Ready-made mixes and packaged sauces

A recently resurrected thread on ready-made mole suggested that people might be discovering other ready-made short-cuts to quicker-than-scratch meals, so I thought I'd mention a couple of favorites and see what others might be using.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I love ready-made mole (and pipian). I know how to make the stuff from scratch, but I usually don't have the time. However, just because I can't make it from scratch doesn't mean I want to live without it.

Tonight, I whipped up a batch of Mabo Tofu (I know, it's usually spelled Mapo, but this is a brand name), which has become a favorite week-night quick meal. The product is "House Chinese Mabo Tofu Sauce." It's made in Japan, and I've seen it at virtually every Asian grocery store in which I've ever shopped. The Medium has almost no heat at all, so I usually make two packages at once, one Medium, one Hot. (However, even Hot isn't terribly hot -- this is made for Japanese tastes, not Sichuan tastes.) Just add a bit of ground beef and tofu, simmer, and dinner's ready. Does it carry me back to my first taste of the dish while visiting Sichuan Province? No. But it's mighty tasty and mighty quick on a night when things are running late and there's little time for leisurely cooking.

Another much-loved "quicky" is Lee Kum Kee "Sauce for Black Pepper Chicken." Add 8 oz. chicken, a stalk of celery and a carrot, shredded, and you've got a tasty meal. Lee Kum Kee has a whole line of sauces, all made in China -- but the Black Pepper Chicken is my current favorite. Granted, it might be better if you stopped at a terrific Chinese carry-out place, but it would also cost a lot more -- and cost is a major concern for some of us in the present economy. Plus I can keep this in the pantry and just use it when I need it.

I've also found that most Indian stores have lovely sauce bases in jars. Some of these actually come quite close to homemade taste -- more at the level of the excellent mole pastes in Hispanic grocery stores.

So what have you discovered that you use when you have little money, less time, but still want something interesting for dinner?

I like Patak's jarred curry pastes and Maesri Thai curry pastes in cans. I more or less follow the instructions on the package, adjusting for whatever ingredients I have on hand. it usually turns out pretty good.

I don't do prepackaged sauces for weeknight cooking, but I will for camping:
Thai curry pastes, Indian simmer sauces and the like work very nicely with dutch oven or camp stove cooking.

There's something about putting together a complex sauce that turns into magic... I don't like giving it up.

JoelF wrote:There's something about putting together a complex sauce that turns into magic... I don't like giving it up.

I wouldn't want to give it up, either -- but I can't do it every day -- not if I want to earn a living (and I do). If you've got the kind of life or schedule that allows you to create complex sauces on a "school night," then more power to you.

Cynthia wrote:If you've got the kind of life or schedule that allows you to create complex sauces on a "school night," then more power to you.

Certainly not every night... but I do work from home, which gives me all that commuting time to do prep.

Shan Bombay Biryani Mix, in the yellow box, available at most markets on Devon (79 cents the last time I bought it, IIRC). Incredibly delicious, maybe not exactly quick, but quickish, and makes so much there will be lots of leftovers.

Just don't make the mistake we made the first time, when we decided that 4 - 5 cups of rice meant we should go for the lower amount since we like spicy food. It pretty much took the tops of our heads off. Also I have made it enough to know that you don't need to put anywhere near the amount (1 to 1.5 cups) of ghee in that is called for (a Pakistani friend told me today that no one he knows uses the quantities of ghee that most restaurants do) -- I've actually made the biryani without any ghee when I was trying to be healthy.

Much quicker, the Shan box of tikka chicken spices, also great.

This is not canned, but it is ready-made, so I hope it counts. The Sofrito Coquil pre-made at the A&G (in the refrigerator case with the salsas) is a great sauce. I sizzle about 2T worth in olive oil, add a can of beans, and there is the quickest dinner ever. With rice, it's a cheap healthy meal and my kid loves it (wow). I portion it out and freeze it in ice cube trays so I just have to grab a cube.

Cheers, Jen

So Cynthia, I was at an Asian market in Uptown this afternoon, and thought about this thread, and looked for Lee Kum Kee sauces, because I remembered your post. Or I sort of remembered your post. I bought a jar of black pepper sauce which has a recipe for beef on it; probably good with chicken too, I'm guessing. But not the stuff you were recommending?? Is yours a jar, and does it say: for chicken? I believe I also bought something that said it would make mapo tofu, though I looked at so many, I'm not quite sure what I bought in the end.

I'm going to send this via thread and perhaps jog someone else to tell us about more sauces, I am into quick meals these days since I am working long hours. (If Cynthia doesn't see it and respond, I'll pm her)

The pepper sauce I got was in a little pouch and said "Black Pepper Chicken." I recently bought the Black Pepper Beef in a jar, as the chicken was so tasty, but I haven't tried it yet. I've tried a few other of the Lee Kum Kee sauces, and have not been disappointed, so I expect the beef to be tasty, too.

Among the things I enjoy buying in Asian grocery stores (seem to be especially common in Indian stores) are pastes made to be added to rice. These come in both jars and pouches, but you just stir the stuff into rice, and you have a meal. (Well, you have a meal if you're happy with a bowl of flavorful rice with a few beans and some cashews in it.) I've tried a variety of versions of paste for Lemon Rice and Tamaraind Rice, and I particularly like the MTR-brand Puliogare, a paste that comes in a pouch -- just add water.

And JenM -- any ready-made counts. Short cuts to great meals are what our busy lives need, at least on those days that we can't linger in the kitchen.

JenM wrote:This is not canned, but it is ready-made, so I hope it counts. The Sofrito Coquil pre-made at the A&G (in the refrigerator case with the salsas) is a great sauce. I sizzle about 2T worth in olive oil, add a can of beans, and there is the quickest dinner ever. With rice, it's a cheap healthy meal and my kid loves it (wow). I portion it out and freeze it in ice cube trays so I just have to grab a cube.

Cheers, Jen

What's A&G?

thanks.

That's one of the things I love about interaction through LTHForum -- you start on one subject, and you learn about something you weren't even looking for.

Like A&G. I just did a search, and it turns out that this is a remarkable international market on Belmont.

http://agfreshmarket.com/

A&G International Fresh Market
5630 W. Belmont Ave.
Phone
773.777.4480
Hours
Mon.-Sat. 6am - 10pm
Sunday 6am - 9pm

So now I have a new place to explore next time I'm that area of the city.

sarcon wrote:
What's A&G?

thanks.

Hi Sarcon, sorry I didn't elaborate, but Cynthia answered perfectly.

Cheers, Jen

P.S. My other go-to premade sauce is Costco's pesto. I buy a jar, throw it in the freezer, and chisel out bits as needed. Excellent pesto, for non homemade. That and a package of frozen tortellini and dinner is served. I used to like Trader Joe's red mole, but they discontinued it, the stinkers.

JenM wrote: I used to like Trader Joe's red mole, but they discontinued it, the stinkers.

If you live anywhere near a Carniceria Jimenez, they have several excellent varieties of red mole, as well as "pipian verde," pipian being a relative of mole. The Teloloapan brand is particularly good for the mole rojo. Just stir the paste into broth, and you've got your mole. Yum.