From the recipe collection
Filipino Fish Ball Sauce (Manong’s Sauce)
A glossy brown street-vendor sauce thickened with cornstarch and balanced with soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, and optional chile.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- Makes about 2 cups
Get everything ready
Ingredients
Tick ingredients as you prepare.
Method
- Whisk the cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water until smooth, scraping the bowl so no dry starch remains.
- Combine the remaining water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, onion, garlic, pepper, and salt in a saucepan.
- Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and stir for about 3 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the onion softens.
- Whisk the slurry again, then pour it into the simmering sauce in a thin stream while stirring continuously.
- Simmer for 2–3 minutes, scraping the base, until the sauce is glossy and coats a spoon; it thickens further while cooling.
- Add siling labuyo during the final minute, if using. After the starch cooks, adjust with salt or 1 teaspoon vinegar if needed.
- If paste-like, whisk in hot water 1 tablespoon at a time; if thin, simmer another minute rather than adding dry starch.
- Serve warm with fried street food, or cool promptly and transfer to a clean covered container.
