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Chinese soy vinegar garlic sauce features Zhenjiang vinegar, minced garlic, light soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil. Truly quick, easy, delicious and healthy. Finely chopped green onion is usually a perfect add-on to this tasty sauce. It is a traditional home cooking sauce in China across many regions, including Yangtze River Delta area, home to the iconic Huai Yang Cuisine. This soy vinegar garlic sauce is extremely versatile too. You can pretty much add to any salad or meat for a refreshing yummy taste.
Pouring this over blanched sea kelp for a delicious superfood sea kelp salad is one of my favorite ways of enjoying this sauce. Sea kelp, dubbed as the “immune boost directly from the sea” is a superfood you should eat often. I do so especially after I have switched to Himalayan pink salt and sea salt as a natural source for iodine. Read more about why sea kelp is good for you here.

About Zhenjiang Vinegar, one of the key ingredients for Chinese Soy Vinegar Garlic Sauce
Zhenjiang Vinegar is native to the city Zhenjiang of Jiangsu Province in the Yangtze River Delta area. Since ancient time, people in this area use sweet rice and wheat bran as key ingredients to make dark rice vinegar. They are super rich, extremely dark and take years to complete the fermentation & aging process.
I often equate Zhenjiang vinegar to balsamic vinegar, LOL. Both are super rich, extremely dark, and take years to complete the fermenting & aging process. Also, ancient people use whatever they have locally. For Italian, it is grapes; for Chinese, it is sweet rice and wheat bran. I have to say, both did outstanding jobs. Check out Balsamic Brussels Sprouts, a simple but deliciously healthy dish featuring balsamic vinegar.
This ancient iconic vinegar is truly versatile and makes everything tastes better.
They can serve directly as a dipping sauce for Jiao Zi or dumplings, or as the key ingredient for the sauce for sea kelp salad. I also use a splash of Zhenjiang vinegar for cooking meat such as Red Braised Pork Belly, poultry, and fish. They are also the source for the “sour” part of sweet and sour ribs, hot and sour soup, and sweet and sour fish.

How to make Chinese Soy Vinegar Garlic Sauce?
The ratio between Zhenjiang Vinegar and light soy sauce
For a refreshing taste, I use 2 portions of Zhenjiang Vinegar for every portion of light soy sauce. If you do not want the sauce to be overly vinegary, you can dial down the vinegar portion to 1.5X light soy sauce, or even 1X light soy sauce.
How to get the perfectly minced garlic
I find a compact food processor does a wonderful job mince garlic and other herbs such as ginger. For every 6 tbsp {half cup} of liquid, I usually add 1 tbsp. minced garlic.


Soy Vinegar Garlic Sauce Chinese Style {Easy Delicious and Versatile}
Chinese soy vinegar garlic sauce features Zhenjiang vinegar, minced garlic, light soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil. Truly quick, easy, delicious and healthy. This soy vinegar garlic sauce is extremely versatile too. You can pretty much add to any salad or meat for a refreshing yummy taste.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 3-4 tbsp. Zhenjiang vinegar
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1 stalk of green onion, optional, finely chopped
Instructions
- Peel garlic and add to a compact food processor, turn the speed to high and mince the garlic into fine pieces.
- Add 4 tbsp. Zhenjiang vinegar, 2 tbsp. light soy sauce, 1 tbsp. minced garlic and 1 tbsp. sesame oil into a small bowl and mix well using a mini whisk. See notes.
- Chop the green onion into fine pieces.
- Store the remaining minced garlic into a small container and store in the refrigerator for other dishes. See notes.
- All done, Pour the sauce over dishes and garnish with chopped green onions when serving.
Notes
- If you prefer the sauce not to be overly vinegary, you can use 3 tbsp. of Zhenjiang vinegar instead of 4 tbsp. for every 2 tbsp. light soy sauce.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 servings Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 47Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 546mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 1g
Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.