Add to the mix Thai chilies, for heat (if you can't find Thai chilies, the more ubiquitous red chili sauce found in Asian markets makes a fine substitute), and a moderate amount of sugar, for balance, and you have a zippy vinaigrette that dresses a beautiful salad of shallots, mint, cilantro, scallions and toasted rice.
At Perilla, where the cuisine tends to skew toward Italian-American and Eastern European influences, I serve a spaghettini with crab gravy studded with crushed red chili flakes, fennel seed and Thai basil.