How to pair sauce bowls with matching tableware?

To properly match a sauce bowl with tableware a bowl must match all set rules, setting rules helps in getting a pleasing visual effect. For instance, if your main pieces of tableware, such as dinner plates and soup bowls, have a minimalist Japanese style “plain, white ceramic” set and sauce bowls, choose sauce bowls that are minimalist as well. A simple white ceramic sauce bowl with a smooth glaze will help to calm down all pieces of tableware and avoid visual chaos. If the tableware has a rustic tableware wooden style, a bamboo or wood textured ceramic sauce bowl will help as well, adding to the warm and natural feel of the set. Never mix the styles, a bright, patterned sauce bowl will never go with elegant, patterned silver-table ware, it makes the table look cluttered and messy. This proves that the style of the sauce bowl and the tableware have to go in order to ensure that all pieces of table setting match. 

To ensure practicality and aesthetics the bowl has to endure the same style as the tableware in terms of construction material. If your tableware has the high-fired ceramic finish which is high quality tableware, a ceramic sauce bowl should go with it.

Just like ceramic tableware, a ceramic sauce bowl is equally durable and retains heat well, plus its texture contributes to the overall experience while dining. For tableware made of glass, a glass sauce bowl (perhaps lightly frosted) would be a nice touch as it maintains the tableware's delicate, airy feel while still allowing the sauce's colors to be visible. If you have wooden tableware, don’t use a metal sauce bowl as it will scratch the wooden surface; instead, use a bamboo or wooden sauce bowl. Material mismatches like a plastic sauce bowl with fine porcelain tableware will compromise the quality of the place setting, so material matching is critical.

 Adjust Sizes to Meet Serving Requirements  

The size of the sauce bowl is the size of the bowl itself plus the matching tableware, and the quantity of sauce you are serving. A standard sauce bowl is around 8-12cm in diameter and has a depth of 3-5cm, and goes well with a regular sized dinner plate of which the diameter is 25-28cm. If you are using small appetizer plates of which the diameter is 18-20cm, use a smaller sauce bowl of which the diameter is 6-8cm to avoid the bowl overpowering the plate.

For large family style plating, a slightly larger sauce bowl (12-14cm in diameter) is more conducive for the sharing of sauce (as opposed to for family style plating). When serving sushi and accompanying it with small soy sauce bowls (one of many types of sauce bowls), the goal is for the bowl to not be big enough to be placed adjacent to the sushi plate on the table within reasonable limits of ‘not too much space’. There is a sweet spot for how big or small a bowl should be in order to maintain balance within a set of tableware, and for serving and/or eating to be not too inconvenient.  

Pair the Sauce Bowl in Relation to the Functional Needs of the Accompanying Dish  

Different dishes require different features from a sauce bowl, hence matching the bowl with a piece of tableware based on what is being served. When serving fried foods (for instance, tempura) along with a dipping sauce, a sauce bowl that is wider than it is deep is more appropriate to prevent spillage upon dipping and removal. This can be paired with tempura plates which are functional, often serving as wide and flat. For accompanying sauces served with soups or stews, a sauce bowl that is deeper works better; it can hold more sauce and is better paired to deeper soup bowls.

Accessories for sashimi and sushi always include small sauce bowls, and they must match the design style of the sushi plates for the table, like how some people use ceramic bowls for sushi plates. When the sauce is a condiment that is thick, like a mayonnaise sauce or a curry dip, a dip cup that has a sleek, smooth interior is easier to clean and goes perfectly with informal table settings like pasta bowls. This shows that the dip cup and tableware are working in harmony.  

See the dining circumstance to focus the match between dip cup and tableware. When it comes to formal dining table settings, like dinners or parties, the tableware is offered the utmost care, so a sauce cup adorned with fine ceramic, with the addition of gold hue, matches the porcelain plates. This enhances the table decoration while also adhering to formality. For the typical everyday meal, a strong contrast comes into play a with flexible fabric a thick and heavy stoneware plate.

An outdoor meal, such as a picnic, is best enjoyed with an unbreakable and lightweight sauce bowl (ideally plastic or bamboo) that goes with the informal outdoor setting tableware (like paper or plastic plates). For Japanese style dining, a petite, simple, and minimalist ceramic sauce bowl (for soy sauce or wasabi) goes very well with the sushi plates or ramen bowls that come with elegantly crafted tableware sets. The context in which the sauce bowl is placed is tangible and so is the comfort and ease in which the pairing is made.