I actually am now because recently we got fried noodles as snack food, and we had approximately 20 packets of it next to the butter in the fridge. This is the first time I have ever used those packets outside of take-out. Generally they accumulate until Passover, when they are finally thrown out. Do you ever use those packets? Or are you sensible and you merely throw them away when you’re done with your food? If you do use them, what for? I’m running out of fried noodles here.
We’re talking about the packets that come with Top Ramen and the like? Or the ones that get shipped with take-out food?
If it’s cheap noodles, and there’s a postage stamp packet included, I open the packet, taste it, and add as much as I’m in the mood for. Over the years, it’s less and less. There’s no point in saving these, IMHO. They’re largely salt and MSG.
If it’s expensive packaged noodles, with larger, liquid packets, then I open them, and taste very carefully. Often I immediately toss out the whole thing. I have no idea what the oriental manufacturers seem to think is appetizing about pseudo-meat in a gluey sauce, but it must appeal to someone. I never keep these packets, they scare me.
With take-out food, I automatically throw out any soy sauce or hot sauce, unless I’m nowhere near home. Soy sauce (and fish sauce, etc.) is never very good in take-away packages. It’s pretty easy after 4 or 5 experiments to find a store-bought soy sauce that especially appeals to you. (Try all the brands in a local oriental market. My fav is Kikkoman Lite Soy Sauce, glass bottles, not plastic.) Hot sauce… there’s such a huge selection, there’s no excuse for using the Taco Bell swill, unless you’re just trying to stuff your face, and get on with life.
Hear, hear. The soy sauce packets and the duck sauce packets stay in the delivery bag, to be thrown away with the cardboard boxes and plastic tubs at the end of the meal.
Unless a picnic with an Asian theme is being planned for the near future. Little soy sauce packets are very handy when you just want a squirt or two on your cold soba, and you don’t want to lug the big bottle along.
On the other hand, the hot Chinese mustard is carefully picked out and shepherded, so that it may be gooshed liberally on nearly everything.
Mega-ditto’s on the hot mustard thing. Those make it to a treasured spot in the take-out menu drawer. That stuff is great mixed with other, wimpy mustard and slathered onto a ham sammich, along with swiss cheese and curried pickles.
I don’t use the soy sauce very often, and I can’t remember the last time I opened one of the sweet and sour packets.
Oh yes, I use duck sauce on practically everything. Plus theres always some around and I assume its good for a million years at least.
My roomate lived on rice and soy sauce last year, so whenever I ordered Chinese (even when I wasn’t in the room), I would make sure and save the packets for her. She went through those things like crazy, but she was the only person I’ve ever met who actually used them.
I use the little soy sauce packets. There’s no other soy sauce in the house to speak of, for reasons unknown, so if I want soy sauce, I have to use the packets.
I’m thinking we don’t get any other sauces, though. Little containers of duck sauce (same stuff they use when you eat in, packed into little plastic cups) come with the Japanese takeout we order, but I never use that. Hmm.
My takeout place asks if you want sauce. I tell them how many of each I want, so I don’t have any left over.
I only use the duck sauce. I put it on my egg rolls, and occasionally also on fried noodles.
Duck sauce-I use it on egg rolls as well and sweet and sour chicken.
I actually feel regret about throwing them out. My local chinese place makes these cute little bundles with a bag, the condiments, napkins, and the utensils. It’s a very nice idea. And sometimes I see them making the little packets up when I pick-up, and it doesn’t look that easy. Lots of lost effort if I just chuck them. So I’m really reluctant to throw them out, but they insist on giving me two or three (“I’m only one man!”) and once I had a drawer full, I just had to do it. Into the trash they go now.
(And I know I could ask them to leave them out, but I really don’t want to complicate the transaction – it’s hard enough as it is.)
I’m like racinchikki and Guinastasia I use the duck sauce (and hot mustard)on egg rolls. I also put a packet or 2 of the cheap soy sauce on my shrimp fried rice. I’ve liked pretty much every chinese food I’ve ever had, but I still eat Shrimp Fried Rice 99% of the time.
dead0man
I use 'em like hell if nothing else is available. Otherwise, I don’t bother with the soy sauce (coz I got it at home) but the hot mustard goes on the eggroll. Duck sauce too if I get any.
I have always wondered about them-I swaer that some of the duck sauce tastes like it is 5 years old! That sort of preservatives do they use…can you get botulism poisoning from an ancient packet of soy sauce?
No. Not many microbes are sturdy enough to grow in these sauces 