Flavor to the max
I have been at my parents house for a few days and on occasion I help my Mother cook. Not that she needs help, she is a very good cook, but sometimes it is nice to give her a break. Something interesting that occurred to me while there was the difference in our pantries. There are some things in my pantry that I consider essential that for her would be downright weird. A reflection of my obsession with ethnic markets perhaps, but things I use in everyday cooking.
I guess it is a form of “fusion” cooking but when I find an ingredient that is useful it does not get relegated to a portion of the pantry that is reserved for when I cook that specific cuisine. This Chili Garlic sauce is one such ingredient.
Heat is something that I have problems with. I do not care for really spicy food – yet I married a man from Louisiana who has an extensive collection of hot sauces. This particular one has been in my ‘fridge since we got together, and I had left it to him. He used it on Chinese delivery to spice things up – and apparently it is useful for that.
But I recently discovered that it is a fantastic workhorse. I have been trying to find a happy medium with spice, notching things up until they are at the top of my tolerance level. When I do this they have what my husband considers “a pleasant kick” – yay!
The thing that is great about this sauce is it’s neutrality. It has both Chili and Garlic in it and it does not have a distinctly “Asian” flavor. Through experimentation I have found I can use it to heat up Tex-Mex, Italian and Indian foods. Anything that already has garlic in it is fair game
And really, even if there isn’t garlic, what savory dish doesn’t benefit from a little garlic? If you want to experiment with this sauce (and I highly encourage that) know that it is pretty darn spicy. When I say I add it to something, say spaghetti sauce, I add what might be classified as a “smidgen”, literally an amount about half the size of my pinkie finger nail. Take it easy and add it in small increments until you reach a happy place.
This is what I decided to share today! What do you have in your pantry that you consider essential but would look like a pink elephant in your Mother’s pantry?
Robbing Peter 
May 13, 2009 at 11:48 am
Haha anything with spice, peppers, flavor, whole wheat would not belong in my mother’s pantry.
But there are weird things in hers like tons of processed food.
We disagree on what is food.
May 13, 2009 at 2:54 pm
My mom is pretty hip to the good stuff in the kitchen. I love this question though, and it required some thought.
I’ll go with Parmesan Reggiano. I can’t live without it, but I’ve yet to convince her.
May 16, 2009 at 12:02 am
we go through jars of this very quickly. we learned from the hubs’ mom’s pantry (they’re thai). we’re on the reverse end as both hubs and i are second generation asian-americans, so we grew up with the “weird” stuff and the “normal” stuff to most would not be found in our mothers’ pantries.
any of the more italian stuff we love would never be found–fresh parmigiano reggiano, specialty vinegars (balsamic, champagne, etc…they stick with white and rice), all the pasta we always have on hand, horseradish (although my mom does keep wasabi).
May 16, 2009 at 12:47 am
Chili-garlic sauce is a vital component to my pantry as well. Love it!
August 17, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Can you please post or email me recipes for chili garlic sauce?
August 17, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Recipes for cooking with it or for making the sauce itself?
January 22, 2010 at 5:49 am
A couple months ago I would have said: agar-agar. I love to make jams and jellies with it (no need for pectine or gelling sugar, and also no need to add tons of sugar and boil it for ages). But my mother was soooo enthusiastic about my jams, that she now has it in her pantry, too ;-). Hmm, other than that: whole grains. I have my own grain mill and grind flour to make bread. And since my mother doesn’t have a mill, she doesn’t need to store grain :-).