Condiments are a must-have in every home kitchen. What are the uses of each condiment and what are their differences? Let us find out together.

1. Light soy sauce: Light soy sauce is a kind of soy sauce. It is made from high-quality soybeans and flour and is extracted after fermentation and maturity. The color is light and mellow, the sauce is rich, and the taste is delicious.

Usage: Light soy sauce is mainly used for seasoning and has a light color, so it is often used when making general stir-fries or cold dishes.

2. Dark soy sauce: Dark soy sauce is also a type of soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is a thick-colored soy sauce made by adding caramel to light soy sauce and using a special process.

Uses: Due to its heavier color and saltier taste than light soy sauce, dark soy sauce is suitable for adding color to meat. It is generally used to color meat when stewing meat, pickling vegetables and stir-frying.

3. Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce is a seasoning made from oysters (oysters). Oyster sauce has a delicious taste, rich oyster aroma, moderate viscosity and high nutritional value.

Uses: Oyster sauce is extremely convenient to use and has a wide range of seasonings. All salty foods can be seasoned with oyster sauce. Such as noodles, vegetables, pork, fish stew, soup, etc.

4. Cooking wine: Cooking wine is the name of cooking wine. It is brewed by adding rice wine and Huadiao. Its alcohol concentration is low, with the content below 15, and its ester content is high and it is rich in amino acids.

Uses: Cooking wine can increase the aroma of food, remove fishy smell, relieve greasiness, and enhance aroma. Generally, when blanching the meat before stewing, some cooking wine will be added to remove the fishy smell.

5. Fish sauce: Fish sauce, also known as fish soy sauce, is an extremely delicious juice obtained by pickling, fermenting and refining small fish and shrimp. It is amber in color. Color, taste salty and umami.

Uses: The cooking application of fish sauce is the same as that of soy sauce, and it has the functions of freshness and seasoning. It can be used for cold salad, stir-fry, soup, etc.

6. Five-spice powder: Five-spice powder is made by grinding more than 5 kinds of spices into powder and mixing them together. Its basic ingredients are ground peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and fennel seeds. Some recipes also include dried ginger, cardamom, licorice, pepper, tangerine peel, etc.

Usage: Often used to apply on chicken and duck meat before frying or frying. It can also be mixed with fine salt as a dipping sauce.

7. Thirteen incense: "Thirteen incense" is also called Shiquanxiang, which refers to 13 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines with distinctive fragrances, including purple clove, Amomum villosum, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, aniseed, cumin, woody incense, angelica dahurica, sannai, galangal, dried ginger, etc.

Uses: It can be added to marinades or soups to enhance flavor, and can also be used for stir-fries or stuffings.