Cooking with spice mixes, pastes and sauces

SZECHUAN PEPPER

This pepper is very aromatic, saturated, with woody tart citrus notes. When overdosed, it may cause mouth numbness. If you believe that the only purpose of this pepper is to be a component of the chinese five-spice powder, then you are under a delusion. In his homeland, in China, this spice is respected as no other. It is a part of many dishes, ranging from sauces and gravies, ending with desserts and beverages. This pepper is popular for cooking fatty meat dishes (pork, duck) and fish. In most cases, it is necessary to warmup Szechuan pepper it in a dry frying pan before adding it into a dish. Besides China this spice is also used in Japan (spice mix shichimi togarashi). Szechuan pepper is added during the last stages of cooking process.

Szechuan pepper pairing:

Fruits and vegetables: eggplant, green beans, green onions, citrus.

Protein product: lamb, beef, wild game (including feathered wild game: quail), legumes (beans, peas), nuts, poultry (chicken, duck), pork, eggs.

Other foods: mushrooms, sesame oil, honey, rice wine, soy sauce, juice (lemon, lime, orange).

Seasonings and spices: anise, star anise, cloves, ginger, coriander, sesame, bay leaf, onion, paprika, pepper (black, white, green), allspice, chili, parsley, rosemary, thyme, dill, garlic, sage.

Cuisines and dishes: stir-fry dishes, roasted dishes, grilled dishes, Chinese cuisine, Tibetan cuisine.

THYME

Thyme is one of the oldest spices and one of the most popular herbs in European, North American and Middle Eastern cuisine. Its aroma contains warm spicy notes with shades of pine, citrus and mint. The flavour is spicy, with notes of cloves and mint. It is a part of many blends: bouquetgarni, herbesdeProvence, cajun, za’atar. Thyme is added to the dishes during the initial stages of cooking process.

Thyme pairing:

Fruits and vegetables: eggplant, banana, broccoli, pear, green beans, zucchini, cabbage (including Brussels), potatoes, cranberries, corn, leeks, carrots, cucumbers, parsnips, bell pepper, tomato, citrus fruits, onion, spinach, apple.

Protein products: lamb (especially fried), beef, wild game (rabbit, venison), legumes (peas, beans, rice, lentils), sausages, chicken (especially fried), seafood (including oysters), nuts, poultry (turkey), fish (especially cod), pork (including bacon), cream and milk, cheese, veal, eggs.

Other foods: broths, mushrooms, casseroles, honey, beverages (including beer, wine), various types of marinades and sauces, various kinds of minced meat, vegetable oil (olive), juice (lemon, orange), soups (especially vegetables), stews, bread and other bakery products.

Seasonings and spices: basil, cloves, mustard, coriander, bay leaf, onion, marjoram, nutmeg, mint, oregano, paprika, allspice, chili, parsley, rosemary, celery, dill, fennel, savory, garlic, tarragon.

Cuisines and dishes: Middle Eastern cuisine, curry dishes, Greek cuisine, Spanish cuisine, Italian cuisine, mole sauces, French cuisine, Jamaican cuisine.

TURMERIC

Ground turmeric has a complex woody flavor with floral and citrus hints, and a warm, slightly bitter and tart flavor. It is valued for its flavour palette and for being a natural colorant. It is able to color absolutely any dish and it gives an unforgettable yellow color to many spice mixes. Turmeric is good in combination with other spices, rather than a single spice. It is a very important ingredient in Indian curry and many other types of curry powders, ras-el-hanout and some types of Indian masala, as well as many other spice blends.

Turmeric pairing:

Fruits and vegetables: eggplant, cabbage, potatoes, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, carrots, bell pepper, tomato, beet, citrus, spinach.

Protein product: lamb, beef, legumes (pea, buckwheat, semolina, oats, pearl barley, millet, rice, beans, lentils, tamarind), yoghurt, kefir, coconut milk, milk, seafood (especially shrimp, oysters), nuts, poultry (chicken), fish, pork, cream, sour cream, cheeses, cottage cheese, eggs.

Other foods: sweets, lemon juice, butter, biscuits, cakes.

Seasonings and spices: cloves, mustard, cumin, ginger, cardamom, cilantro, coriander, cinnamon, onion, mint, fenugreek, paprika, black pepper, chili, parsley, celery, dill, fennel, garlic.

Cuisines and dishes: Middle Eastern cuisine, curry dishes, Indian cuisine, Indonesian cuisine, Caribbean cuisine, Moroccan cuisine, paella, Thai cuisine, chutney.

HEAT TREATMENT OF SPICES AND HERBS

This is by no means unimportant to know that not all methods of cooking and heat treatment are suitable for every spice. We are now going learn those methods and some spices suitable for such methods.

Poaching: bay leaf, whole peppercorns, parsley, celery, thyme, caraway, dill, saffron, tarragon.

Stewing in own juices: cumin, ginger, coriander, onion, marjoram, chili, parsley, thyme, caraway, dill, fennel, garlic, tarragon.

Stewing after roasting: cloves, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, bay leaf, marjoram, juniper berries, oregano, paprika, chili, parsley, rosemary, celery, thyme, fennel, garlic, sage.

Boiling: bay leaf, onion, marjoram, juniper berries, whole peppercorns, parsley, celery, thyme, caraway, savory, garlic, saffron.

Steaming: ginger, cilantro, oregano, chili, parsley, rosemary, thyme, dill, garlic, sage.

Baking: anise, vanilla, cloves, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, sesame, oregano, peppers, parsley, rosemary, thyme, caraway, garlic, sage.

Grilling: oregano, paprika, chili, rosemary, thyme, garlic.

Smoking: coriander, bay leaf, juniper berries, parsley, rosemary, thyme.

Roasting: anise, star anise, cloves, mustard, cumin, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, sesame, turmeric, onion, oregano, fenugreek, szechuan pepper, chili, whole peppercorns, parsley, rosemary, thyme, caraway, fennel, garlic, sage.

Stoving: anise, clove, cumin, coriander, bay leaf, juniper berries, oregano, fenugreek, paprika, chili, whole peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, caraway, garlic, sage.

MAIN FRESH COMPONENTS AND SEASONING FOR SPICY PASTES

In this chapter I am going to review most popular fresh ingredients that are added in most spicy pastes. Depending on recipe, these ingredients are added to the paste directly or they are used for aromatization of warmed oil that is going to be added to the paste.

Garlic is one of the most common ingredients in spicy pastes and sauces. Unlike spice blends, it is added to the paste while fresh. Garlic can be used chopped or pressed using a garlic press, knife or pestle in a mortar or can be turned into a mush with a blender and then added to the paste. Never let garlic burn while warming it up or flavoring oil with it. Otherwise you will get taunting bitterness in your dish instead of aromatic spicy flavour.

Ginger and Galangal should first be cleaned and peeled with a knife, then cut into small cubes, processed with a press or grated with a grater. The finer ginger is cut or grated, the brighter and stronger its flavor would be. Ginger has a rich warm flavor with a refreshing woody note and a sweet citrus hint. Galangal aroma of is slightly softer than of ginger, and its flavour resembles a light sour lemon alternately with the taste of ginger and cardamom. Small roots of galangal can contain slight piquant peppery notes.

Chili in a majority of cases is added to the paste when fresh. The pod is cut into two parts along its entire length, the seeds and white septum are removed to reduce the pungency and then the following shrinking methods are used: cutting into sticks and small cubes, slicing into half-rings, sometimes grating. It is recommended to use gloves while processing chili peppers to avoid burns.

Lemongrass as a whole is not suitable for paste. Usually, only its lower white part (up to 5-6 inches) is used. Its stalks are very stringy and rough therefore it is better to chop it slightly with a knife spine before use to release its aroma. The top layer should be peeled off before use. Because of its roughness, lemongrass should be finely ground in a blender or in a mortar before being added to the paste. Lemongrass has a refreshing tart taste, with pure citrus notes and a slight pungency.

Shallots is a favourite of all cuisines of Southeast Asia and is used more often than onion or green onion. Shallots is used for making pastes, marinades and sauces. In most cases, it is cut into small cubes and fried, thereby flavoring the oil for a future paste. The taste of shallots is much softer than that of the onion, and some varieties have a characteristic sweet flavor.

Kaffir Lime or a more accurate Asian name is a Makrut. This fruit plays a huge role in various pan-Asian pastes. All the parts of this fruit are used in cooking – zest and juice, as well as leaves (which are pre-cut or torn) to flavor pastes. This kind of lime is difficult to find in Western countries, so it is replaced by the usual lime. Although it is very undesirable to do this, since usual lime does not give that peculiar taste and aroma as kaffir lime does. The leaves have a delicate floral aroma with a mix of citrus notes – lemon and lime. The zest is slightly bitter, and its juice is very acidic. Therefore, the main value of this lime for cooking is its leaves, which are a major ingredient in the most popular Thai tom yum soup.

Flavoring herbs such as mint, basil and cilantro are a very important part of many pastes. Herbs have a beneficial effect on the flavor and aroma of the pastes, and they change the color. Usually the herbs are finely chopped or crushed in a blender.

Tamarind paste in a majority of cases is applied as acidifying agent and is used for cooking of pastes, including chutney. This paste is unreplaceable and it is extremely hard to cook at home. Therefore, to make a pastes with tamarind it is necessary to purchase it in advance. Tamarind itself almost doesn’t have an aroma but it has a sour taste with fruity notes.

Shrimp paste, just as tamarind paste, is used for making curry pastes. The shrimp paste is sold in a form of liquid paste or compressed paste. After opening, shrimp paste can radiate the smell of rotten fish, but this unpleasant odor disappears after heat treatment. Therefore, in most cases, it should be warmed before use, even if this is not mentioned in the recipe. Both pastes are important components of eastern cuisine and are able to enrich any dish with spicy Asian notes.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CHILI PEPPERS

Chili pepper is an essential part of not only spice blends, but of all the cooking in general. In every part of the world you can find a national dish that contains these aromatic pods of different pungency level. It doesn’t matter what kind of chili you use as you can easily control its pungency by just extracting its seeds and septum. Keep in mind that while cutting fresh chili pod for extracting seeds, you are at a risk of burning your skin if flesh gets there. And that might cause discomfort. I highly recommend using disposable latex or vinyl gloves when working with pungent types of chili pepper to protect your skin from unpleasant consequences. After completing the procedure with chili and disposal of gloves, you should thoroughly wash your hands with soap. And you should immediately wash the knife and cutting board that were used for chili peppers processing.

In case if some chili parts got to your skin, then you can prevent burns by applying vegetable oil to the damaged area and then rinsing under warm water. The substance that containing in the chili does not dissolve in water, however it does in oil. It will help to release your skin from the remains of pungent substance and water, in its turn, will wash the oil off.