Yes, I use premade bottled sauces now and again.  Truth be told, the cabinet is full of fun and interesting sauces and condiments.  I like finding new and different products and a bottled sauce is a great start when making a quick dinner.

Tonight’s sauce was from Singapore.  I think I picked this sauce up at Cost Plus World Market last time we were home.  It’s made by WorldFoods and is called Singapore ‘Xin Zhou’ Noodle Sauce.  The bottle states: Fragrant spices makes up this aromatic sauce, which gives a burst of flavour to your noodle dish. Simply stir-fry with rice noodles, onions, meat and vegetables.

Some of the most flavorful food I think I have ever eated was in Singapore back when I was in Uncle Sam’s Yacht Club circa 1973.  Yes, 1973.  (There are still a few brain cells functioning from that far back.)

Probably most of my meals were eaten from street vendors in the since-redeveloped Old City.  Firey hot curries, noodle dishes that just exploded with flavor…  I even remember having an omelette cooked in a wood-fired wok by an old, old guy who spoke no English at all, but had the most mischievious gold-toothed smile.  Damn, it was good!

And the Tiger beer, nasi goreng, and exotic nightlife of Bugis Street.  Any story you may ever hear from a sailor about Bugis Street in the ’60s or ’70s is true.  It’s the kind of stuff that just cannot be made up.

So tonight’s Singapore Noodle Sauce was about as mild as mild can be.  I added sriracha sauce to spice it up  (Singaporean food is a blend of cultures to begin with…) and served everything with brown rice instead of noodles.  Culinarily speaking, it wasn’t even close to those magical meals I ate in my youth, but it brought back some great memories!