First Cook: Rosheen Kaul’s Second Book, Secret Sauce, Proves the Power of a Simple Condiment

When news broke that Rosheen Kaul was releasing her second book, I was pretty stoked. Her first book Chinese-ish, written with Joanna Hu, was pubbed back in 2022 as we exited the cursed lockdown years, and I was ready to take her recipes, invite my friends over and get cooking. Her latest release comes, in my opinion, with equally good timing; as we’re inundated with new recipes online and in books, it can all begin to feel a little same-same. Well, not with Kaul.

In her latest cookbook Secret Sauce, 50 sauce recipes come categorised by colour, partnered up with a brilliant recipe to put that condiment in action.

There’s everything from a homemade Kewpie to her Cafe de Rosheen butter, which is packed with soooooo many of her favourite bits (pink and black peppercorns, cumin, coriander leaves and stem, lemongrass, garlic, pickled chillies, curry powder, fish sauce and lemon zest). You could wonder how it all works but, as always, in the Condiment Queen we trust.

Here I’m trusting her with a grilled whole snapper marinated in lemongrass, onions and a heavy hand of turmeric, served alongside her dark, garlicky, chilli-studded sambal.

A whole fish is one of those dishes that always scores Big Impressive Points with not too much effort. Kaul’s recipe begins with a sweet soy sambal, a simple chop and mix number that’s slick with a thick sweetness from kecap manis and strong with bites of bird’s eye chillies and bursts from cherry toms. The fish itself gets an onion, lemongrass and turmeric-spiked marinade moment and a kecap manis-butter baste as it cooks. How could it not be excellent? I invited a friend for lunch and served it with steaming jasmine rice and a big bowl of cucumber salad doused in black vinegar and chilli oil.

I love the way Kaul writes, simply, with a good amount of detail, plenty of story, and layers of recs and tips scattered throughout. This is a book of 100 recipes, but there are so many more ideas for using her 50 sauces. It gives us the most important thing: not just step-by-steps, but room and encouragement to tweak, learn and make the recipes our own as we go – the sign of any great cookbook.

Secret Sauce by Rosheen Kaul is available in bookshops across Australia.
Gemma Plunkett is a Sydney-based dinner party tragic and home cook who is a writer, content strategist and recipe developer. Find her (but mostly food) in pictures or in your inbox via her free newsletter Ding!