Condiment

Kimchi (Korean Fermented Cabbage)

April 26, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Kimchi is a Korean dish made with fermented Napa Cabbage, Red Pepper, and Garlic. I have heard a lot of good things about Kimchi and I couldn’t wait to try it. The red pepper is a Korean crushed red pepper called gochugaru and can be found in Korean or asian markets. The fish sauce is easy to find and most grocery stores carry it. Kimchi is great as a condiment or a side dish for many different Korean foods. The cabbage needs about a week to ferment and once that’s done you can enjoy it! Kimchi is fairly spicy and has a really unique flavor. The great thing about Kimchi is that the more it ages the better it gets so you can make a large batch and keep it in the refrigerator for about a month.

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Sesame and Ginger Red Salsa

April 25, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

It has been in my head for a few days to try some tex-mex/Korean fusion dishes. This salsa is a great start because it combines elements of Korean cooking in a standard tomato based salsa. This recipe is anything but standard as the flavors are really dynamic and tasty! It takes a little bit longer to prepare as the tomatoes, jalapenos, and tomatillos roast for about 15 minutes. Gochujang is used in this salsa, giving it a nice spicy/smoky flavor. The garlic, ginger, sesame oil and seeds also provide great flavors in this salsa. After roasting everything, the ingredients are strained and thrown in a food processor or blender to puree.

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Cilantro and Lime Salsa

April 24, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

This is a simple and easy condiment that can go on almost any taco, burrito, or tex-mex dish. The salsa is fresh and clean with just a hint of olive oil. It would go great with chips as well.

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Gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste)

March 31, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Gochujang is a fermented chili paste made from red pepper powder and is used in a lot of Korean dishes. The great thing about this recipe is that it makes a lot and can be stored for up to a year in the refrigerator. It isn’t too hard to make, but it does take some time to acquire the right ingredients. I could not find soybean flour/powder at the local grocery store so I bought it at an asian market instead. Malt powder is the same thing as “malted milk powder” which can be found at the grocery store. Glutinous rice powder is the same as rice flour and I bought the “mochiko” brand which worked nicely. I am letting the jars sit out in the sun for a few days to ferment and age properly. Right away, the gochujang had a nice spicy and sweet flavor so I can only expect it to get better with age.

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Maple Butter

March 1, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Maple butter can be made two ways..with a candy thermometer and boiling syrup or with a mixer. I went with the mixer which is a somewhat simpler method. The result was a fluffy, whipped butter with a strong maple flavor. Use real maple syrup, not the artificial stuff. This butter is perfect as a spread on breads, scones, or muffins.

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Moroccan Yogurt and Dill Dip

February 22, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Recently I made some sweet and spicy Moroccan potato fries and I wanted something to offset the spiciness of that dish. I came up with a cooling yogurt dip with dill and anise seed. Do not be fooled by its similar appearance to ranch dressing. It’s closer in flavor to the Greek tzatziki than ranch dressing. The combination of dill and anise almost give it a minty taste that is very refreshing. This dip cooled down the spicy fries very well, and I’m sure I will be using this recipe again on other Moroccan dishes!

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Mexican Pickled Red Onions

December 19, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I had never tried pickling anything for a recipe before but it turned out to be surprisingly easy and was a delicious condiment on tacos. A simple pickling technique is to submerge the onions in vinegar, salt, and sugar for several hours. You can also add acidic juices and spices to provide more flavor. In this recipe I used orange, lime, and apple cider vinegar for a vibrant citrus flavor. I also added a little fresh oregano which tasted great with the onions. After a few hours, the onions soften and turn an even brighter shade of red. Another way to get the onions even softer is to blanch them prior to pickling. This will be a great condiment on mexican food and even sandwiches so I plan to use it again soon!

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Roasted Habanero Salsa

December 17, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Habanero Chilis are one of the hottest peppers in the world–just a few steps down from pure concentrated capsaicin (the ingredient found in pepper spray). I had never tried the habanero and I was looking forward to this very hot salsa. I recently made Cochinita Pibil tacos but the tacos had very minimal heat. I decided to try the habanero salsa with the tacos and the results were great, though I only needed a tiny bit (1/4 tsp per taco) to add the right amount of heat. The heat from the habanero sneaks up on you while eating so make sure to have sour cream, milk, or yogurt around to cool down the mouth. Water won’t do much when eating a habanero, and dairy or bread are the only things that really help. I can’t wait to use the habanero in tex-mex dishes like chili for some added heat.

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Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir

November 25, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I ended up making quite a bit of cranberry sauce this year for Thanksgiving. The nice thing is that it can be stored in the refrigerator or even frozen. Cranberry sauce is easy to make from scratch and tastes fresh and tangy–a perfect topping for a roast turkey or slathering on a piece of bread for a leftover turkey sandwich. I normally go with an orange-ginger cranberry sauce but this year I tried making it with pinot noir. I really enjoyed this version of cranberry sauce, and the addition of the pinot noir gave it a more full-bodied flavor.

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Red Cabbage and Jicama Slaw

November 5, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

This slaw was a great accompaniment to the Cuban pulled pork tacos. The slaw was sweet and a little spicy which worked well with the sweet and spicy flavors of the pulled pork. Jicama has the same texture and similar taste to watercress but has an earthier flavor to it. Since I had only eaten jicama in restaurants and ignored it in the grocery aisle, it was fun to test out a new item in the kitchen. The slaw was tasty and easy to throw together since all it takes is grating the ingredients in a bowl and adding a little juice and spices.

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