The five tastes of Asian Spices

Saturday 24 July 2010 - Filed under Asian Spices

With the shrinking of the globe in ways of travel and importation, Asian cooking has become a central tenet of the western diet. Westerners from both Europe and the America’s choose Asian options millions of times a day, and it has allowed for a growing economy of Asian-based businesses to relocate to the west. As with all cooking, one of the most important aspects of Asian cooking is its spices. As well as representing all the important flavors: sweet, salty, savory (pungent), bitter, and sour, Asian spices also have a health based application that has been used in the healing arts for thousands of years. Some historians of Asian cooking claim that their central spices represent the five elements of life: earth, fire, water, air, and metal. Regardless of what they represent or what application they have, Asian spices have not only proved to be beneficial for health, but have created some delicious tastes which have been readily adopted by the western palate.
Asian spices made their appearance in Chinese medicine before they’re adjunct into Asian recipes. The five spices of ground cinnamon, clove, star anise, Sichuan pepper, and fennel were said to have such potent medicinal qualities that adding them to food would be healing. These spices were used to restore the balance of the five elements of chi, which is the life energy in our bodies. And with the increased application of the spices to food, they began to be recognized for what they did to the foods flavor as well. Asian chefs quickly created new recipes around these spices, allowing for their dishes to be both delicious and healing at the same time. With their introduction to the west, the five major Asian spices have made the leap over to American dishes. Now, such ingredients are a central part to western recipes.
These five Asian spices can be bought together in a powder for convenience at any Asian foods specialty store and/or at your local supermarket. Some of these spices have other additives such as coriander seeds, cumin (which is used in place of fennel seeds), green or black cardamom, and even nutmeg. Whatever additives there happen to be in the powder you purchase, make sure to use it sparingly as the spices can be pungent in flavor.
If creating your own spice combinations more aptly fits your cooking style, you can certainly make your own mix of Asian spices. Before doing so however, it’s important that you purchase the freshest spices available from reputable stores that specialize in fine ingredients.
Use any combination of the spices mentioned above and dry roast them in a hot skillet until they emit a fragrant scent. It’s important to roast your spices individually as they all roast at different temperatures. After cooling, grind them in a coffee grinder that is used specifically for spices, and then add them all in a mixing bowl. After they are properly blended, store them in a glass jar or any other tight jar. Store your spice mix away from the light, preferably in a cool, dark cupboard.
Asian Spices are an important element in all Asian cooking and have even made the leap over to American dishes. Known for their great taste and medicinal properties, Asian spices will add a delicious element to all your best dishes.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2010-07-24  ::  Spice Guy

Asian Spice List A-F

Thursday 24 June 2010 - Filed under Asian Spices

I will try to cover the wide variety of spices used in Asian cooking. I may miss af ew regional spices but hopefully I will get all of the spices. I am dividing it into 2 parts as I thought that the information would be more accessible. Here is the first part of the Asian Spice List

Asafoetida If you were to smell this spice raw you might tell the Chef not to use it. It has a very horrible odor. But once you cook it it this spice tastes like Garlic or Onions or if you have used them Leeks. It used in South East cooking and has a him in India’s Vegetable Curries.

amchoor Another term for this spice is Dried Mangos. It is native to eastern India and Burma. Sour, unripe varieties are used to produce amchoor. This sour fruit is sliced and then dried in the sun to produce Amchoor. It used in marinades,Curries and Condiments.In it use in marinades is has the same tenderizing affect as lemon juice.

Bay Leaves. This Laural leaf some to show up in many countries cuisines. In Asian Cooking it shows up in Pakistan,India Cooking. In India it used garam masala.

Ajowan. Is a see that comes from a plant that is grown in Southern India. The flavor closely resemble Thyme and it is used in some Breads and Fish recipes.

Cardamom This a herb in the ginger family. It has strong minty flavor and is used in Garam Masala.

Cassia. Another name for this bark is Chinese Cinnamon and it used as a replacement for the more common Cinnamon.

Cinnamon Though in Western Cuisine Cinnamon is a desert spice in Asian Cooking it can be a main course. This spice is used extensively in Indian Curries

Cloves The one drawback to this spice is the fact it is strong. Use just little as it dominate any dish it is in. One trick is to use whole cloves in the dish and when it is done cooking pull it out.

Curry Leaf . This is a leaf rom the curry tree but this is not the curry spice you buy in the store. This leaf is used in Cocanut and Seafood Curries.

Fenugreek. Is a small seed that grows in south east Euirope and Western Asia. They have a nutty flavor with a bitter after taste that closely resembles celery.They are usually roasted and ground before being used adding to meat, fish, vegetable and dal dishes and chutneys. In the south of India and in Bengal they are used in various spice mixes or are ground to flour to make dosai bread.

Five Spice Powder A Chinese spice blend, usually containing equal parts cloves, cinnamon or cassia, Szechuan pepper and fennel. Used to flavor stir fries, stews and greasy meat dishes.

I will add the second part to the Asian Spice List in a couple days.

1 comment  ::  Share or discuss  ::  2010-06-24  ::  Spice Guy

Turmeric Spice

Tuesday 22 June 2010 - Filed under Asian Spices + Indian Spices

Turmeric is either sold as a powder or the whole root.. It is created from the roots of a plant in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. This member of the ginger family grows in South East Asia and needs Temperate Temperature and a good amount of rain.
The roots are harvested and then boiled for many hours and then placed in hot oven to be dried then it is ground. The color is a deep orange yellow.It is used in to give some foods a mustard color. It has been used as an additive to give foods Golden to Yellow color.
It has a peppery spicy flavor with a hint of a mustard scent and its active ingredient is Curcumin . It is used in Indian Cuisine and in South East Asia Dishes. The most common use of Turmeric is in Curry Dishes where its spicy flavor stands out well.
In Middle Eastern cooking Turmeric is used to both flavor the rice and to give it a nice Yellow color. In Iran Fry ups almost all recipe start with Onion and Turmeric and then other spices.
In some Far eastern recipes the whole root is diced and used in fresh turmeric pickle where soft chunks of Turmeric is used.
In Nepal it is used in almost all vegetable dishes.
In looking at all of the uses in South East Asia we can see that this spice can be used to flavor almost any dish where a little bit of Heat is needed.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  2010-06-22  ::  Spice Guy