For over 30 years, I have wondered what the fundamental differences are between the Five Spice Peanut-Sesame Sauce and the Pon Pon Chicken Sauce. They are similar, but not identical. Because I am a nerd, I took the ingredients from both cards and normalized them for comparison using peanut butter as the base ingredient. Below, please find a “chart” showing the ingredient and ratio differences between these two delicious sauces.
Peanut Sesame Sauce | Pon Pon Sauce Peanut Butter 1 Cup | Peanut Butter 1 Cup Tahini 1 Cup | Sesame Paste 1 Cup Oil (soybean) 1 Cup | Oil (Soybean) 1¾ Cups Hot Black Tea 12T | Hot Black Tea 14T Red Wine Vinegar 8T | Red Wine Vinegar 5.5T Sesame Oil 4T | Sesame Oil 2T Sugar 3T | Sugar 3.5T Light Soy 12T | Light Soy 7T | Dark Soy 7T Hot Oil 2T | Sichuan Pepper 3.5T Dry, Gran. Garlic 2.75T | Chopped Garlic 3.5T Water 4T |
Executive summary: the big differences are the use of sesame paste + sichuan pepper + dark soy (for Pon Pon) vs. tahini + hot oil + only light soy (Sesame-Peanut). Pon Pon uses distinctly more oil while Sesame-Peanut insists on dry, granulated garlic.