The Ito family’s heirloom sauce, traditionally used for yakitori and unagi, holds more than just umami—it holds a sweet and complicated legacy.

Warm your oil and vinegar over the stove, and treat it like a marinade, finishing sauce, and everything in between.

Smooth, salty lemon paste cranks up the volume on pastas, salad dressings, and Bloody Marys.

Each Southeast Asian take on peanut sauce tells a different story.

The simple combo of jalapeño, lime, cilantro, and store-bought mayo can enliven everything from rotisserie chicken to your sad desk lunch.

The versatile sauce has been used to punch up the flavors of fresh fruit for decades. Now it’s starting to do a lot more.

It’s messy, it’s fishy, and it will give you disastrously bad breath, but it’s all worth it for this Italian anchovy snack.

Hiroko Shimbo’s primal utility sauce is good for the freezer, and best when brought out for surprise inspiration.

The versatile Japanese condiment made from green chiles and yuzu peel works with soba noodles, but it’s also perfect for grilled corn and Mexican food.

It transforms the bean curd into something completely, magically different. Your sauces will thank you, too.

Chile crisp is the garlicky, spicy, crunchy condiment that somehow works in everything from noodles to ice cream to peanut brittle.

Leftover greens make an okay salad, but they make an even better roast chicken.