Hayward’s artisan Vietnamese fish sauce maker, Red Boat, has introduced new simmer sauces to make cooking dinner easier and faster.

Red Boat’s Vietnamese Lemongrass Curry, Spicy Vietnamese Lemongrass Curry, and Vietnamese Simmer Sauce are made with chile peppers, ginger, cinnamon and a host of other spices, plus Red Boat Fish Sauce, of course.

I had a chance to try samples of each recently.

Each 12-ounce jar is designed to be used with about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of vegetables and/or protein of your choice, such as tofu, beef, pork, chicken, or seafood. Simply saute your ingredients briefly, making sure to half-cook or fully-cook the protein, before adding the jar of sauce.

The Lemongrass Curry varieties are made with coconut cream. Even so, it’s suggested to add 1/2 of coconut milk, which will create a very velvety sauce texture. Simmer everything for about 20 minutes until everything is cooked through or fully heated. With a bowl of fluffy steamed rice, it’s a complete meal just like that.

The regular Lemongrass Curry is mild tasting with floral-citrus notes of lemongrass and Makrut lime leaves with briny, salty fish sauce adding an umami depth. The Spicy Lemongrass Curry is similar but lives up to its name with a good amount of spicy heat that will definitely warm the palate.

You needn’t add coconut milk to the Vietnamese Simmer Sauce. The taste of this sauce will be familiar to if you’ve ever enjoyed any kind of Vietnamese claypot dish in which the fish sauce-laced braising liquid reduces to a delicious, sweet-savory-salty caramel-like flavor.

Find the simmer sauces for about $7.99 each on the Red Boat site or $14.99 for a twin pack on Amazon.