Purchasable Asian flavourful pastes. I want them all.

January 15, 2025 1:25 PM

I love buying tasty Asian pastes (we're using the word paste loosely here) such as gochujang, the thai curry pastes (red/green/yellow/penang/massaman) and miso. The other day I found a Laksa paste and while I've never tried it, I'm really pumped. I'm sure there are lots of other yummy pastes out there that I'm unaware of. Please help me compile a list so I can try cooking with them all.

The only criteria for these pastes are:

1. They are Asian (interpret as broadly as you like since it's too hard to narrow down all those delicious places)
2. The product is a 'wet' concentration to be added to a recipe, not a sauce or spice mix
3. You have purchased it or know it to be purchasable in North America. Links aren't necessary but are appreciated so I can see what they look like.

posted by kitcat to Food & Drink (18 answers total)

Doenjang is another Korean paste, made from fermented soybeans. Where I live I don't think it's in 'normal' grocery stores but is available at Asian or international stores. If it comes in a tub like this, then it's probably good.
posted by extramachine at 1:41 PM on January 15 [7 favorites]

+1 for doenjang, which is what I was going to recommend.
Bonus: If you mix it with gochujang, you get another "paste": ssamjang (which you can also buy separately, but why do that when you can make it easily?).

I also really like black sesame paste, which comes in a jar and acts a lot like tahini. But it has a peanut-buttery flavor and a fun, shockingly dark color that is fun to incorporate into recipes.

Yuzu kosho is sort of a paste--and there's a green version and a red version. Think of it like hot peppers mixed with citrus. It's fantastic, and a little goes a long way.
posted by yellowcandy at 1:55 PM on January 15 [6 favorites]

is this your Laksa paste? It's fantastic - the best one I've found.
posted by superelastic at 1:59 PM on January 15 [1 favorite]

One of the most common staples in north and central Indian cooking is ginger-garlic paste. You can buy it in stores but it is even better (and easy) made fresh.
posted by splitpeasoup at 2:08 PM on January 15 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: My Laksa is this one. Bet they're all delicious though!
posted by kitcat at 2:08 PM on January 15 [2 favorites]

ssamjang, tamarind [wiki²]
posted by HearHere at 2:55 PM on January 15

Malaysian and Indonesian , Rendang Paste , is delicious ..you can do the slow cook beef thing with it , but a saucy version with fish or chicken (or Tofu / Veg ) is nice ...
posted by burr1545 at 2:59 PM on January 15

Black sesame paste
posted by potrzebie at 3:05 PM on January 15

Pho beef flavor paste makes amazing broth
posted by danceswithlight at 4:27 PM on January 15

Tom kha paste, which is intended as a coconut milk soup paste, but which I've also used like green curry, or even just to flavour a stir fry.
posted by Elysum at 5:08 PM on January 15

Oyster sauce
Broad bean paste / dou ban jiang
Chili garlic paste
Sweet soy sauce

The two sauces are thick and commonly used as ingredients in a recipe.

On edit: now with links
posted by A Blue Moon at 5:18 PM on January 15 [1 favorite]

Sacha sauce!
posted by kitkatcathy at 5:23 PM on January 15 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I've had bad luck with beef pho mixes - can anyone recommend particular ones?
posted by kitcat at 5:25 PM on January 15

Chu hou for eg braising or soup base

Black bean garlic for eg noodles and stir-fries.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:59 PM on January 15 [3 favorites]

I'm currently really enjoying pastes from a brand called Mekhala: green/yellow/red curry and more. The jars are small but take a few uses to finish.
posted by cathycartoon at 7:43 PM on January 15

Last week I bought a lemongrass paste, which I intend to use for Thai soup. You wouldn't use it on its own, you'd mix it with more flavours, but it eliminates the need to have lemongrass kicking around the house.
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 10:01 PM on January 15 [3 favorites]

Tean's Gourmet is the preferred spice paste brand of at least one of my aunties. I can usually find maybe 1-3 of these at an Asian supermarket. They're also available online.

Other paste suggestions that I don't have any specific brand recommendations for:

- Haianese Chicken Rice
- Bagoong, Filipino shrimp paste, which I think is less aggressive than belacan, the Malaysian/Singaporean kind. I've made a pork & eggplant dish using it, a pantry pasta, and a fried rice from one pretty small jar.
posted by automatic cabinet at 7:40 AM on January 16

I've had bad luck with beef pho mixes - can anyone recommend particular ones?

I like Por Kwan Beef Pho Paste a lot!
posted by danceswithlight at 12:55 PM on January 16