Every now and then when we order in food, we get a dipping sauce that has great flavor, sometimes from the most unlikely places. Lately we’ve been ordering frequently from Sammy’s Noodle Shop Sammy’s Noodle Shop. Their noodle soups are some of the best in the area, and their dumplings are quite tasty as well. Left over from a recent order was the dipping sauce for the dumplings. It’s a fairly standard dipping sauce for dumplings. Its strong flavors include sugar (or possibly mirin), ginger, and garlic. I really wanted it as a full fledged sauce.
If you de-construct a sauce into its most basic components, there are the aromatics in the base, such as garlic, onions, carrots, shallots (especially if the sauce will be French); there is a body, such as stock, wine, or even just water; there are seasonings, such as herbs and spices; and there is a thickener, such as butter, cream, or corn starch. So, once you’ve identified the components, you can build a sauce from just about anything. And that’s what I did for dinner last night.
I started sauteeing diced onion, garlic, and ginger in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Then I added some canned salmon. After a few minutes, I poured on the left over dipping sauce, which was about two tablespoons. I also refilled that little container with water and added that. After cooking down for two minutes, I thickened with a corn starch slurry, which is most appropriate for Chinese flavors. After some medium heat and nice thickening action, I removed it from the heat, tossed in some fresh cilantro and served over re-steamed rice (also left over). It was fantastic!
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