Day 117: Dragon Sauce

I finally got to go to a China Buffet today. That meant I could break out the Dragon Sauce.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what I did. I broke it. I was getting out of the car, and the bottle fell out of my coat pocket. Just like a movie scene in slow motion, the bottle hit the cement and the sound of broken glass hit everyone's ears. A dark, black stain marred the parking lot, and future parkers will think someone had a serious oil leak.

My girlfriend laughed and laughed. When I bent down to pick up the glass and throw it away, she freaked out thinking I was trying to salvage the sauce. Come on, I'm not that crazy!

I did make her drive me to the grocery store so that I could buy a new bottle, though.

"This unique spicy soy sauce enhances Asian-style dishes and is a great marinade for beef, pork, poultry and seafood. Also delicious on rice & vegetables."

After reading the label carefully, I have to say that this is not a hot sauce in any regard. It says right on the back that it's a soy sauce. It tastes like a soy sauce. It doesn't taste like a hot sauce.

However, it is one of the Reily Food's "Try Me" sauces from their set, and is always located in the hot sauce aisle. And at the very bottom of the ingredient list, it does say that there is less than 2% peppers. Hey, sometimes it seems like boring red vinegar sauces have less than 2% peppers, too!

Check out this ingredient list. I have never been so appalled at the chemical SHIT added to a food item before. MSG? Hydrogenated oil? Modified what?

Soy sauce (Water, soybeans, wheat, salt, vinegar, sodium benzoate), dragon seasoning (sugar, spices, modified food starch, monosodium glutamate, onion, garlic, Hydrolyzed corn protein, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate, natural flavorings), sherry whine, vinegar, water, contains 2% or less of garlic, red peppers and spices."

I don't like soy sauce that much. I have tried it off and on when I eat Asian foods, but it has never enhanced any of my meals, so I just ignore it. Plus, it's too runny.

Dragon Sauce, however, is pretty enjoyable. Not only is it thick enough to stick on foods (instead of sink through rice), it also has a much richer and smoky flavor.

Using a whole bottle of Dragon Sauce during lunch was pretty much a pain in the ass. Each topping I chose to put over my rice or noodles already comes with its sinfully delicious sauce. For example, if I choose General Tso's chicken, I choose it because I like it. And if I want extra sauce to soak down into the rice, I want it to be General Tso's sauce. Not a thick black soy sauce that's poured on so liberally, it masks all the flavor of General Tso.

But such is the life of a hot sauce addict.

Bottoms Up!

So, what's it like to drink a shot of soy sauce? Thankfully this sauce is a lot thicker, and has more flavor. It went down just fine, if not a bit too salty. There is a hint of heat the lingers after the flavor dissipates, but it's only enough to make you wonder if it was really there at all. This is the 2nd day in a row I got too much salt. If I was a caterpillar, I'd be dead.

Without a doubt, this is a great substitute for soy sauce. If that's your bag.

Tomorrow: Vigo Salsa Picante XXX

Topics: Hot Sauce, Soy Sauce