I honestly
believe that seasonings are one of the major attractors for me to start
learning to cook. As a kid growing up, I always collect things. Lego, Gundam,
Plane Model, Video Games, ANYTHING! That’s before I eventually stumble into the
kitchen and got fascinated over the colorful jar of spices and seasonings.
There are tons of seasonings from
around the world. Take a stroll down the ‘cooking ingredient’ alley of your
nearest supermarket and see for yourself. Even the smallest supermarket will
include (at least) essential ingredient for Indonesian food.
If you want to seek (and spend)
more, pay a visit to the supermarket that supplies imported spices and
seasonings. Be amazed from wide variety
of salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder, rosemary, even to the most expensive
spice on earth, Saffron (Google it, that thing is expensive as fuck).
Here in my kitchen, I always have
these lying around somewhere. If you’re only starting to cook, these seasonings
and spice will cover most of your cooking need. Sure enough, all these
ingredient can make your dishes shine bright after its finish (no, don’t add
‘Like a Diamond’ after it, I hate that song). I’m gonna divide this post into 2
sections; the seasonings and the spice.
Seasonings
1. Salt
Salt is a
necessity. It’s the icing on the cake. Without it, your kitchen is useless. No,
seriously. It adds flavor, it adds depth, it adds a dimension to a dish, and
that’s just some of the things it can do. Even the most delicate chocolate chip
cookie will not be good without a touch of salt!
Salt comes in
many shapes and sizes. I loved coarse sea salt in particular. It has deeper
flavor than regular table salt, and it cooks well too! You’ll see what I mean
when you cook your own steak with coarse sea salt. In the end, experiment with
different kinds of salt. All will yield unique result to your dish nonetheless.
These 3 are the ones i have in my kitchen now. Iodized salt is mainly used for baking (thanks to its fine texture), while the 2 are used in various savory food.
(L-R) Garlic Salt, Iodized Salt, Coarse Sea Salt
2. Pepper
Pepper is Salt’s best friend. Invest in a good
peppermill, and always use fresh peppercorns. NEVER, EVER, like, FOR ETERNITY,
investing in pre-grounded pepper. Pre-grinding the paper makes the pepper loses
its taste and aroma significantly!
In Indonesia, the
usual peppercorns you found are black and white. The black peppercorn has a sharper
taste with a kick, while the white peppercorns are more subtle and delicate. If
you managed to find red or green peppercorns, BUY IT. When you do, mixed it
together with the black and white peppercorns inside the mill, and watch in awe
as the colorful pepper gave taste and distinct looks to your dish!
(L-R) Fresh Black Peppercorns, Freshly Grind Black Peppercorns)
3.Sugar
A staple in Asian cooking and a great way to create Umami
taste. It is also a vital part in making desserts. Sugar comes in many shapes
and sizes. There’s rock sugar, sugar cubes, granulated sugar, icing sugar,brown sugar, and the limitation is only as far as your imagination could
go. It’s always a good idea to keep
white and brown sugar at home.
(L-R) Granulated Sugar, Light Brown Sugar
4. Smoked Paprika Powder
This thing is dynamite. It’s made from ripe Paprika, dried,
and then ground into powdered consistency. I loved putting this in any savory
dish I made. Here’s a tip: always shake your Jar every so often to ensure there
are no lumps in the bottom.
5. Onion + Garlic Powder
These two powders are one of the things I always use to
‘hack’ onion/garlic flavor to my dish when I’m limited on time. These can be
used for Beef, Chicken and Fish. But be aware, use both sparingly; the taste is
much more potent than the fresh counterpart!
(L-R) Garlic Powder, Onion Powder
Spice and Herbs.
Before
we go on, there are 2 types of spices and herbs in the market; Fresh and Dried.
The rule of thumb is dried herbs will smell and taste more potent than its
fresh counterparts. Here is the list of S&H I’d like to keep at my kitchen.
(Clockwise From Top Left) Parsley, Thyme, Bay Leaf, Basil, Dill
1. Dried Parsley
Dried Parsley is pretty much tasteless.But, Parsley always worked wonder as a garnish to give a dish a distinctive look. It's my favorite garnish in the kitchen!
2. Dried Thyme
A strong smelling herb, worked wonder if paired with poultry dishes; such as roast chicken. Also a great addition to any brine solution. What's brine? i'll cover that in another post :)
3. Dried Bay Leafs
A very well known 'magic key' in unlocking perfect savory dish. Bay leafs are also available fresh, and they both worked well in dishes. But here's a rule of thumb; dried variant lasts significantly longer in your kitchen.
4. Dried Dill
Only available in the import section of the supermarket. Best used for egg and fish dishes.
5. Dried Basil
Mainly used for Italian dish. Worked extremely well in Pizza!
(L-R) Shallots - Garlic
6. Shallots
I have never seen so much shallots used in dishes other than Indonesian. Practically, almost every Indonesian dish benefits from the sweet and tangy taste of the shallots. Can be used as a whole (for pickle), sliced (for garnish or filling for eggs) or even mashed (as part of the base sauce)
7. Garlic
When eaten raw, beware, they taste sharp. Almost wasabi-like i might say. Always look for the firm, unbruised ones when buying. Dump them as soon as they felt soft and squishy.
Everything sounded good so far right? Look no further, let's jump to the recipe right after this post!
Peace
xx
