What is a spice paste good for?
What is a spice paste good for?
You want to add some flavor to a cut of meat. Why use a spice paste over a marinade?
First of all, you need time to marinate, time you may not have unless you've planned things in advance. Because a spice paste clings to the meat and forms a crust when you cook it, you don’t have to give it the waiting time you do a marinade. (You could rub a spice paste on a couple of hours ahead of time, but you don’t have to.)
Once cooked, the pungent, textured crust contrasts the plain, juicy meat. Unlike a marinade, which evenly coats a cut of meat and results in a consistently flavored finished dish, the spice paste comes with surprises: a cluster of ginger here, a nugget of garlic there.
The formula for a spice paste is simple: a few ground spices + puréed aromatics like ginger, garlic, chiles + salt and pepper + just enough oil to hold it together.
A kebab is a general term for small chunks of meat (most commonly lamb and beef, though any meat will do, as will fish, vegetables or fruit) threaded on skewers and barbecued, broiled or grilled.
The word kebab was originally Arabic or Persian, and referred to fried meat. But the phrase shish kebab was said to have been invented by medieval Turkish soldiers who pierced meat with their swords and grilled it over an open flame. (In the age-old rivalry between the Greeks and the Turks, some scholars claim the Greeks ate them first.) Today the shish kebab remains a staple of Turkish cuisine, although kebabs are popular in Middle Eastern and South and Central Asian cuisines.
Turkish döner kebabs, similar to gyros and shawarma, are made from shavings of lamb or chicken that roasts on an upright rotating spit. Döner kebab pita bread sandwiches -- often unfortunately stuffed with French fries -- are popular take-out food throughout Europe. The Brits like to eat them after clubbing and French teenagers are increasingly skipping the balanced meals of the school cafeteria to slip out for a kebab lunch.
A satay (or saté) is an Indonesian and Southeast Asian kebab made by threading almost any kind of marinated meat, fish or poultry on skewers and grilled or broiling. It is also very popular in the Netherlands.
Recipes for satay vary from country to country, but it is usually served with spicy peanut sauce, slivered onions and cucumbers, and is often eaten as an appetizer.
