Tamarind Sauce

Tamarind Sauce is one of the easiest recipes you'll ever make in your kitchen. It seems simple, yet, Tamarind Sauce is an essential ingredient used regularly in most Thai kitchens.

Though it's super easy to make, it usually takes a bit of time, but the result is well worth it! First, buy the block of wet tamarind from your local Asian Market. It's usually wrapped in a plastic bag in the dry food section. See the picture below.Cut out ¼ of a chunk of the block. Usually around 3.5-4 oz of it. Boil some hot water ahead of time and place the cutout chunk in a bowl. Pour hot water over the paste and let it sit for 15 minutes.You can either use a fork or your fingers to mush the paste into a soft texture and break up all the veins of the paste of the tamarind. Once all the leftover parts are softened, pour the entire thing into a fine mesh strainer, scrape out all the sauce into a jar with a lid, and cover, and refrigerate.  The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

That's it!  Your homemade Tamarind Paste. Sauce. Juice. Magic ingredient. Or all of the above names!

In this picture above, I used a cheesecloth instead of a strainer. It was just easier for me to squeeze out the paste. You can do either/or.