5 cuisines, 5 basic ingredients: how to vary your cooking
Some spices are essential to liven up your cooking. And some form the bedrock of recipes from different cultures.
Italians cook with the "holy trinity" of white onion, celery, and carrot. Travel to Peru though, and that "santa trinidad" is ají amarillo, red onion, and garlic.
Luckily, cuisines rely on certain key ingredients that are both easy to find and non-perishable - meaning that they can live in your cupboard for years! In short, these spices, sauces, and more are the key to making dinner different every night.
Here are 5 basic ingredients from 5 cuisines to get started!
East Asian
Soy sauce light
Essential for sauces and that salty umami flavour. It's also an amazing dip for rice dishes or fried goodies.
Soy sauce dark
Yes, soy sauce again! It really helps to have both kinds. Darker soy sauce adds rich colour to dishes in a way that light soy sauce cannot.
Rice wine vinegar
A more flavourful - and less pungent - vinegar which provides a key balance to sauces. It is also handy for sticking seaweed paper together, great for sushi!
Sesame seeds
How to make your dish POP with one ingredient. Sesame seeds add visual contrast, especially if your central ingredients have a darker colour.
Sesame oil
Aromatic and rich, sesame oil is a great last-minute addition to East Asian dishes, as well as a part of any good sauce/marinade/glaze.
Honourable mentions: Gochujang. Hoisin sauce. Oyster sauce. Peanut butter. So many...
South Asian
Kashmiri chilli powder
The best chilli powder for South Asian cooking. Vibrantly red and powerful without being overpowering, it is slightly fruity and smoky.
Garam masala
The essentials all in one. Warm and aromatic, it's usually a blend of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, and pepper. Garam masala goes a long way!
Turmeric
Turmeric is how a curry gets that signature, vibrant orange colour. Sprinkle ground turmeric for colour and an earthy, bitter flavour.
Cumin seeds
A flavour enhancer! Warming and nutty, cumin seeds complement chilli very well. But be careful not to use too much, they can be quite strong.
Mustard seeds
Bitter and strong, mustard seeds add plenty of flavour with little effort. Fry until you hear them popping and add in more ingredients like onion to cool them down.
Honourable mentions: Ground ginger, cardamom, cloves, star anise, asafoetida, fenugreek... if you're serious about South Asian cooking, you can go far!
Central European
Dill
Earthy and grassy, dill is so common in Central European cooking. For raw uses, fresh dill is great, while dried dill enhances stews and sauces that bubble away.
Sweet paprika
Colour, fruity, pepper, sweet - paprika is the national spice of Hungary and is also common in Germany, Austria, and the Balkans.
Sour cream
A creamy depth of flavour - this balances out the often sweet or rich notes of other regional essentials like paprika, butter, and mushrooms.
Caraway seeds
Nutty and earthy, caraway is described as something like anise, dill, and fennel. The distinct and warm flavour gives complexity to all sorts of dishes.
Mustard
Wholegrain, spicy, or mild, mustard offers big flavour. Just a dollop gives your dish a uniquely sharp earthiness. And of course, it is vital to a salad vinaigrette!
Eastern Mediterranean
Pomegranate molasses
The fruiter (and more affordable) cousin of glazed balsamic vinegar. It makes sauces and salad dressings bursting with sharp, complex, sweet-and-sour flavour.
Lemon juice
Bottles of lemon juice last for months, handy for when you don't have fresh lemon. Top dishes with it, add to yoghurt for a fresh side, or making zesty dressings.
Harissa paste
Fans of smoky spice should have a small jar or tube of harissa in their fridge! Plus, harissa can last for as long as four months, if you avoid contamination.
Sumac
Fruity and tart, sumac is a great last-minute addition to inject complexity into fresh dishes. Add to cooked rice, fried eggs, salads, and marinades.
Tahini
Tahini (sesame seed paste) can last a year in the fridge. It's lightly toasted, nutty flavour can really level up your dressings, sauces, or have drizzled over veg.
Latin American
Chilli pepper flakes/grounded (pick a flavour!)
Latin America has a wealth of chillies! And you can use different ones for different flavours. Try Peru's tropical ají amarillo or deep, smoky ají panca. Or to cook Mexican-style, go for smoky dried ancho or spicy, sweet chipotle powders. Special shout out to tinned chipotles adobados - just one chipotle adds a TON of flavour!
Achiote
Latin America's answer to saffron - achiote is naturally and vibrantly bright red! The paste lives for a long time in the fridge and is great for colour and earthiness.
Cumin
A pantry staple, ground cumin offers a savoury, earthy, and nutty flavour that pairs excellently with Latin-style sauces and grills.
Paprika
Paprika complements cumin well, covering all sorts of flavour profiles like savoury, sweet, smoky, spicy, and earthy. It also gives off a tantalising red colour.
Lime
This one is best fresh! Nothing replaces the sharp, zesty, and slightly sweet juice of a lime in Latin American cooking. If you want limes to keep, you can always throw them in a sealable bag in the freezer and restock your fridge as you go.
There's plenty more - but with these spices in your pantry, you can cook dishes that are exciting and different. And that's true even if you are using bulk-bought items over and over again. It also empowers you to make choices with your cooking, to learn which spices and flavour profiles to use and when.
Better spices make a better cook!