Dutch snackbar culture runs on sauces. The frites are good - thin, double-fried, properly salted - but they are also a delivery system for a sauce ecosystem that evolved separately from the rest of the world. Some are Dutch originals. Some arrived via Indonesia. Some came from Belgium. One is named after a hairdresser.
01the Dutch default
Fritessaus
The default in the Netherlands - order frites and say nothing, this arrives. It looks like mayo but is not legally mayo: Dutch food law requires real mayonnaise to contain at least 70% fat and 5% egg yolk; fritessaus typically has around 25% fat or less. Lighter, paler, and milder than the Belgian full-fat version. Ask for it on the side if you want to control the amount.
What's in it - Vegetable oil (~25%), water, vinegar, egg yolk, mustard, sugar, modified starch, stabilisers. Legally distinct from mayo in the Netherlands - real mayo requires 70%+ fat; fritessaus is the lighter substitute.
Goes with - Everything fried
02the Dutch cult sauce
Joppiesaus
Yellow, onion-forward, mild curry, and distinctly Dutch. Created by Janyne "Joppie" de Jager at Annie's Snackbar in Glanerbrug and industrialised by Elite Salades in 2002; now in the yellow bottle in every supermarket. Hard to find outside the Netherlands. Ask a Dutch person about it and they get nostalgic or defensive - there is no middle ground.
What's in it - Vegetable oil, onion, curry powder (turmeric, coriander, cumin), vinegar, sugar, mustard, modified starch. The yellow is turmeric. Created in Glanerbrug, industrialised by Elite Salades in 2002.
Goes with - Frites, mainly
03Indonesian chili paste
Sambal
The most useful condiment on this list. Indonesian chili paste in two main forms: badjak (cooked, sweeter, complex) and oelek (raw, direct heat). The badjak is the one to take home - it works on almost everything. Not Dutch by origin, but now embedded in everyday Dutch cooking through Indonesian-Dutch food culture. More flavour, less damage than anything else here.
What's in it - Red chillies, garlic, shrimp paste (terasi), salt, palm sugar. Oelek is raw and direct; badjak is cooked with lemongrass, galangal, coconut, and kecap manis. Shop versions add citric acid and preservatives.
Goes with - Indonesian food, kapsalon, anything needing heat
04Indonesian-Dutch peanut sauce
Pindasaus
The most culturally significant sauce here. Pindasaus became part of Dutch everyday food through Dutch-Indonesian food culture - shaped by colonial history, post-1949 migration, and the Indonesian restaurants that opened across Dutch cities in the following decades. On satay the real versions are cooked, with lemongrass, galangal, kecap manis and coconut - not peanut butter thinned with water. The snackbar version is simplified but still works on frites.
What's in it - Roasted ground peanuts, coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, kecap manis (sweet soy), chilli, lime - the real version. Snackbar version: peanut paste, water, palm oil, sugar, salt, flavourings. Significantly blander.
Goes with - Satay, gado-gado, the oorlog
05for fish
Tartarsaus
The most common sauce for kibbeling - capers, pickled gherkin, herbs, and lemon, whose acidity cuts through battered fish well. Garlic sauce and ravigote are also common at Dutch fish stalls; try whichever the stall offers fresh. Do not put tartar on frites - it does not work and the flavour is wasted.
What's in it - Mayonnaise base (oil, egg yolk, lemon or vinegar), capers, pickled gherkin, shallot, flat-leaf parsley. Fresh-made is just those ingredients. Commercial versions add modified starch, sugar, preservatives.
Goes with - Kibbeling, any fried fish
06the sleeper
Piccalilly
The most underrated sauce here. Thick, bright-yellow pickled vegetable relish - sweeter and milder than the British version, very low calorie. On a broodje kroket it cuts the richness without competing with the ragout. Buy a jar - it keeps, and it works alongside almost any fried snack. Available in every Dutch supermarket.
What's in it - Pickled cauliflower, onion, gherkin, sometimes carrot or red pepper, in a mustard-turmeric brine (vinegar, sugar, mustard powder, turmeric, modified starch). Very low fat. Sweeter than British piccalilli.
Goes with - Broodje kroket, stamppot, sausage
07the standard combo
Speciaal
Not a sauce but a configuration: curry ketchup plus fritessaus plus raw diced onion, all on the frites at once. The raw onion is not optional - it adds the sharp contrast that makes the whole thing work. If you only order frites once, order them speciaal.
What's in it - Fritessaus (oil, egg, starch, stabilisers) + curry ketchup (tomatoes, vinegar, curry spices, sugar, starch) + raw diced white onion, applied simultaneously over hot frites.
Goes with - Frites, your first time at a snackbar
08this one is called War
Oorlog
Peanut sauce plus mayo plus raw diced onion, all over frites. The name is honest. Both pindasaus and mayo are rich and fatty - they reinforce each other rather than contrast. The raw onion is the only thing stopping it from being completely monolithic. It works better than it should, and it is culturally memorable enough that you should try it once.
What's in it - Pindasaus (peanut sauce) + fritessaus or full-fat mayo + raw diced white onion, over frites. Both sauces are dense and caloric - they amplify each other rather than contrast.
Goes with - Frites and commitment