By Request: Kimlan's "Chinese Spaghetti Sauce"

You all are always full of surprises, that's probably why we love you all so much. On any given post, I never know what might catch the fancy of the wonderful folks who read mmm-yoso!!! This little bottle to my right is a good example. I happened to have mentioned it in one of my shopping posts, and was asked several times if I bought it. Of course this aroused my curiosity. After all, just what is "Chinese Spaghetti Sauce?"

And so I bought a bottle on one of my trips to 99 Ranch Market. I wasn't paying attention, and didn't realize that it was $3.09 a bottle!

I was surprised at the Missus's reaction when I returned home and displayed the bottle. Instead of the expected "what are you wasting money on now", I received a "hey, you might like this". I guess you all aren't the only ones full of surprises.

Speaking of surprises....about a week later I decided to finally try out the sauce. And when I grabbed the bottle it was almost empty!! The Missus had been using it to top Her jook, and as a topping for rice. Realizing that my window of opportunity had suddenly gotten much smaller, I dug through our cabinets looking for some pasta...and found some capellini. Which I cooked up, and topped with a conservative amount of the sauce (I heeded a warning from the Missus, "a little will go a long way....") along with some green onions and cilantro.

From the first bite I understood why the Missus enjoyed this. The flavor was 5 spice and bean paste heavy, and most of all, S-A-L-T-Y. The mystery meat consisted of five spice tofu and "Kaufu", which is wheat gluten. The flavor is very Chinese, and you'd never mistake his for your good old bottle of Ragu. A little does go a long way.......

I thought it was okay.....but I think a little phrase the Missus uttered to me the other day is much more telling. "Don't forget to buy a bottle of the Chinese Spaghetti Sauce the next time you go to 99 Ranch Market!"

Take that, Ragu!

Comments

[liver]

how similar does it taste to zajian mien sauce?

[RONW]

undoubtedly, the Chinese still believe they're the ones that invented spaghetti.

[_ts of [eatingclub] vancouver]

teehee... I like this post! =)

[Kirk]

Hi Liver - Much, much more 5 spice flavor than za jiang mein...which is not among my favorite things in the world....no pork in the, though I guess you could mix it in.

Hi RONW - Without a doubt....

Hi TS - Never let it be said that I don't do requests....

[Scottsdale]

Sounds good I will have to try this my next trip to the Chinese market.

[Carol]

What? The Chinese didn't invent spaghetti? Get outta here! ;-)

Wow, for some reason, looking at it and reading how it tastes gave me deja vu. Maybe I've had this at some point in my life. I'll have to make a mental note to get a bottle.

As for za jiang mein, Kirk, you might like the version I make (Mom's recipe) because it only uses miso paste, ground beef (or pork), onions, scallion, and maybe some garlic. Simple but utterly delicious. Oh yeah, and some julienned cucumber.

[fatty]

Stupid question, but what type of dog is Sammy & Frankie? I see alot of people with the same type of dog but I couldn't quite figure out what they are :). Thanks.

[Kirk]

Hi Scottsdale - Let me know how you like it. Warning though, it's very Chinese.....

Hi Carol - Thanks for the recipe...

Hi Fatty - That's not a stupid question! I'm touched that you would ask. Da' Boyz are both mutts! Sammy is half schnauzer, half poodle (yep, he's Sammy the Schnoodle). Frankie is half Schnauzer, half Bichon (I dunno this one...Schnauzon, perhaps?). Thanks so much for asking, you made my day!

[[eatingclub] vancouver]

LOL.

I think this might be similar to what we call "meat paste," which my brother gobbled up like crazy when he was a kid.

Which means, I'll have to try looking for this.

[elmomonster]

I love this post. You and the Missus are so funny together!

[foodhoe]

sounds intriguing... so there is no meat in the sauce? what's the shelf life, similar to bottled pasta sauce, or more like chinese condiments?

[Kirk]

Hi JS - "Meat paste"...with no meat....lovely...lot's of "Kawfu" in this.

Hi Elmo - We do have a lot of fun!

Hi FH - No meat, I don't know what the shelf life is....due to quick consumption, it never lasts long at home. But I'm assuming it is pretty long.

[Win-D.C.]

Thanks for this post, Kirk. I love how your blog is so "varied" in its topics.

In regards to this one, I suddenly had a weird flashback where I was almost positive I had encountered this "spaghetti sauce" during my many Asian grocery trips but had shelved the idea of "trying it for next time" long ago. Now, your post has, again, peaked my interest. I shall take your critique under consideration next time I see this enigmatic sauce.

[milgwimper]

Hmmm I haven't yet found that here in Germany, I will have to try harder. Although I think I would eat it topped with rice, but what can I say rice is usually my favourite carb, well I do like asian type noodles too...Man I am hungry!

[Kirk]

Hi Win-DC - Thanks, we just kinda post on whatever catches our fancy. When you do find the sauce, let me know what you think.

Hi Mills - Long time no hear! I hope all is well.

[tina marie]

i love this post! brought a huge smile to my face reading it. i've seen that sauce and always wanted to try it! if it's too salty... do you think diluting it with a little h2o, will help adverse the strong salty flavor? just curious. :)

[Kirk]

Hi Tina Marie - I'm glad I was able to provide a smile! ;o) I think diluting this with water, would also dilute all the other flavors....perhaps an Asian dilution would work better. That would be.....more starch!!! Have a great weekend.

[Cathy]

tina marie- It is salty but not so bad that you can't eat it directly from the jar. Once you put a small bit on rice, you may almost want to add some soy sauce...

[Jeff C]

Kirk, this is so fun. It brought back memories of when I was in grad school and making my own dinners. I remember being in an Asian market and buying this sauce. I didn't have a lot of cooking experience then and a much less adventurous palate. I really thought this would be similar to Italian spaghetti. Talk about being surprised. Anyways, chalk that one up to experience.
The chinese spaghetti sauce I don't use plain, I tend to use as a flavoring for other dishes.

[Kirk]

Hi Jeffrey - One thing for sure.....it isn't bland!