Question, red dipping sauce for fried shrimp, what is it?

Hi, usually at Chinese restaurants, when I get the deep fried shrimp, it comes with a small dish of a red dipping sauce, with a dab of hot mustard in it. Well, it used to. What is the red sauce? I've been told it is ketchup, but it doesn't taste like any ketchup I've ever had. I don't think it is cocktail sauce, doesn't look right for that. It isn't a sweet and sour sauce.

If it really is a ketchup, what brand? It sure isn't Hunts, or Heinz!

Thanks for your help.

reddit.com seems to think this is what you are talking about.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comme ... ith_fried/

click to enlarge


or maybe this
https://www.recipezazz.com/recipe/chine ... ping-21499
or this
http://mystainedapron.com/chinese-red-sauce/

Chinese mustard
https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-hot-mustard/

Thanks Mr. Wiv! That picture is what I remember, just not so much mustard most of the time. Usually just a small dab of the hot mustard, less than a dime size. A friend always requested a dish of just the hot mustard, that he'd usually stick is finger in to eat a glob of it to make sure it was hot enough.

I hadn't realized it was an Oregon thing, and not to wide spread anymore. I don't think it was just the Portland area that had it. In the last 20 years or so, I haven't had it anywhere in Oregon. I'll have to try the recipes you've pointed out.

Again, thank you.

The red sauce is called Sweet and Sour sauce. It's basically a mixture of ketchup, pineapple juice and soy sauce. Lots of variations on the internet. In the bowl that is commonly served in Oregon with a bit of Chinese hot mustard on the side and in the same bowl as the sweet sauce, it's a perfect combination to fried shrimp or even the Chinese red pork slices. If you were to dip your deep fried shrimp in the middle of the small cup of sauce, it would also just sidle up on the hot mustard giving a flavor explosion in the mouth when eating the shrimp. It's delicious and very easy to make at home.

I grew up in the 70's/80's, if you ordered Tempura Shrimp it only came with the green and yellow. Wasn't till the 2000's that places started to kick a water based dip, do all three and it's yummy but I am seeing a lot of places no longer offering the red & yellow.

Thanks for your contribution, Radman.

Hope you stick around and continue to post.