This homemade fishball sauce is the perfect dip for all your Filipino street foods. Pair this with lumpia, fish balls, squid balls, and more!
*This is a follow-up recipe to my previous post on how to make Kwek Kwek, or Filipino fried quail eggs! Pair these two together for the ultimate flavor bomb!
This sauce brings back memories of my childhood patiently waiting for the street vendor to visit our neighborhood. He’d usually come at around noon with his street cart. The smell of freshly fried Filipino street food would hit your nose almost instantaneously, signalling everyone to come rushing out to the streets with cash.
The cart would always be surrounded by crowds of people, patiently waiting for their turn to purchase a couple skewers. The vendor would usually have a giant pot of hot oil in the middle (where he would fry the fish balls, lumpia, quail eggs) with tall jars of dipping sauces on the side.
The sauces were always the highlight for me. Spiced vinegar and fishball sauce were amongst one of the most popular dips. You get that flavor explosion of savory streetfood, coated in a sweet or tangy dip that just worked perfectly together.
My mom always warned me though, not to dip in those jars since of sanitary issues…Often times people forget and they would end up double-dipping anyway (but that’s for a different story).
What is fish ball sauce?
Fish ball sauce, commonly referred to as “Manong sauce” by locals (“Manong”, referring to an elderly man who usually sells street food) is one of the many universal dips used for fish balls, squid balls, kwek kwek, kikiam, and all other types of Filipino street foods.
It’s thickened with a cornstarch slurry (sometimes flour) so that it’s able to properly coat the food when dipped into. Flavor-wise, the sauce is both sweet and savory, due to the main ingredients of brown sugar and soy sauce.
Sometimes I even like to add one or two Thai chilies in the sauce for an extra layer of flavor and spice!
Ingredients for fish ball sauce
- Soy sauce: this will add that savory component to our sauce. For more authenticity, I’d suggest going for a popular Filipino brand, such as Datu Puti or Marca Piña.
- Brown sugar: you can replace this with regular white sugar if you happen to be looking for the next best substitute. You’ll want to adjust the sweetness of the sauce according to your tastes since it’s all up to personal preferences how sweet or savory you want your dip to be.
- Garlic, shallots: some people will oppose adding aromatics into this sauce, but I honestly think it adds a greater depth to the overall flavors of it. Most of the flavors from these aromatics will be released during the simmering stage, so don’t skip that step.
- Vinegar: I’ve learned from a couple other Pinoys that they like to add a splash of vinegar into their fish ball sauces…I was skeptical at first, since a majority of recipes seem to skip this ingredient, though after giving it a try, Ioved the brightness and acidity that the vinegar lended (which helped to balance out those savory flavors).
Instructions for fishball sauce
In a sauce pot, combine together the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, shallots, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then let simmer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, pour in the cornstarch-water mixture and stir. Bring to a low boil and continue to heat the sauce until thickened to your desired consistency. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, or sugar, if desired.
Transfer to a separate bowl or container, let cool slightly
How to store fishball sauce
Plan to keep the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge to increase its shelf-life.
Fishball sauce should be good for around 5-7 days refrigerated. If you find that the sauce has clumped up a bit, simply microwave it for a couple seconds and stir until smooth again.
Looking for more easy and delicious sauce recipes? Here’s a couple of my favorites:
Fishball Sauce
Course: Dip/Sauce, OtherCuisine: PhilippinesThis homemade fishball sauce is the perfect dip for all your Filipino street foods. Pair this with lumpia, fish balls, squid balls, and more!
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Ingredients
Directions
- In a sauce pot, combine together the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, shallots, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then let simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, pour in the cornstarch-water mixture and stir. Bring to a low boil and continue to heat the sauce until thickened to your desired consistency. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, or sugar, if desired
- Transfer to a separate bowl or container, let cool slightly.
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