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10 min prep · 10 min cook

Recipe

Hot Pot Dipping Sauce Trio

Three baseline bowls for the table: sesame, chili-vinegar, and sa cha. Guests can tweak from there.

Prep
15 min
Cook
0 min
Serves
2–4 people sharing three small bases
Difficulty
easy

Compiled from common Beijing sesame, chili-vinegar, and Taiwanese sa cha table habits. Each base fills one shared bowl; set out minced garlic and chili so guests can push any bowl further. Double all three for a bigger table.

Hot pot dipping sauce is personal. Someone wants garlic; someone wants almost none. Still, a table works better when three bases are already mixed: one creamy sesame bowl, one sharp chili-vinegar bowl, and one sa cha bowl for Taiwanese and Chaoshan-leaning nights.

Make each base once, then leave soy, vinegar, chili crisp, and chopped aromatics nearby. Guests finish their own cups.

1. Sesame base

Sesame ingredients

  • ¼ cup Chinese sesame paste (芝麻酱; unsweetened peanut butter in a pinch)
  • ¼–⅓ cup warm water, as needed to thin
  • 2 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1–2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp minced scallion or cilantro (optional)
  • Optional classic Beijing add-in: 1 small cube fermented red bean curd, mashed

Sesame method

  1. 1Put the sesame paste in a bowl. Add warm water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring in one direction. It will seize, then loosen into a smooth, pourable sauce. Plan on roughly equal paste and water, then adjust.
  2. 2Stir in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and vinegar if using. Mash in fermented bean curd if you want the deeper Beijing style.
  3. 3Finish with scallion or cilantro. Taste. It should coat a spoon without sitting like cement.

2. Chili-vinegar base

Chili-vinegar ingredients

  • ¼ cup light soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp chili oil or chili crisp
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1–2 tsp minced garlic
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp minced scallion (optional)

Chili-vinegar method

  1. 1Stir soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil until the sugar dissolves.
  2. 2Add chili oil or chili crisp and garlic. Adjust heat and vinegar until it tastes bright, not only salty.
  3. 3Add scallion if you want freshness. Thin with a spoon of hot pot broth at the table if it feels too strong.

3. Sa cha base

Sa cha ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp sa cha / shacha sauce (沙茶酱; Bullhead is a common Taiwanese jar)
  • 3 Tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1–2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp minced scallion or cilantro
  • Optional: chili oil, a little black vinegar, or a pasteurized raw egg stirred in at the table

Sa cha method

  1. 1Stir sa cha, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic until the paste loosens into a dip. If it stays stiff, add 1–2 teaspoons warm water.
  2. 2Fold in scallion or cilantro. Add chili or vinegar if you want more edge.
  3. 3If using an egg, choose pasteurized eggs and stir one in per personal bowl. Skip raw egg for anyone who should avoid it.

Notes

Useful details

  • Chinese sesame paste is made from toasted sesame and tastes deeper than tahini. Tahini works if that is what you have; start with less and taste.
  • Sa cha is not satay peanut sauce. It is a savory seafood-aromatic paste used a lot in Taiwanese and Chaoshan hot pot.
  • These amounts make three shared starter bowls for a small table. Double everything for six or more people.
  • Set out extra garlic, chili crisp, and vinegar so people can customize without rebuilding from zero.
  • Make the sauces the afternoon of the party. Aromatics stay brighter that way.