Is tahini the same thing as sesame paste?
Is tahini the same thing as sesame paste?
Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds, but it's not exactly sesame paste. How's that so? Tahini is made with hulled sesame seeds (just the kernels), and sesame paste is made with the entire seed (shell and all).
Tahini is a typically Middle Eastern ingredient, and sesame paste is more common in East Asian cuisines. While you can find tahini at most grocery stores, you'll probably have to go to an Asian market for sesame paste.
Reference: What is tahini? (Cookthink)
Recipe: Soft Boiled Eggs With Miso, Lemon And Cilantro (Cookthink)
Recipe: Hummus (Cookthink)
A hearty broth-based Vietnamese soup most often made with beef, pho (pronounced "fuh") is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Different recipes abound, but a traditional beef broth base is made with charred onions, ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and star anise. Thin slices of beef are added, as well as rice noodles and a variety of garnishes that include scallions, coriander, Thai basil, lemon, lime, bean sprouts, fish sauce and sriracha.
Originating in the early 20th century, the first pho may have been influenced by the French dish pot-au-feu; others attribute it to Chinese culinary influences. It can now be found in Vietnamese neighborhoods in many countries, and is often used to name a Vietnamese restaurant, with the addition of its street number, such as Pho 67 or -- Brys's favorite pho joint -- Arlington's Pho 75.
Blog: Beef broth --> consommé --> pho (Cookthink)
Blog: Everything About Pho (Pho Fever)
Reference: Mega Pho Page (Viet World Kitchen)
Reference: A Bowl of Pho (SF Gate)
Discussion: The Pho Forum (eGullet)
Recipe: Beef Pho (Cookthink)
Recipe: Chicken Pho Noodle Soup (Viet World Kitchen)
Also known as brocoletti di rape, rape and rapini in Italian and cultivar in Chinese, raab is a leafy, long-stalked green vegetable dotted with miniature broccoliesque buds.
Related to the turnip and the cabbage, broccoli raab (sometimes spelled rabe) has an intense, nutty, bitter flavor which the Italians love and Americans have largely left to farm animals. Chinese cultivar is lighter in color, more tender, and generally lacks the bitterness of western raab.
Recipe: Braised Broccoli Raab
Recipe: Orecchiette With Broccoli Raab And Parmesan
A Chinese fruit shaped like its name and containing a small seed in each of its points, star anise is cultivated before ripening from small Southwestern Chinese evergreen trees. It is unrelated to anise seed, although both get their flavor from a compound called anethol.
Star anise has a more bitter taste than anise seed, and is used as a spice and infusion in Asian cuisines. It can also serve as cheaper alternative to anise in baked goods and liqueurs.
One of the five ingredients in Chinese five-spice powder and a major component of garam masala, star anise flavors Vietnamese pho broth and Southern Indian biryani. It is also an ingredient in the bird flu remedy Tamiflu.
Tamarind is the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree from West Africa that is now grown in India, South-East Asia and the West Indies. It produces pods filled with dark brown, seed-laced, bittersweet pulp that is used to make chutneys, jams and condiments such as Worcestershire and Jamaican Pickapeppa sauce.
Tamarind is found throughout the world and particularly used to spice up Asian and Latin American cuisines. The Indians use dried tamarind pulp in spice mixes, salads, broths and other dishes and the Chinese use candied tamarind as a garnish for sweet-and-sour soup. The Egyptians use it as a base for a cold summer drink known as tamr hindi and the Mexicans have also developed a popular tamarind-based beverage called Agua de Tamarindo.
Tofu is a block of pressed soybean curd. Like many things, tofu originated in China and figures in Chinese and Japanese cuisine, as well as being coveted by vegetarians of all nationalities for its high protein (and nonexistent cholesterol).
Neutral-tasting tofu tends to take on the flavor of whatever it's cooked with, kind of like chicken. It comes in many guises, including soft and firm, dried and processed.
A versatile ingredient, tofu can be eaten raw, cubed and marinated and added to salads or stir-fried dishes at the last minute (it holds its shape but must be treated with some delicacy). Or it can be cut into slices and fried until crispy. Tofu can also be mashed up and used to make non-dairy desserts, like "cheese"-cake.
Soy sauce is a salty liquid made from fermented soy beans, roasted wheat, water and salt. Packed with umami, soy sauce is used as a condiment and seasoning in Asian cuisines.
Soy sauce comes in many subtle variations, but is generally broken down into dark and light varieties. Light soy sauce is generally saltier and thinner than dark soy and does not stain food while cooking. Chinese black soy has added molasses that colors dishes as it cooks. The whole soy beans used to make quality soy sauce lend it a dark color, but cheaper brands using soy protein may cheat by adding caramel coloring.
The Japanese use soy sauce as a dipping sauce for sashimi or to season tofu, grilled meat and vegetable dishes. The Chinese use soy sauce mainly for marinades. In Indonesia, it is used mostly as a table condiment (called kecap, which comes in sweet and salty variations).
Be warned: though Japanese tamari (a slightly thicker and complex soy sauce made from more soybeans than most) is generally wheat-free, other commercial brands of soy sauce do contain gluten, so if you are trying to cook gluten-free, check the labels carefully.
Commercial Chinese-style plum sauce is a gooey, brown, sweet-and-sour condiment made from sweet plums, sugar, vinegar, ginger, garlic, onions and chiles. Plum sauce is used as a dipping sauce for fried dishes such as spring rolls, egg rolls or stir-fried noodles. Homemade plum barbecue sauce (above) has a reddish color.
Plum sauce is also sometimes mistakenly called "duck sauce," a nickname that spread when Westerners confused it with the similar-looking hoisin sauce, another Chinese condiment made from a fermented soybean base that is traditionally served with Peking Duck.
Oyster sauce is a thick brown sauce made from oysters, brine, umami flavor enhancers likes MSG and preservatives.
Invented in 1888 in China, oyster sauce is commonly used in Chinese (especially Cantonese), Filipino and Thai cooking. It is popular on steamed vegetables such as broccoli or in stir-fried dishes.
No salt is added to a good-quality oyster sauce, which gets its salty brininess from the oysters, which are simmered until they produce a broth that is then cooked down until thick and caramelized. Inferior oyster sauces may thicken the sauce with starch and caramel coloring.
Southeast Asian shrimp paste is made from salted, fermented, sun-dried, ground shrimp.
Used in small amounts in East and Southeast Asian sauces, soups, curries and rice dishes, shrimp paste has a strong taste of the sea. Its pungent odor mellows with cooking. It's sold jarred or in a solid cake that is brownish in color.
Reference: What does it mean to devein a shrimp? (Cookthink)
Reference: What is fish sauce? (Cookthink)
Shaoxing wine is a sweet, low-alcohol Chinese drinking and cooking wine that is often confused with Japanese mirin or sake.
Made from fermented sticky rice, yeast and water, it is named for its origin in Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. When used in cooking it adds flavor to marinades, glazes and other dishes such as Chinese Drunken Chicken.
Hoisin sauce is a thick, glossy, reddish-brown sauce used in Chinese cooking. Made from soybeans, garlic, vinegar, chile peppers and spices, hoisin sauce is spicy-sweet and is used as a dipping sauce and is a classic ingredient in savory dishes like Peking duck and mu shu pork.
Hoisin sauce is sometimes called Peking sauce and is occasionally confused with both plum sauce (which looks similar) and duck sauce -- a sugary and viscous orange-colored American invention that is used as a dubious dip with Chinese-American egg rolls and other fried pupu platter foods.
