# Asian Takeout Mustard: what is in?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 11, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026 "2019-09-11T05:07:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/1 "2019-09-11T05:07:35Z")
It’s packed in nearly every Chinese takeout I order. Chopsticks, sweet n sour, soy sauce and fortune cookies, ok. What is the Asian dish mustard really shines in?
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### Author:  [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/2 "2019-09-11T05:14:09Z")
It’s a hot mustard, usually with horseradish or wasabi, and it’s a good dipping sauce for egg rolls and wantons and such.
mc
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### Author:  [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/3 "2019-09-11T05:17:01Z")
Its excellent with dim sum.
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/4 "2019-09-11T11:49:35Z")
Put it on egg rolls, crab rangoons, etc. I’ve never actually used it in a dish.
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### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/5 "2019-09-11T13:41:05Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#):
>
> It’s a hot mustard, usually with horseradish or wasabi, and it’s a good dipping sauce for egg rolls and wantons and such.
>
> mc
You’ve been to Chinese takeouts where they give you the actual horseradish or wasabi mustard in a packet to go?
Every Chinese takeout I’ve ever been to, the take-out mustard packets were just crappy regular mustard. ☹
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### Author:  [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/6 "2019-09-11T14:12:34Z")
> [@Slash1972](#):
>
> You’ve been to Chinese takeouts where they give you the actual horseradish or wasabi mustard in a packet to go?
>
> Every Chinese takeout I’ve ever been to, the take-out mustard packets were just crappy regular mustard. ☹
I’ve never seen “regular” mustard at a Chinese restaurant. You mean like French’s yellow mustard? Never seen that. This mustard is yellow, but it’s not regular mustard. It’s like a hot mustard. I sometimes use it as a dip for my spring rolls/egg rolls.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/7 "2019-09-11T14:16:39Z")
It’s _medium_ hot mustard. I don’t know what they do to it to make it so freaking bland.
I know the whole “I can make it better at home” thing has become an SDMB meme, but seriously, plain ordinary powdered mustard, slowly add plain old tap water, stir, taste a little periodically until you get the consistency that flies up your nose and makes you do a sharp intake of breath.
I can squeeze the contents of an entire commercial hot mustard packet onto an egg roll and pop it in my mouth and it scarcely has any bite whatsoever. That’s just wrong.
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### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/8 "2019-09-11T14:27:13Z")
> [@tullsterx](#):
>
> I’ve never seen “regular” mustard at a Chinese restaurant. You mean like French’s yellow mustard? Never seen that. This mustard is yellow, but it’s not regular mustard. It’s like a hot mustard. I sometimes use it as a dip for my spring rolls/egg rolls.
No, it’s not like French’s mustard. But it’s decidedly NOT the awesome wasabi-type mustard that actual Chinese restaurants have. There is nothing “hot” about it at all. I too like to dip spring/egg rolls into the real hot mustard, but the take-out packets just suck ☹
Here is a [picture](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71os-bzF0BL._SY606SX256_SY606_CR,0,0,256,606_PIbundle-200,TopRight,0,0_SX256_SY606_CR,0,0,256,606_SH20_.jpg) of what I usually get from take out places. Note the ingredients.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/9 "2019-09-11T14:54:38Z")
> [@AHunter3](#):
>
> plain ordinary powdered mustard, slowly add plain old tap water, stir, taste a little periodically until you get the consistency that flies up your nose and makes you do a sharp intake of breath.
Yep.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/10 "2019-09-11T15:01:12Z")
Egg rolls. When I was 20 or so and just acquainting my palate with Chinese food, the great irony of it all to me at the time was that I hated cabbage and I hated hot/spicy food\*, but I loved egg rolls with Chinese mustard.
- I see some real fire-breathers here don’t think it’s hot. What I had at the places I went was plenty hot for me.
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### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/11 "2019-09-11T15:11:47Z")
I like mustard, and I like spicy food, but to me that stuff tastes like it uses gasoline as the base.
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### Author:  [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/12 "2019-09-11T15:30:21Z")
> [@bobot](#):
>
> I like mustard, and I like spicy food, but to me that stuff tastes like it uses gasoline as the base.
W.Y. Industries, Inc., probably just uses low-quality mustard. Or maybe it’s the water in North Bergen, New Jersey.
I have no qualm with it. If I’m eating egg rolls, shrimp toast, wonton, and lo mein from my local fave Chinese takeout joint, I have no illusions of _haute cuisine._, just yummy tasty guilty-pleasure fried crap with lashings of MSG.
And if it’s not hot enough, I add more mustard. “No duck sauce, extra mustard” are my signature final words to the nice Asian lady on the phone.
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### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/13 "2019-09-11T17:31:05Z")
People in Hawaii tend to mix the mustard and soy sauce together. It’s common for Chinese restaurants there to have both condiments on all tables and give you a little mixing dish next to your chopsticks/napkins.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/14 "2019-09-11T17:37:07Z")
Colman’s, water, time. The perfect Chinese mustard in the amount of time it takes to empty the bags of the take-out containers.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/15 "2019-09-11T17:43:12Z")
The chances of there being any real wasabi in Chinese takeout is basically zero. Even the stuff most restaurants call wasabi isn’t. If it’s a pricey place then there’s a small chance of getting the real stuff.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/16 "2019-09-11T17:48:23Z")
I don’t even know why anyone would expect wasabi with Chinese food, since wasabi is Japanese.
That’s like expecting _nigiri_ with your egg rolls.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/17 "2019-09-11T21:51:15Z")
> [@Slash1972](#):
>
> No, it’s not like French’s mustard. But it’s decidedly NOT the awesome wasabi-type mustard that actual Chinese restaurants have. There is nothing “hot” about it at all. I too like to dip spring/egg rolls into the real hot mustard, but the take-out packets just suck ☹
>
> Here is a [picture](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71os-bzF0BL._SY606SX256_SY606_CR,0,0,256,606_PIbundle-200,TopRight,0,0_SX256_SY606_CR,0,0,256,606_SH20_.jpg) of what I usually get from take out places. Note the ingredients.
Like others have said, you can make your own spicy mustard by mixing Colmans mustard power and cold water. That’s all it takes. No wasabi or horseradish required. It gets very spicy after a bit and then will become less spicy as more time goes on. I believe adding vinegar is supposed to stop the decline in spiciness from occurring. While the packet you pictured may not be spicy, it contains the ingredients required.
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### Author:  [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/18 "2019-09-11T23:01:46Z")
> [@Geek\_Mecha](#):
>
> People in Hawaii tend to mix the mustard and soy sauce together. It’s common for Chinese restaurants there to have both condiments on all tables and give you a little mixing dish next to your chopsticks/napkins.
And vinegar. You need to mix soy sauce with vinegar for the perfect pot sticker dipping sauce.
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### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/19 "2019-09-12T17:21:25Z")
The mixture wasn’t just for potstickers. Many people dipped noodles and pretty much anything into it. That’s why it was part of the standard table setting and not just brought out when you ordered a specific dish. Some restaurants have chili water (actually vinegar) but it was not commonly mixed with mustard and soy sauce.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-takeout-mustard-what-is-in/840026/20 "2019-09-12T17:44:31Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#):
>
> It’s a hot mustard, usually with horseradish or wasabi, and it’s a good dipping sauce for egg rolls and wantons and such.
>
> mc
> [@wguy123](#):
>
> Like others have said, you can make your own spicy mustard by mixing Colmans mustard power and cold water. That’s all it takes. No wasabi or horseradish required. It gets very spicy after a bit and then will become less spicy as more time goes on. I believe adding vinegar is supposed to stop the decline in spiciness from occurring. While the packet you pictured may not be spicy, it contains the ingredients required.
There’s no horseradish or wasabi in Chinese mustard. That’s what real mustard tastes like, not that turmeric-flavored stuff called American yellow mustard.
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