Thursday, July 30, 2015

kaimi sauce

While sitting in Tsutaya recently, I overheard an elderly couple talking about kaimi sauce.

The woman was saying that the kanji (Chinese characters) for the "kai" was "ayashii" which means "strange or mysterious" and the other kanji "mi" means "taste or flavor"

Since their convo piqued my interest, I used my smartphone to look up what they were talking about.

Wow, I had no idea that this sauce was trending...

So, I tried a recipe I found online...

Kaimi Sauce : makes about 1/4 cup : adapted from the internet

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons shoyu
1/2 teaspoon tobanjan (chili paste)
1/2 teaspoon ra-yu (chili oil)
2.5 tablespoons white sesame seed paste
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
5 centimeters green onion (measured then minced)
1/2 teaspoon szechuan pepper, ground
dash of nampla (fish sauce)

Mix everything well and store in an air-tight container for up to a week.

NOTES: Super easy to put together and goes well with karaage (fried chicken).

And with the addition of the fish sauce, the kaimi sauce really matched with cilantro too. I think you could use it as a dip for veggies too.

I'm making this again.

7 comments:

K said...

Ooh this sauce sounds delicious!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Mmm... I like all of the flavors in this sauce. ;-)

K and S said...

K & Deb, if you try this sauce, I hope you like it :)

Take care.
Kat

KirkK said...

Hey Kat - That almost sounds like Guai Wei (怪味) a traditional Sichuan Sauce (one of the traditional 23 flavors of Sichuan) basically translated as "Strange Flavor". Good stuff.

K and S said...

the sichuan version must be super spicy, Kirk :)

Take care.
Kat

Sea Change Okinawa said...

This sounds super delicious! I'm going to try and make it (without the fish sauce - My partner is vegetarian).

I just discovered your blog. It's really good.

www.seachangeokinawa.blogspot.com

K and S said...

Thanks Rachael, you can use shoyu instead of the fish sauce :) hope you like this sauce!

Take care.
Kat