Shacha (aka sa cha) sauce

[Kent Wang]

Wikipedia has a brief explanation.

I only discovered this recently and I've gotta say this is a must have sauce. If you only have two Chinese sauces in your fridge, you need a spicy one, and then shacha. I've gotten the one by Lee Kum Kee. It's quite mild and not spicy at all, with a lot of anchovy-like flavor. On a single bowl of noodles, you could use a quarter of the jar if you like a lot of it.

[Chris Amirault]

Kent, do you have a recipe or brand to suggest?

And is this correct? 沙茶 I googled it for images and think I recognize a few jars....

[Will]

I think Bull Nose (English name) is one pretty common brand. They also make a vegetarian version. There's another brand I used to buy the vegetarian version of, but I haven't seen it around lately (brown jar; swastika logo on the veggie one).

Edited December 10, 2010 by Will (log)

[annachan]

Sa cha is standard when we have hot pot. I always use it in my dipping sauce.

My grandmother used to make this noodle dish that is just the best. It's a beef chow fun (wet) with sa cha sauce. She put some Chinese broccoli in there as well. I so miss that.

[Big Joe the Pro]

Lee Kum Kee makes one: http://us.lkk.com/products/retail/sa-cha-sauce

[liuzhou]

That link is broken. Try this one.

[Kent Wang]

I just put some on my eggs. Glorious. I put the eggs in the pan first, then the sauce on top, and stirred it up a bit. The first time, I put the sauce in first and it got burnt.

When I first moved to China I was distraught that I couldn't find anchovies (to put on pasta). Now I just use sa cha sauce.

[v. gautam]

Kent,

I have both the Spicy & the Regular BULL NOSE brand, [the one with a comical yellow cow face on it?]. Have to ask: does anyone find the finely ground fish bones in that brand annoying? I ask this as someone who has been raised on tiny whole bony fish, very greatly prefers such, and eats very very bony shad, climbing perch & pure fish frames,heads & offal with gusto.

Anna,

It is so interesting that you write about your grandmother's gai laan dish. By some coincidence, of the many Korean,Chinese and Thai preserves and sauces I have and use, I seem to employ the sa-cha almost exclusively on a dish I just threw together one day but which became my favorite: spinach fettucine, American broccoli & cabbage if I have some. A local store has its own brand of spinach fettucine always on sale [probably because it is a bit thick & an ugly color & does not sell well] But that becomes a virtue here as it soaks up the robust sa-cha & veg. juices & plumps up thick & chewy, needing very little oil.

Edited December 26, 2010 by v. gautam (log)

[Kent Wang]

Never tried the Bull Nose brand, but certainly the Lee Kum Kee doesn't have any detectable bones.

Also I want to clarify that the Lee Kum Kee (and possibly all schacha sauces) has a very mild amount of spice, not none at all as I stated earlier. I just put some on a mapo tofu.

[v. gautam]

Thanks for the clarification, Kent.

@Chris: Since you asked for a recipe w/sa-cha, I am assuming you already are aware of the one using this sauce, posted by our Ah Leung, when he was doing his series of recipes?

In fact,I was educated about brand choice by his comment on a past sa-cha thread! Jan 21, 2006

Chiu Chow (Teochew)/Thai Style Fish Cakes with Sa Cha Sauce

Edited December 27, 2010 by v. gautam (log)

[Will]

There's another brand I used to buy the vegetarian version of, but I haven't seen it around lately (brown jar; swastika logo on the veggie one).

Got another jar. AGV (愛之味) Shacha sauce.

Good with raw egg as a hotpot sauce, or in rice porridge. If you look at the symbol on it, I'm sure you can guess what it's called in our house.