Teochew Shacha Sauce has a stronger aroma than Fujian Shacha Sauce, with a strong peanut flavor and a light spicy taste.

Shacha sauce is a sauce popular in Taiwan, southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong in mainland China. It originated from the peanut barbecue sauce (Satay) in Southeast Asia.

Different Shacha sauce

After years of development, the recipes and usage of shacha sauce and satay sauce have become completely different. Even if they are both shacha sauces, there are differences in different versions in different places. The list is as follows:

• Nanyang satay: thick paste, spicy and sweet, with more peanuts.
• Teochew shacha sauce: fine grains, strong peanut flavor, salty and sweet peanut sauce.
• Fujian shacha sauce: strong shrimp flavor and spicy.
• Taiwanese shacha sauce: coarse grains, strong flat fish flavor, salty and sweet, no peanuts.

Although shacha sauce is fresh and delicious, its ingredients are mostly spicy ingredients and oils, so it is advisable to eat in moderation.

Production

The recipes and usage vary from place to place. When it was first introduced to southern China, it was made into a condiment by grinding or frying peanuts, sesame seeds, fish, dried shrimps, garlic, etc., and then adding oil and salt to make it. The production process was quite complicated.

Teochew Shacha sauce

From the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty to the mid-nineteenth century, after the opening of Shantou Port, the Teochew people brought back satay sauce and improved it. Considering the long journey by boat, the Teochew people extended the shelf life of the sauce by frying it in oil. Secondly, the Teochew people are good at handling aquatic seafood.

Therefore, people will add dried fish products such as dried shrimps and flat fish during the cooking process, and also Chinese medicines such as five spices, fruit powder, turmeric and tangerine peel that Chinese people love. In this context, satay dishes gradually took shape in Teochew.

Teochew’s Shacha Sauce Making Method

Currently, the main method of making Teochew’s Shacha Sauce is:

It is to dilute the fried peanut powder with boiled peanut oil, peanut butter, sesame paste, stir-fry with fragrant garlic paste and other ingredients, and season with sugar and other seasonings, and stir-fry thoroughly over low heat.

The spice formula is very similar to the ingredients used in Teochew brine, which is the local flavor of Shacha Chaoshan.

Characteristics of Teochew Shacha Sauce

Teochew Shacha Sauce has a stronger aroma than Fujian Shacha Sauce, with a strong peanut flavor and a light spicy taste. It can be fried, baked, stewed, steamed and other cooking methods.

It is suitable for Teochew people of all ages who are afraid of spicy food, and is a must-have condiment for Chaoshan families. Among Teochew snacks, there are many snacks with Shacha as the main seasoning.

Shacha Beef Kueh

Shacha Beef Kueh(Kueh means noodles made by rice here), which is wet-fried Shacha Beef Kueh, is the favorite food of Teochew people.

At the time when the lights of Teochew City are just coming on, numerous food stalls and food stands suddenly appear in the streets and alleys, and at that time most of which attract customers with “Shacha Beef Kueh”.

3 ingredients to make Authentic satay beef rice noodles : beef, Kueh Teow（rice noodles), and olive vegetables (kale).

The Kueh Teow are stir-fried, the beef is marinated with Shacha, and the beef and kale are fried with Shacha sauce. The colorful and bright food is a food that Teochew people never tire of.

The common Shacha beef (lamb) in Taiwan is the satay beef (lamb) fried with kale introduced by Teochew. Therefore, many satay beef hotpot restaurants in Taiwan are named “Shantou” or “Teochew”.

Teochew Shacha Sauce Ingredients

• General Teochew Shacha Sauce Ingredients:
  Peanuts
• sesame seeds
• dried shrimps
• bean paste
• chili peppers
• five-spice powder
• cardamom
• turmeric
• coriander seeds
• mustard powder
• cloves
• lemongrass
• fried garlic
• shallot
• onion

Ace Shacha King:
Peanut kernels

• white sugar
• cooking oil
• fish sauce
• water
• sesame seeds
• shallots
• garlic
• chili peppers
• salt
• shrimp
• flat fish
• spices
• MSG

Teochew Shacha Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

Steps

• First, braise the flat fish and sakura shrimp in a pan to make them fragrant, or you can dry them in an air fryer.

2 crush the braised ingredients and shrimps

• Then crush the braised ingredients and shrimps, put them in a bowl and set aside.

3 Crush the spices and put them in a bowl and set aside

• Crush the spices and put them in a bowl and set aside.

4 Crush the peanuts and sesame seeds

• Crush the peanuts and sesame seeds and put them in a bowl and set aside.

5 Mix turmeric and five-spice powder, stir-fry in a flat pan

• Mix turmeric and five-spice powder.Stir-fry in a flat pan.And put them in a bowl and set aside.

6 Mix turmeric and five-spice powder, stir-fry in a flat pan

• Pour 300cc of oil into the pan and heat it to 100℃.Put all the ingredients in the pan in the following order: wet spices>fish and shrimp>dry spices>seasonings
• Stir-fry until the sauce is absorbed.