Lo Sui (Chinese Master Sauce) is a traditional Chinese recipe (from Sichuan) for a classic sauce made from a caramel base with soy sauce and spices that's used to braise or poach meat and which is re-used time and again to deepen the flavour. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Chinese version of: Chinese Master Sauce (Lo Sui).
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Lo sui (鹵水) from Sichuan is used as both a braising and a dipping sauce so that, for example, Beef Lo Sui would be beef braised in lo sui sauce.
Ingredients:
75g sugar
4 tbsp water
250ml boiling water
360ml light soy sauce
120ml dark soy sauce
50g rock sugar (brown sugar lumps)
80ml Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1.25l water
2 tbsp Sichuan pepper
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed in a mortar
2 x 2cm lengths of cassia bark
3 dried red chillies, halved
4 whole star anise
6 cloves
1 small piece of sun-dried mandarin orange (or tangerine) peel
4 pieces of liquorice root (available form Chinese supermarkets)
6 pieces of dried aromatic ginger (or a 40g piece of ginger, sliced)
2 spring onions (white parts only)
Method:
For the master sauce, begin by making a caramel. Combine the sugar and 4 tbsp water in a small pan. Heat until the sugar has dissolved then reduce the heat. Continue cooking slowly until the syrup begins to darken then reduce the heat to its minimum setting.
Continue cooking gently until the sugar syrup turns a golden brown (be careful it does not get too dark or it will be bitter). Take off the heat at this point. Carefully add a little of the boiling water (the sugar will bubble and boil rapidly). Continue adding the boiling water a little at a time, until all 250ml has been incorporated.
Once your diluted sugar syrup is ready, you can prepare your master sauce. Pour the sugar syrup into a larger pan and add the soy sauces, rock sugar and rice wine. Stir in all the spices and add the water then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the flavours have infused into your sauce.
Take off the heat and allow to cool then strain through a fine-meshed sieve lined with muslin. Your master sauce is now ready and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days before using again. Traditionally the master sauce is used to braise meat. The sauce is then strained, made up to 2l and the flavourings (spices and soy sauce) are adjusted before storing again.
This way, the master sauce develops a more and more complex flavour each time it is used.
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