more like Tabasco) I already did a quite extensive internet search, so that's why I'm posting it here. If I come up with a good recipe - I'll post it! My inclinations are to use a sort of hot chile oil recipe, with some added lemongrass (I think there is a little in this after I really TASTED it again yesterday), garlic (also lots from the garden here), and then maybe some sort of bean paste (instead of MSG). That recipe prasantrin posted above looks very promising - though again I think I would leave out the shrimp and ham - and go with a fermented bean product. Saying it's Chinese helps a bit - it's an adapted Chinese recipe made Thai with lemongrass (maybe they use this in China somewhere too?). This condiment is mostly used for dishes that are adapted Chinese dishes (from what I've been told anyway) like noodle soups, etc. I've tried a few Chinese products from the markets and they are just not the same, and either have too few ingredients or too many. XO sauce is similar, but has many other ingredients, and I want it to be nearly all chilies. XO is a recent invention from what I gather...

[prasantrin]

You really should have some of the tiny dried salted shrimp in there, or at least some shrimp paste. It makes a big difference, and it's likely one of the ingredients that falls under the "spices" category. Really.

[loki]

Well, I've actually found a recipe of sorts for this in my copy of Thai Food by David Thompson. It was sort of hidden. It's dry chillies, fried, with shallots and garlic, and salt. The technique is easy, you gently fry and combine. I think I can recreate one of my own based on my favorite commercial one (without the shallots). I think there is some other umami item in my favorite listed in the ingredients under 'spices'. Still waiting to harvest, so I'll fill in later if I come up with a good enough recipe...