Soy sauce is a dark, pungent thin sauce used as both a cooking and table condiment in Asian cuisine. To make soy sauce, defatted, steamed soybeans are ground together with roasted crushed wheat. This is allowed to ferment, then salted and aged for up to a year. Sometimes, to speed up production and make a…
Condiments
Spreads
In the food world, the term “Spreads” generally means “spreadable fats.” The fats can be vegetable or animal in origin. Though one might immediately think of butter or margarine when one thinks of spreads, there are also meat spreads, such as potted meats or potted shrimp. And there are confectionary ones, which are often chocolate…
Sriracha Sauce
Sriracha is a generic name for a commercial, orangey-red coloured hot sauce made in Thailand. It is somewhat sweet, and not as tart and vinegary as Tabasco sauce, which makes it better with Asian food. There are both mild and hot versions. It is sold in squeeze plastic bottles. There many different brands, such as…
Suka Vinegar
Suka Vinegar is made from sap from coconut palm tree flowers in the Philippines. It is not as acidic as most other vinegars. Therefore it is less tart, with more of a sweet taste coming through. To make Suka Vinegar, the sap is allowed to ferment naturally for about 3 weeks. For the first two…
Sushi-zu
Sushi-zu is a very delicate tasting dressing used to flavour rice to be used for sushi. It is a mixture of rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt. The sugar gives the rice a sheen. Some recipes will add a very small piece of kombu kelp for additional flavouring. Generally, you use about 1 tablespoon of…
Sweet Pickle Relish
In North America, sweet pickle relish is a sweet tasting, finely-textured relish. It is a bright, almost fluorescent green colour — some describe it as “nuclear” green. It has a very mild tartness to it, making it popular with kids. If a British writer refers to “sweet pickle”, they likely mean something such as Branston…
Sweet Red Bean Paste
This is a bean paste made from red adzuki beans that are boiled, drained, then puréed. It’s called “sweet”, not because sugar has been stirred in, but unlike some other bean pastes such as Miso, it’s not fermented to make it sour. The “sweet” here means not tangy. That being said, some versions actually do…
Tabasco
Tabasco is a hot pepper sauce that is common on grocery shelves on both sides of the Atlantic. It is made from Tabasco peppers, vinegar and salt. When the peppers turn red, they are harvested, mashed, mixed with “Avery Island” salt, and let ferment and age in wood barrels for three years. When ready, the…
Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce has the same taste as regular Tabasco Sauce. It is not as hot, though, because it is made from mild Jalapeno peppers. Its colour and mildness allows it be used in dishes such as guacamole, which the red Tabasco Sauce might discolour, as well as making too hot for some people….
Tamari: Japanese wheat-free soy sauce
Tamari is a version of soy sauce that is made without wheat. It’s a dark sauce that is somewhat milder and mellow than soy sauce, and thicker. It is used mainly as a table condiment rather than as an ingredient in cooking. Tamari is usually aged for a minimum of 6 months. It is more…
Tapenade
Tapenade is an olive paste or spread most associated with Provence, an area in the south of French, though it is popular in other Mediterranean countries such as Spain. You can use it as a dip for vegetables, mix some into pasta, salad dressings, spread on breads, etc. It is usually made by puréeing black…
Tarragon Vinegar
Tarragon Vinegar is a vinegar flavoured with tarragon. Some may taste stronger and more anisey than others. Some are mild; some quite intense. More intense-tasting ones are those that have been allowed to steep for 3 to 4 months — these may be too strong to use as a flavouring agent in some dishes such…
Tartar Sauce
Tartar Sauce is a thick, whitish fresh sauce that has mustard, tarragon and finely chopped vegetables in it such as onions, capers, and pickles. These days, it is mostly used as a condiment accompanying fish or seafood. It is served room temperature or chilled. You can buy jars of Tartar Sauce concentrate, which you then…
Tauco
Tauco are salted soy beans, either yellow or black, fermented and made into a paste. In the first stage of fermentation, the bean skins get covered with a mould. In Indonesia, the beans are sold tinned whole, not made into a paste yet. In Indonesia, the paste is mostly made from yellow soy beans, and…
Teriyaki Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce is a sweet, salty Japanese sauce made from mirin, sake, soy sauce and white sugar. It sweetness comes from the mirin; its saltiness from the soy sauce. It is very similar to yakitori sauce. It can be used as a condiment for dipping at the table, or for marinating, or as a basting…
Thai Fish Sauce
Fish sauce is called “nam pla” in Thai, meaning literally “fish water.” There are four grades of Fish Sauce made in Thailand. All will be a reddish-brown sauce; better quality ones will be somewhat transparent, rather than murky. All are generally made from very small fish, such as anchovies. The fish are caught and, while…
Thousand Island Dressing
This is a North American mayonnaise-based salad dressing that is flavoured with tomato purée, chopped boiled eggs, and other seasonings. It is mostly obtained commercially. Kraft is a major seller of the bottled dressing. As well, the Inn where it was invented sells 5,000 bottles a year. Oftentimes, the main different between Thousand Island Dressing…
Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce is a sauce based on tomatoes. There are many types: what most have in common is that they are meant to be thick. Tomato sauce is usually a cooked sauce, but there are uncooked ones such as some fresh tomato Mexican salsas. Tomato sauce can be a condiment — ketchup is a tomato…
Tonkatsu Sauce
Tonkatsu Sauce is a Japanese sweet sauce served to accompany Tonkatsu. Recipes to make your own generally call for ketchup, rice wine, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, rice wine vinegar, mustard powder, allspice, cloves and garlic powder. You can buy it ready-made in stores in bottles; “Bulldog” is a popular brand. Substitutes Ketchup mixed with…
Tosa Soy Sauce: Tuna and seaweed flavoured soy sauce
Tosa Soy Sauce is Japanese soy sauce with shaved bonito and kelp added to it. It has a stronger, fuller flavour than regular soy sauce. Cooking Tips To make: ½ cup (4 oz / 125 ml) regular soy sauce 2 tablespoons mirin 4 tablespoons shaved bonito Mix soy sauce and mirin in a saucepan, heat…
Tracklements
Tracklements is a word for savory sauces or relishes. They are usually served with either cold or hot meats, or with cheese. Items such as mustard, horseradish, mint sauce, Cumberland Sauce, Brown Sauce, Ketchup, Roasted Onion Marmalade, Chili Jams, Chutney, etc. can be classed as tracklements. Language Notes The origin of the word is attributed…
Ume Shoyu
Ume Shoyu is a condiment sauce made from 1 pickled plum (Umeboshi), 2 tablespoon soy sauce and a dash of sake.
Umeboshi Paste
Umeboshi Paste is a Japanese red paste made from puréed Umeboshi (pickled apricots.) It can be bought in tubes or bottles. To make your own, just mash Umeboshi. Cooking Tips When using Umeboshi Paste, bear in mind that it is very salty so hold back on other salt. Language Notes Often called in English “Umeboshi…
Usukuchi Soy Sauce: Japanese wheat and bean soy sauce
Usukuchi Soy Sauce (“Usukuchi shoyu”) is a Japanese soy sauce. It is lighter in colour than other soy sauce, but not lighter in taste — it’s actually saltier than regular soy sauce (which is referred to as “koikuchi shoyu.”) It is made from equal amounts of soybeans and wheat. The wheat isn’t roasted as deeply…