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A Back to Top	Achiote and Annatto Seeds The small hard achiote seed, which is also called the annatto seed, is sold both whole and ground. Its slightly bitter, earthy flavor and russet color is prized in Indian and Hispanic cuisine. In America, annatto extract is used to color butter, margarine, and cheese. Here are some other ways achiote seeds are used: Achiote Oil: any bland oil that has been flavored and colored with achiote seeds. It is used in Mexican and Indian cuisine to add a bright reddish-brown color and a distinctive flavor to many foods including fish, fowl, meats, rice dishes, and tamales. Achiote Paste: specific to Yucatan and Oaxacan cuisine, this paste is made from ground achiote seeds, water or vinegar, and sometimes other herbs and spices such as cinnamon, bay leaf, cilantro, salt, cloves, and oregano. It can be used in moles, tamales, stews, rice dishes, and with meats and seafood. Achiotina: prominently used in Puerto Rican cuisine, this is a lard compound that has been flavored and colored with achiote seeds. It is used for cooking bean and rice dishes, as well as vegetables, meats, and stews.

B Back to Top	Bean Sauce After soy sauce is brewed, the soybean pulp is removed from the vats and made into several types of condiments, one of which is Bean Sauce, or sometimes called Brown Bean Sauce or Soybean Condiment. When thicker gravy is needed, bean sauce can replace soy. This sauce is especially good used as a marinade for roasted meats. Black Bean Garlic Sauce This is savory sauce made from aromatic black beans and garlic. It is always used in stir-fried and steamed dishes. Black Bean Chili Sauce This sauce is made from savory fermented soybeans and spicy chilies and can be used to season stir-fried Black Bean Shrimp or other pungent recipes. It can also be spread on a fish fillet and steam for a memorable treat.

C Back to Top	Caramel sauce It is made of caramelized sugar and sometimes such ingredients as fish sauce and shallots. It is an important ingredient in simmered dishes, where it brings out the flavor of other foods and lends them its golden color. Chicken Broth Chicken broth can be used in many stir-fried recipes. Use homemade chicken broth if possible. Make your own and freeze it in ice cube trays. Keep the broth cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer and use them as needed. If homemade chicken broth is not available, canned broth can be a substitute. Chili Oil This is vegetable oil in which dried hot chili peppers and other spices have been fried. When the oil becomes very spicy, the spices are removed and the oil transferred to an airtight jar. The hot oil is serves a condiment at the table or stirred into a dish during the final stages of cooking. Chili Paste with Garlic It is a tangy hot bean sauce with an extra shot of tasty garlic, which is a bit warmer than Hot Bean Sauce. Chili Sauce It is a fairly thick, hot sauce as distinct from the thin Tobasco relish. Chili sauce is made from pulped peppers, flavored with garlic and vinegar, and thickened with cornstarch. The sauce is essential in Sichuan or Hunan food. Preservatives may be added to extend the shelf life. Chili sauce is usually eaten as a condiment with Chinese dishes. It is available in jars. Coconut Milk It is made by soaking the grated flesh of a coconut in hot water or scalded milk, then straining the combination. Coconut milk is classified as thick, thin, or coconut cream. Thick coconut milk is the result of the first soaking and squeezing. If this milk is refrigerated it separates, and the top layer is the cream. Thin coconut milk is what is produced when one steeps the coconut meat a second time and then strains. Canned coconut milk, which is mostly quite good, separates naturally. The top layer can be spooned off for recipes calling for cream, the bottom poured into thin, or just shake it up to get the most commonly called-for thick coconut milk. Cornstarch It is fine, powdery starch made from corn and always used as thickening agent in Chinese Cuisine. Cornstarch is added to a marinade to give the ingredients a smooth texture and allows the seasonings to adhere to the ingredients. When used for thickening, cornstarch is first dissolved in cold liquid and then added to hot food during the last stages of cooking. It must be cooked and stirred until the sauce thickens or forms a glaze. Curry Paste This is an intensely flavored paste of herbs and spices used to flavor coconut curries and soups. There is either home-made or store bought (as an alternative), and can be red, green or golden in color. Curry Powder It is a blend of any number of spices. It can vary from mild to hot depending on the spices included. It is used widely in savory dishes throughout India and Southeast Asia. For a quick dip to complement fruit and vegetable sticks, blend sour cream, or yogurt with curry powder, marmalade, and thyme. An East Indian marinade for chicken or lamb can easily be made with curry powder, yogurt, lime or lemon juice, and garlic.

D Back to Top	Dried Tangerine Peel These sun-dried peels are used to flavor master sauces. Duck Sauce It is a sweet and pungent sauce made from assorted fruits, vinegar and sugar. Duck sauce is served as a condiment with duck and meats.

F Back to Top	Fish sauce It is called "nam pla" in Thai or "nuoc mam" in Vietnamese. It is a thin brown sauce prepared from fermented salted fresh fish, usually anchovies. It has a noticeable fish odor and salty taste. As a flavor enhancer, it serves as a seasoning in cooked dishes as well as a base for dipping sauces. There are several grades of fish sauce. High-quality fish sauce, which is the first to be drained off the fermented fish, is usually pale amber, like clear brewed tea. It has a more delicate and balanced flavor. Lower-grade fish sauce has stronger flavor, which are made from a secondary draining. When cooking, you never add it to a dry pan or the smell will be overpowering. Cooking greatly diminishes the "fishy" flavor and the sauce does add a special richness and quality to dishes. Five-spice powder This is a blend of spices consisting of anise-pepper, star anise, cassia, cloves and fennel seed and available in powder form. The combination of spices can vary according to the manufacturer, yet the flavor of star anise is always stands out. A liquorice flavor predominates. It is widely used in Chinese cooking for a variety of savory dishes. In particular, it is used to season baked or stir-fried meats or red braised dishes. Mixed with ground salt, it makes a dip for deep-fried Chinese foods.

H Back to Top	Hoisin Sauce This is a thick, smooth, dark reddish-brown bean sauce made with sugar, garlic, vinegar, soybean paste and other spices. This has a spicy sweet taste, which is served with meat dishes and dumplings, and is best known as the sauce that complements Peking Duck. This also makes a terrific barbecue sauce for chicken or beef. This is sold in cans or jars and available in Asian groceries. Hot Bean Sauce This sauce is a combination of hot chili sauce and brown bean sauce and prepared from soy and kidney beans, fresh Sichuan chilies, sesame oil and seasonings. This spicy condiment offers a delightful complex flavor. Usually, it is used in spicy Sichuan and Hunan dishes. Unused portion of this sauce can be stored in a jar in refrigerator for several months. Hot Mustard Powder This is ground mustard seed. This can make a very spicy condiment when combined with equal amounts of water. This can serve with egg rolls or dumplings or add to salad dressing.

K Back to Top	Ketchup, Catsup or Tomato Sauce This sauce is largely used in the American and British kitchen. There are many variations of this sauce, but usually the ingredients include tomatoes, vinegar and seasonings. It is used extensively on cooked dishes.

M Back to Top	Masa and Masa Harina In Spanish Masa means "dough", but in Mexico it is generally understood as "corn dough". To make masa, boil corn kernels in powdered lime (calcium oxide), wash them and then grind. Enough water is then mixed into the meal to make dough. Smoother, soft masa is required for tortillas, and coarser, stiff masa is used for tamales. Masa Harina is factory-made, powdered masa. It can be used to make anything that calls for masa. Master Sauce This is a spicy concentrated sauce or marinade. Chinese usually call it Lu. There are two types of master sauce: one is made with spices, rice wine, sugar and soy sauce and is called Brown Master Sauce; the other is made with the same ingredients except for the soy sauce, for which salt is substituted, and is called White Master Sauce. Both can be used to flavor meats or fowls dishes. Food prepared this way is always 2 cooked whole or in large chunks and is served cut up and at room temperature. This method of cooking is perfect for meals that must be cooked in advance, such as for Shabbat. Food cooked in a Brown Master Sauce is lighter in flavor than that which is red cooked (stewed in soy sauce). Miso Miso is a thick paste made by combining soybeans and barley or wheat or rice (or a mixture of these grains) with a yeast mold (koji) that has been cultivated from a soybean, barley or rice base. The mixture is then aged from three months to three years. These variables provide numerous potential combinations, producing a wide range of colors, tastes and textures. Miso is very nutritious and is a basic element of many Japanese soups, stews, and braised dishes. Here are some choices of miso: Aka miso: also known as sendai-miso, inaka-miso and red miso, which is a rich paste with a strong, salty flavor. Made from barley, it is used for soup, stews and braised dishes. Hatcho miso: is a very pungent, salty variation, with a thick, grainy texture and a dark, murky color. It is made from soybeans only, and is used in small amounts to add richness to soups and broths. Shinshu miso: is a golden-yellow, all-purpose version of this paste. It has a mellow flavor and a rather high salt content. Mole The justly famous mole is a complex sauce made from toasted seeds, soaked and pureed chilies, ground raisins, spices, herbs, and a bit of semi-sweet chocolate. Throughout Mexico, the chocolate, seeds, and chilies remain constants, but their types and the rest of the ingredients fluctuate wildly according to the cook. Oaxacan mole negro is made form three types of chilies, tomatoes, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, thyme, marjoram, oregano, lard, sesame seeds, almonds, peanuts, raisins, onions, garlic, plantains, and chocolate -- altogether the sauce has 23 ingredients. A green mole is simpler, combining pumpkin and sesame seeds, five different chilies, cloves, pepper, garlic, chocolate, and broth. Many of these ingredients must be individually roasted, fried, soaked and/or ground before being added. Once the sauce is done, meat that has been poached, perhaps in broth with garlic, onion, and mint, is submerged in the mole, and they are stewed slowly together. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) A chemical food enhancer in the form of white granules looks like coarse salt. In Asia, this is used to deepen and bring out the natural flavors of foods. Used in a very small amount, it can add a sparkle to the taste of a dish. In fact, if used in large amounts, MSG can cause severe allergic reactions when ingested. MSG is not necessary if the ingredients are fresh.

O Back to Top	Oil There are great varieties of cooking oil. In particular, corn, safflower, soy or peanut oils are most commonly used for Asian cuisine, as these oils do not have a strong flavor. On the other hand, olive oil is too strong and is never used. In China, soybean oil is more widely used because it is most available. Used oil can be stored in the refrigerator by straining it through several layers of cheesecloth. Yet fried oils usually have darker color, flow more slowly than they did originally, or foam to the top of the pot when you put the food in. Olive Oil Olive oils come in various grades and intensities. The highest quality oil comes from hand-culled olives, which must be pressed within 24 to 48 hours for best results. Usually, it is first pressed by great rollers of stone or steel. Stone is better than steel because the former is softer and does not conduct heat. The first oil produced is called "extra-virgin olive oil". The mash pulp left over is then mixed with hot water and processed to make second and third press oils. The labeling of olive oils is based on the level of acidity. "Extra virgin" has less than 1 percent oleic acidity and less than 0.5 percent in the very best oil; "superfine virgin" can have up to 1.5 percent acidity; "fine" or "regular virgin" ranges from 1.5 to 3 percent acidity; and "virgin" or "pure" has up to 4 percent. Oil with an acidity level over 4 percent can only be used for lamps. This classification, however, can be misleading because modern chemical processing can greatly reduce acid levels no matter what the quality of the oil. A lesser oil can be processed to a 0.05 percent acidity level, be packaged as "extra virgin," and still taste terrible. Oyster Sauce It is a thick brown sauce made from pureed oysters, soy sauce and salt. It is widely used in Chinese dishes. It is sold bottled and can keep indefinitely when refrigerated.

P Back to Top	Palm sugar This is made from juice extracted from the coconut flower or aren palm. The juice is then boiled and packed into molds to make sugar with a faint caramel taste that enhances the salty and sour flavors of a dish. Palm sugar is used as a natural sweetener and usually used with curries, gourmet dishes, sauces, and various desserts. It is usually sold in plastic jars or as round cakes. If palm sugar is not available, substitute it with soft brown sugar. Peanut sauce Generally, it is made of roasted peanuts, fresh red chilies, garlic, mint, lemon juice, fish sauce and coconut milk. Ponzu This is a Japanese dipping sauce made from lemon juice or rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin (sweet rice wine) or sake, kombu (a seaweed) and bonito flakes.

R Back to Top	Rice Vinegar There are two kinds of Chinese rice vinegar: white and black. Unlike Western products, Chinese vinegar is more nutritious. It mainly consists mainly of acetic acids and some vitamins B1 and B2. It also features more interesting flavors. Rice vinegar can be used both in cooking and for dips at the table. Rice Wine Rice wine is a grain product, used in the many Chinese cooking. It is widely used in stir frying or other types of cooking. Dry, white wine is the best substitute.

S Back to Top	Salt There are several types of salts: Table Salt: It is rock salt extracted from underground deposits and is usually refined and especially treated to prevent caking--magnesium carbonate is added to help make it run more easily. Crystal Rock Salt: It is also extracted from underground deposits but this salt is less refined than table salt. Sea Salt: The crystal is obtained by the evaporation of seawater. It is generally believed that sea salt is the best salt Sesame Oil In Asia, sesame oil is made from roasted sesame seeds. This has a dark orange hue and a strong, nutty, slightly smoky flavor. Since this burns easily, this is never used for cooking. Rather, it is used sparingly as a flavoring. This has to be stored in a cool place or in the refrigerator. Sesame Paste Roasted sesame seeds are ground into a paste. In many cases, peanut butter can be used as a substitute. Shrimp Paste This is salty paste of sun-dried, salted shrimp used in curries, sauces and soups. This has a strong, fishy fragrance and the color ranges from purplish pink to brownish black. It is always cooked before eating and generally toasted over a fire before being combined with other ingredients. This is sold in small jars. Slaked Lime This is a paste obtained by grinding seashells in a little liquid. This is the lime, which is chewed with betelnuts, gambir and tobacco. Sichuan Peppercorns They are dried, reddish, aromatic berries that are slightly peppery and give a numbing sensation to the tongue. They have a strong, distinct aroma when roasted and are used whole or crushed into a powder. Soy Sauce It is a dark-colored, almost black sauce, which is a main condiment in Asia. It is largely used in place of salt. It is made from fermented soybeans mixed with some type of roasted grain (wheat, barley, or rice are common), injected with a special yeast mold, and liberally flavored with salt. Fermentation continues for up to 1 year after salt is added. The liquid soy is then filtered from solid residues, pasteurized and bottled. For instance, in the Japanese fermented shoyu, soybeans flakes are mixed with roasted wheat and inoculated with a yeast mold called Aspergillus oryzae. Soy can keep infinitely. The sauce's consistency can range from very thin to very thick. Flavors, too, vary by type and have very subtle differences. It is used in a wide variety of meat dishes. Here are some soy sauce choices: Light soy sauce: It is mainly used in Japanese cuisine. It has a thinner consistency and a saltier flavor than the darker varieties. It is preferred when a darker sauce will ruin the appearance of a dish, or when a lighter flavor is sought, especially when serving seafood. Dark soy sauce: It is used throughout Asia and is a bit richer and thicker than the lighter varieties. It tends to have a chocolate brown color, and a pungent, rather than overly salty, flavor. Mushrooms soy sauce: It is a dark soy sauce from China, which adds straw mushroom essence to the sauce's brew. It has a deep, rich flavor and can be used in place of other types of soy sauce in most recipes. It is especially nice as a table condiment where its unusual flavor can come through. Tamari: It is a deeply colored Japanese soy sauce, which has a rich texture and intense flavor. It can be used anywhere regular soy sauce is called for, and is especially good to use as a table condiment and dipping sauce. Spare Rib Sauce This ready-to-use sauce, which is a careful blend of tomatoes, sesame seeds, rice wine and garlic and exotic seasonings makes delicious ribs. Sugar It is used in sweetish dishes or added to save your dish when you have put too much salt. Generally, there are several types of sugar: Granulated Sugar: There are several textures of white refined sugar. The most common is granulated, which can be used for both the table and in cooking. Caster Sugar: This sugar is much finer than granulated sugar, and used generally for baking - in cakes and pastries. Due to its texture, it dissolves quickly and so is popular for use with fruits and cereals, too. Preserving Sugar: This sugar is a coarser variety of granulated sugars, which is used for pickling and making preserves. Soft Brown Sugar: It is another fine-grained sugar. It is used with cereals and coffee and also in fruit and spice cakes. There are other brown sugars on the market, which do not contain cane molasses. These consist of white sugar with a vegetable dye added, and this will be stated on the packet. Rock Sugar: this is crystallized raw sugar. Its flavor is mellower and not as sweet as refined sugar. It is used in braised dishes and in the master sauce. It is sold in Asian groceries. Sweet Bean Sauce This sauce can be used along with or in place of Hoisin sauce for a similar but subtler flavor. This can also be mixed with Hot Bean Sauce in Sichuan dishes to cool things off a bit. Typically, this is also added to Peking style foods.