Among the huge selection of all kinds of dressings for food, Worcestershire sauce is especially popular. This is a spicy seasoning that was made in England one hundred and eighty years ago.
This is a unique seasoning, the composition of which and the cooking process itself remain a mystery to most professional chefs to this day. And so Worcestershire sauce, what is it, what is its composition and taste.
Classic composition
If we talk about the classic version of the sauce, then what the English sauce consists of, then its composition is very complex. So, this includes components such as:
- Anchovies and shallots;
- Water, pepper;
- Indian date;
- Beef broth;
- Molasses, bay leaf, vinegar;
- Sugar, salt, nutmeg;
- Ginger and even lemon, horseradish and so on.
Today, many housewives have found options that allow them to effectively replace some components that are difficult to obtain. Requiring complex and, most importantly, lengthy fermentation, and thus preparing Worcestershire sauce at home. Once you find out what Worcestershire sauce is made of, you can try it yourself.
Homemade recipe
It is impossible to prepare Worcestershire sauce at home in the form in which it was created. Although you can make Worcester yourself and create an equally tasty masterpiece that will help replace this seasoning made in a factory. The recipe at home is of course different.
- Take an onion and fill it with vinegar. After a little marinating, take out the onion and chop it finely. Also, chop the garlic and pour vinegar over it. Using gauze, we form a bag, put onion, garlic, a stick of seasoning such as cinnamon, as well as cardamom and pepper into it. We tie the resulting composition.
- Next, add vinegar, tamarind, as well as sugar and water to the saucepan with soy sauce. Boil this solution for 30 minutes over low heat.
- In a separate container, mix salt, anchovy, curry. Add water here and let it brew a little. After about twenty minutes, add the mixture to the pan and turn off the heat.
- Place a gauze bag with the resulting mixture into a glass container and fill it with sauce. Which was welded by us. Let the liquid cool and close everything tightly with a lid and place it in the refrigerator.
All this is infused for a week. And every day we take out the bag and squeeze it well. This is a not very tricky recipe for Worcestershire sauce. Now you know how to make Worcestershire sauce at home, or something close to it.
Sauce with anchovies
The main ingredient here is anchovies. Thanks to this component, Worcestershire sauce acquires a delicious fishy flavor. But, under no circumstances replace anchovies with an ingredient such as sprat. Red fish may be used.
The resulting sauce is something that can replace Worcestershire sauce, at least remotely.
Composition:
- Wine or apple cider vinegar – half a liter;
- Onions – 2 pieces;
- Anchovies – 2 tbsp. l.;
- Soy sauce – 2 tbsp. l.;
- Garlic – 2 cloves;
- Ketchup and walnuts (ground) – 3 tablespoons.
How to cook:
- Chop the onion, garlic and anchovies.
- The nuts need to be slightly fried and ground.
- Mix all ingredients in a glass container.
- Then they are placed in a cold place and should be shaken 3 times a day.
The sauce takes two weeks to prepare. Then the mixture is filtered and poured into a glass container.
What can be replaced
If you can’t buy such a sauce and don’t want to cook it yourself, you can find an alternative option. Often, anchovies are added to the dish; they help bring the taste closer to Worcestershire seasoning.
You can also use Tabasco sauce. Some gourmets purchase Thai sauce. In general, you can experiment here, only then will you be able to achieve the desired result.
For example, Worcestershire sauce is an analogue, of course, with a big stretch of oyster sauce. And yet, what can you replace Worcestershire sauce with? Try mixing soy and fish sauce, adding sourness in the form of balsamic vinegar.
