Now, let me first say that I enjoy, take pleasure and pride in starting "from scratch" whenever I cook. There is a certain air of alchemy in creating a dish from the combination of various ingredients. However, the preparation of the more traditional dishes can take several hours.

One such dish is Hainanese Chicken Rice which requires a time commitment for the desired results. But a couple of weeks ago while grocery shopping I came across this jar. Let me just say that it cut my "alchemy time" down by a full hour and a half... and the results were good.

So, my count today is the convenience of products such as this that ease the process when one is craving a certain dish and time is of the essence. Not to replace the joy of creating from scratch but more as a worthy substitute when you are in a pinch.

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