Duck me, This is good. (Blue Dragon - Hoi Sin & Garlic Stir Fry Sauce)

Member Name: ryanando

Product:	Blue Dragon - Hoi Sin & Garlic Stir Fry Sauce
Date:	04/07/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick, easy, tasty

Disadvantages: Bit of a pain to open the pack and get all the sauce out, doesnt serve 2 like it says.

---"Your neighbour's wife looks prettier than your own."---

This week has been the hottest on record for approximately 3638626084 years. At least that's my estimate. The sun has been shining, the air has been slowly released from the atmosphere so no one can get a decent gasp of fresh air when they step outside. Birds are singing (annoyingly, might I add, learn a bloody song at least??) the wind is in my freshly grown beard, my eyes are streaming due to the pollen and dogs are humping the crap out of anything that passes by. Summer has well and truly set in and I am bloody FREEZING! My fingers are about to drop off thanks to frost bite and my backside is now the equivalent of a slab of meat in a butchers freezer. Apparently my work think that, since it's warm outside, it would be nice of them to have the building cooled to roughly minus 3000 degrees Celsius. They are wrong. Very wrong. Thankfully lunch (consisting mostly of Hoi Sin and Garlic sauce) managed to warm me up very slightly for about five minutes.

---"Elephant tusks cannot grow out of a dog's mouth."---

Ok so there was other stuff in it, but I'll get to that in a moment. Blue Dragon (a Chinese symbol of good fortune) are a lovely little wholesome corporate whore of a company that like to make eating like a Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese or Thai person easier for everyone. After steadily growing over 30ish years, they do noodles, sauces and various other odds and sods to throw into your Wok (or frying pan if you aren't cooking it like they want you to). They have a rather handy website (www.bluedragon.com) where you can get all your information on their products. They will even ply you with some recipes to make you feel more authentic about your new found ethnicity!

---"It is impossible to change your basic characteristics."---

Hoisin translated into English will mislead you entirely. "Seafood" could not be further from the truth. It mostly contains wheat, rice, vinegar, chilli peppers, garlic and a crap load of colourings and preservatives. If you've got any allergies to Soya, sesame or wheat gluten then you'll be happy to know that suicide now comes in some fabulous flavours. This flavour in particular is quite sweet but not overly so.

The stir fry sauces come in a blue little foil packet that look rather pretty. It's a bit of a pain in the arse getting the sauce out of the packet and I always feel like I have left loads in the packet. You will need a pair of scissors to open the packet without getting sauce all over your face. The picture on the front is their "serving suggestion" so from that I can tell you that this sauce is best served on a plate with two magical floating chopsticks at the side. They have, however, been kind and provided a recipe on the back of the sachet. They suggest you cook it with duck, spring onions and noodles. Being male, I have never followed the instructions.

---"Even the most resourceful housewife cannot create miracles from a rice-less pantry."---

I chop about 4 medium to large fungus growths (mushrooms) into big chunks, slice a small tear inducing vegetable (onion will do fine) and fry them together for about three or four minutes. I then shove my sauce in with the fry-ables and stick my noodles on to boil for four minutes. When the noodles are done they get mixed through the sauce and there you have a yummy-licious (which is Chinese for great) meal for yourself.

Another way of enjoying the sauce is from a bowl. Get yourself some crisps, raw veg or chips and dip them. The sauce doesn't need to be cooked so you CAN use it as a dip without having to worry about getting food poisoning. Or swine flu.

Price wise they are quite nifty. Currently they are sitting at around 50p for a sachet in Asda (or five for £2) I would, however, have to advise that you get 2 sachets for each person. The packet suggests that it will serve two but I would have to protest that this is a big dirty lie. I find that to be the case with a lot of saucy type items though. 2 sachets each is enough to cover all your noodles, veg, meat and your hands, so just be aware if you plan on sharing.

---"Men should worry about fame just as pigs about being fat."---

Nutritionally speaking the sauces are a bit on the unhealthy side when you remember that you really need two sachets to get the job done. In one of THEIR suggested servings you will find 88 calories (4% of your Guideline Daily Amount) 1.8g of fat (3% of your GDA) and 0.8g of salt (13% of your GDA). If, however, you like your sauce to coat everything rather than just pretend that you have enough then you will be consuming 352 calories in the sauce alone (which is about the same as a decent meal if you know how to work your calories) 7.2g of fat and 3.2g of salt (a whopping 52% of your GDA). When you pile in your noodles, meats, vegetables and small children, you're probably not allowed another meal all day on fear of death or chub.

---"If you are in a hurry you will never get there"---

So what have we learned from this literary jaunt into the world of cooking other than how funny Chinese proverbs are? I'm not really sure myself to be honest. Either way, this sauce is rather flavoursome and very easy to cook (or not cook if you are dipping). The only downsides are the lies about it serving two and the slight difficulty opening the packet and getting all of the sauce out. Over all if you are a fan of sweeter savoury dishes then this is a good little sauce. It also stands up to reheating the next day very well! Now leave me be.



(quotes from About.com)

Summary: A great little stir fry sauce