Thanks, Steve. I’ll try that next week.

Echalions are unknown to me, at least by that name, but I have noticed that the shallots sold around here are much bigger and longer than shallots (échallottes) we’re back in the day. Maybe what Sobey’s Is peddling as shallots are actually the other thing.

Dave H’s point about Chinese sauces is spot on. There’s the real stuff, and then there’s the imitation made for non-Asian Americans and Canadians who want to believe they’re cooking a bit on the wild side without running any risk of an unfamiliar flavour. I find that a good way to identify the real stuff is to look for Chinese or Japanese characters on the label. Fortunately, North American cuisine has integrated enough Asian dishes that a basic range of real Chinese, Indian and Japanese ingredients is available in most supermarkets, alongside the fake sugary American version.