When Jeanette Sun opened Ni Fen Bistro in Shelby in 1997, she knew having a homemade marinade would separate her from other eateries. After playing around with different ingredients, she came up with the perfect pairing to compliment her mother’s pot stickers.

“I knew I needed something that stood out from everybody else,” said Sun. “That is where it started. I played around with ingredients and made it palatable. I was playing around with it, and I knew it needed to be more than the vinegar sauce you find in other Asian restaurants.”

Little did she know the marinade would become so popular.

Although the restaurant is under new ownership, her customers still remember the sticky sauce that infused their dishes for more than 20 years. On Dec. 4, she announced on her Facebook page that the “wait is over.”

Crazy Chinese Girl Sauce is officially for sale.   

“This sauce has been around since I had Ni Fen,” said Sun. “About eight years ago, I decided I wanted to sell it. I thought, ‘I should just bottle this.' Once again, it was put on the backburner. This has been in the making for eight years.”

The culinary instructor at Cleveland Community College is grateful the project that took nearly a decade to complete is now packaged and selling.

“I had to trademark the name, and then I would fall behind on getting it done,” said Sun. “Now I can fully devote time to it in between teaching. It’s been a favorite with the guests because along with the pot sticker sauce, the chicken used in the salad for the Asian chicken salad was marinated in it. Then, the chef would marinate seafood in it too.

Friends have shared the ways they have used the sauce, including beef brisket, which came as a surprise to the chef who did not realize how versatile it is.

“It’s amazing how people tell me different stories about the different things they put it on,” said Sun. “It always surprises me.”

More:Owner of Ni Fen Bistro steps down, sets sights on new career venture

Sun said it was her customers who encouraged her to bottle it.

“When people would tell me they could drink it, we started playing around with it on different meats,” said Sun.

Sun still has a strong following and said the outpouring of support through social media and beyond is a testament to those who have helped her get to this point.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have the support of the community,” said Sun. “Maybe it’s because I’ve been around for so long, and I just can’t go away. People love the sauce and the food. I have had good help along the way, and I’ve been blessed with that. It’s an honor.”

To place your order, send an email to ccgsauce@gmail.com.

Latrice Williams can be reached at 704-669-3339 and lwilliams6@gannett.com.