I traveled across Asia for two years exploring Asian culinary techniques, and I learned a lot about sauces. I also learned a lot about making them and have been doing so ever since. In the U.S. three sauces are very popular with seafood and are easy to make with ingredients you often have on hand. You can adjust the flavors as well to suit your tastes.

1.  Seafood Cocktail sauce.

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp. horseradish
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Blend together in a bowl with a fork. Taste and add more horseradish or lemon juice if you like. Great with all fried fish, shrimp, crab, oysters, and clams.

2.  Tartar sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp. chopped sweet pickle or pickle relish

Blend together in a bowl and once again adjust to your taste. Great with fried fish, on fish sandwiches, as a sauce for tuna salad and salmon salad, fried shrimp, or as a glazing sauce for broiled or baked fish.

3.  Dijonnaise

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard

Blend in a bowl and serve. Great with more robust fish like salmon, mackerel and other oily fish. Also great as a baste or glaze for baked and broiled fish . Good with all shellfish.

I’ll often make two or three of these sauces whenever we have fish. It gives everyone a chance to explore; find their favorite and have all they want. You can experiment with ingredient variations from hot sauce to spices like paprika and develop a family favorite.