8 Pantai Sauces, One Shelf: The Buying Guide

8 Pantai Sauces, One Shelf: The Buying Guide

Eight bottles, all labelled some version of "chili," all sitting on the same shelf — it's the single most common thing customers ask us about. Each one has a specific job. Here's exactly which bottle to reach for, and when.

The lineup, decoded

Pantai Fish Sauce (200ml, ₹280) — not a dipping sauce. This is a seasoning, made from fermented anchovy extract, salt, and sugar. Use it the way you'd use salt: stirred into soups, curries, marinades, and stir-fries for a savoury backbone. A little goes a long way.

Pantai Light Soy Sauce (200ml, ₹300) — your everyday seasoning sauce. Made from soybean extract, wheat, salt, and sugar, it seasons stir-fries and marinades without darkening the dish the way dark soy would. This is the one you reach for by default.

Pantai Chili Oil (200ml, ₹350) — the finishing drizzle, not a dip. Chili, garlic, and vegetable oil, meant to be spooned over a finished dish for heat and aroma at the very end.

Pantai Sweet Chili Sauce (200ml, ₹280) — often called the ketchup of Thailand, and that's the right way to think about it: an all-purpose sweet-tangy-mild dip and glaze that works on almost anything fried or grilled.

Pantai Hot & Spicy Sweet Chili Sauce (200ml, ₹280) — the same sweet chili base, turned up. Reach for this instead of the standard version when you want the sweetness but need real heat behind it — wings, ribs, grilled seafood.

Pantai Hot Chili Sauce (200ml, ₹280) — roughly 22% red chili, thickened with corn starch, built for dipping rather than drizzling. This is the one for dumplings, spring rolls, and fried chicken when sweet chili feels too mild.

Pantai Chili Garlic Sauce (200ml, ₹280) — chunkier and more savoury than the others, with visible chili and garlic (about 16% and 9% respectively) plus salted plum for extra depth. Use it as a base for a spicy gravy or stir-fry sauce, not just a dip.

Pantai Spring Roll Sauce (200ml, ₹280) — the only one of the eight with actual vegetable pieces in it (carrot and turnip), built specifically to cling to fried spring rolls and egg rolls. Don't substitute the plain sweet chili here if you can help it — the texture is the point.

How to actually use three of them together: Pantai Stir-Fried Udon

This is the fastest way to see how the sauces stack: one for seasoning, one for umami depth, one for sweetness and shine.

What you need (serves 2):

Method:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the udon for 8–10 minutes, following the pack timing. Drain and set aside.
  2. While the noodles cook, mix the sauce: in a small bowl, combine the 15ml soy sauce, 5ml fish sauce, and 15ml sweet chili sauce. Set aside.
  3. Heat the 15ml vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat for 1 minute, until it shimmers.
  4. Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 15 seconds, until fragrant but not browned.
  5. Add the sliced carrot and bell pepper (100g total) and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until just starting to soften.
  6. Push the vegetables to one side of the pan. Crack the egg into the empty space and scramble it with a spatula for about 30 seconds, until just set.
  7. Add the drained udon noodles to the pan and toss everything together for 1 minute.
  8. Pour in the mixed sauce from step 2 and toss for another minute, until every strand is coated and glossy.
  9. Remove from the heat, divide between two plates, and top with the sliced spring onion.
  10. Serve immediately. For a final table condiment, put a small dish of Pantai Spring Roll Sauce alongside — it's a genuinely better dip for this than the sweet chili already in the pan.

Next in this series

If you've already got a bottle of Sriracha in the fridge, our next post lines it up directly against this Pantai range — same shelf, different country, and a clear answer on which one to grab first.