Madame Chu

by Kyle Jacobson

Not long ago, on a continent relatively far away, there lived a lady who made some delicious snack food. She would come down from her high rise and sell the snacks without the proper license, which could’ve meant a hefty fine. But the people loved the snacks, so when the police inspector was spotted a few blocks away, a customer would come running up to the lady and tell her to hurry up and go. The woman would pack everything into either end of a carrying pole, throw the pole over her shoulder, and run as fast as she could.

The woman was Josey Chu’s grandmother on her father’s side, a Cantonese cook who would take all the time needed (be it hours or days) to prepare food the way her family had for generations. This served as half the inspiration behind the Madison area’s Madame Chu sauces. In fact, Ginger Garlic, the local customer favorite of Josey’s three sauces, comes from this grandmother.

“The Ginger Garlic is our top seller because it’s so versatile,” says Josey. “We don’t encourage customers to cook the Ginger Garlic, but if you have a bowl of soup that’s already prepared, you can change and enhance the flavor by adding the Ginger Garlic over the top of your soup. Or if you have a pan of roasted vegetables, when you’re done roasting, you put it all in a bowl and then add a teaspoon or tablespoon of the sauce and toss it together.” Perhaps the easiest way to think about how to use this sauce is if you go with your gut, nose, or instinct, it’s probably going to work out.

Part of Josey’s philosophy with all three of her sauces is to not tell customers how to use them. Sure, she has ideas on her website and she’ll share a recipe or two, but she believes cooking is about experimentation and discovery. The sauces themselves are meant to enhance recipes you already enjoy.

Speaking of recipes, Josey recalls that her aforementioned grandma on her father’s side wasn’t so ready to share her own. She wasn’t even allowed to stand next to her grandma while she cooked, so Josey observed from a distance. Luckily, when it came to getting recipes from Josey’s grandma on her mother’s side, things were a little more straightforward.

Josey’s mother wasn’t the cook that her grandmother was, but when Josey’s mother passed away, Josey was surprised to find what she calls a “slew of cookbooks. It was a small miracle they weren’t thrown away.” Though Josey’s mother’s passing meant there’d be jade, gold, and other valuables for the siblings to split up, Josey just wanted the cookbooks, which included one written by Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s mother.

While Josey and her husband were looking through the cookbooks, loose pieces of paper were falling out, and they weren’t old pages that had separated from the spine. “I was like, what are all these? They were in my grandma’s writing.

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They were my grandma’s recipes.” The other half of the inspiration for Madame Chu sauces, this grandma was adept at Peranakan cooking and serves as the inspiration for the other two sauces.

The Satay Peanut Nyonya: not only is it her family’s take on a Southeast

Asian staple, it’s something that her white husband, Ben Johnson from Wisconsin Dells, managed to make just about perfectly from a recipe calling for measurements in bowls and stones. Josey jokingly mentioned how upset she was that her husband nailed the recipe before she did. One unique aspect of this sauce is its thickness; Josey actually wants customers to play with its viscosity.

“I always encourage my clients to use chicken broth, vegetable broth, water, coconut milk to thin it out. Otherwise, it’s like a pesto base. So you always want to thin it out over the stove, and then you can use it like a dressing.”

Both of her grandmothers’ spirits of authenticity come through when Josey talks about what makes a good peanut sauce. “If a cookbook calls for peanut butter in satay peanut sauce, throw that cookbook away.” It’s apparently sacrilege and, furthermore, historically absurd. She tells me peanut butter was not available in Southeast Asia. That peanut butter wasn’t part of her community’s diet growing up.

Keeping things traditional, the third sauce is the Sambal Nyonya. Anything you put hot sauce or sriracha on will be even better with some of Madame Chu’s Sambal. “The Sambal is the spicy blend of chili paste. This Sambal can actually be used with a grilled cheese sandwich. Sandwiches sometimes can get really bland and dull. I call it an adult grilled cheese sandwich. You can add Sambal just on the side with your scrambled eggs, baked eggs, or toss it with your roasted vegetables. Sometimes people like to add it to their ramen noodles for that heat.”

Of course, there’s also chicken wings or just something to dip a chip in. “You don’t need to complicate things. I’ve done all the cooking for you.” But if you want to get fancy, that’s fine too. Josey shared a little holiday treat idea with me: brie, honey, pecans, and Sambal. “It’s just deliciousness. That’s what we do.”

Now maybe you’ve had a Sambal before, but in Southeast Asia, every family kind of has their own take, which makes Madame Chu’s Sambal Nyonya one of a kind. Josey notes the recipe goes back at least five generations. That’s at least five generations of taking the time to do the sauce justice—each iteration an homage to her family.

If any of these sauces sound appealing or you just want to support what Josey is doing while rewarding your tastebuds, check out madame-chu.com to find out where you can buy Josey’s sauces or simply purchase them online. She also has some recipe ideas to get you started on your journey in sauce-istry...sauceology... Whatever the case, it’s missing from your kitchen.

Kyle Jacobson is a writer/editor who thinks life is plenty long enough to watch bad movies with good friends.

Photographs by Eric Tadsen