My Favorite BBQ Sauce

Limitless Opportunities

One of my favorite hacks is to have a well stocked pantry or larder full of prepared sauces, condiments, vinegars, oils etc.

One of my favorite that I can’t believe I’ve never mentioned, until now, follows below.

Repeat after me:

“Sa”-“Cha”

Never heard of it?

It’s also referred to as BullHead BBQ sauce… Made in Taiwan… and it’s delicious.

The iconic packaging has a cult following and it’s cute to boot. The smiling chef and the bib-aproned bull with knife and fork ready are hard to miss.

So what is Sacha aka Bullhead BBQ Sauce? Read on

When most people think of Chinese BBQ, pork char siu comes to mind. The meltingly delicious pork meat that’s lacquered in a sweet and sticky glaze is hypnotic and delicious. Fun fact: this was my dads favorite dish when my parents visited HK last year.

But that is not what ShaCha (Bullhead BBQ) sauce is.

ShaCha is a paste made from dried seafood, garlic, ginger, shallots, chile, and oil and can be used in a variety of recipes.

The taste is multi-layered with the dried seafood giving it a big umami punch; much the same way that dried seafood makes XO sauce so crave worthy.

Savory, umami, bursting with aromatics, chili and slight sweetness that rounds everything out.

Once you open the can you’ll see a layer of oil on top of a dark brown paste; just give it a big stir with a spoon to make the sauce homogeneous and you’re ready to go.

Now that your curiosity is piqued here are some fun and delicious ways to use this Bullhead BBQ sauce.

-Stir Fries: You can make a great marinade at home by combining sacha sauce with soy sauce, minced garlic, shaoxing wine, chili crisp, with apinch of salt and white sugar.

Use this on chicken, pork or beef. And also works for stir fried vegetables.

-Hot Pot: If you’re doing a hot pot night at home, use this a base to make a dipping condiment, adding freshly grated garlic, scallions, a dash of black vinegar and a raw egg yolk: mix it all together.

-Ceasar Salad: Yep, this is a fun one. Once you make your dressing add a dash of this sauce to take your salad in a new and tasty direction

-Fish: Use this as a marinade before grilling or steaming fish. I love steaming in particular. Salmon and Cod are both great for this.

-Rice: Sticky rice, fried rice, congee… you name it, add a scoop of Sacha.

-Cucumber Salad: Roughly smash some cucumber (persian work best) and mix in a bowl with some sacha sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce (optional), finely chopped garlic and sesame oil. Yes, just eyeball it and taste as you go.

Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours, give the cucumber salad a stir and adjust seasoning as needed. If you want to go the extra mile, lightly salt the cucmber and let sit for 10-15 mins, then drain off all the excess water and rinse/dry. Then build your salad and the cucmbers won’t dilute the dressing as much.

-Pulled Pork: Add a big spoonful of Sacha sauce to some kewpie mayo (or your fav mayo brand) with some black vinegar and a dash of soy sauce. Slather this mixture onto a loaded bun with pulled pork and top with some fresh pickles. You’re welcome.

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I think you get the idea now.

Limitless options and ways to use this magical condiment/sauce known as Sacha or, like I call it, Bull Sauce.

Report back and comment below if this is a new discovery for you or if it’s been a longtime favorite.

Stay Tuned for Chinese New Year recipes and posts coming soon as Year of the Snake approaches!

*EDIT: I forgot to add. There’s a few versions of this sauce available. The white lid is the classic sauce and the red lid is Mala Sichuan pepper version (which is also really tasty). There’s a green lid that’s vegetarian, never needed to try that one.

You can find Sacha in asian groceries or Amazon also has.