Simply Great Meals / Cooking Basics

Coconut milk and cream

Coconut milk is available in a variety of sizes in cans, cartons and in a powdered form that can be reconstituted with water.

Baby corn

Baby corn cobs make a colourful addition to Asian stir-fries, salads, soups and starters.

Vietnamese mint

Vietnamese mint does not belong to the mint family. In Vietnam it is known as Rau Ram and sometimes called hot mint.

Water chestnuts

Water chestnuts look very similar to English chestnuts hence the name they are given although they are actually a corm that is usually grown in water.

Bamboo shoots

Bamboo shoots are native to Asia and are the tender shoots of very young bamboo plants.

Sweet chilli sauce

Sweet Chilli Sauce can be found in the Asian section of the supermarket. It is a mixture of pickled red peppers, garlic, sugar and vinegar cooked into a syrupy hot peppery sauce.

Star anise

Star Anise is a star shaped liquorice flavoured pod from a tree; it is used in food and medicine in Asia.

Palm sugar

Palm sugar is used as a natural sweetener in both sweet and savoury recipes throughout South East Asia and more especially in Thai cuisine.

Plum sauce

Made from plum juice or pureed plums with sugar, salt and vinegar.

Black bean sauce

This sauce is made from salted fermented black soy beans, garlic and spices. A pungent sauce used for stir-fries and steamed dishes.

Teriyaki sauce

The sweet savoury flavour of teriyaki sauce is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking.

Tandoori paste

Tandoori is the Indian name given to the spicy marinade which is used to coat meats, fish and chicken and then cooked in a hot clay Tandoor oven.

Red curry paste

There are many good ready made red curry pastes available in Asian sections of supermarkets and Asian food stores.

Green curry paste

Traditionally associated with Thai food the curry flavour differs from Indian curries in many ways.

Basil

Basil or sweet basil is best known for its culinary uses, especially as the basis for pesto sauce and of course its affinity with tomatoes.

Fish sauce

Made from either fermented fish or shrimp, fish sauce has a very pungent flavour and aroma and is very salty.

Kecap Manis

Kecap Manis is a thick sweet soy sauce it has a sweet salty caramel flavour and is a key ingredient to Indonesian cooking.

Chervil is sometimes known as gourmet parsley. It is the most delicately flavoured herb with its fragile fern like leaves, mild anise flavour and soft texture making it a favourite with French cuisine and very popular with passionate cooks.

Satay sauce

A fragrant thick sauce made from ground peanuts and coconut milk, simmered with spices onion and garlic.

Soy sauce

Made from fermented soy beans, soy sauce is used as a condiment and an ingredient in many foods.

Chives

Chives grow in clumps with bright green thin cylindrical stems, and they are a member of the onion family.

Sesame oil

Oil processed from sesame seed. Sesame oil has a strong fragrant, nutty flavour and is used in small quantities in cooking.

Tamarind paste

Tamarind is a large fruit pod that has a sticky brown pulp inside which is used in cooking.

Coriander

Coriander leaves and roots are classified as a herb whereas the dried seeds of the same plant are a spice.

Laksa paste

Laksa paste is a wet curry paste used to make the traditional Malaysian soup dish of Curry Laksa.

Hoisin sauce

A Cantonese specialty Hoisin is made from fermented soy beans, sugar, vinegar, chilli, garlic and sesame oil.

Kaffir lime leaves

Fragrant leaves of the Kaffir lime tree used in Thailand and throughout South East Asia gives the distinctive "citrus perfume" flavour to many dishes.

Dill

Dill is a favourite herb of Scandinavian, German and Eastern European cuisine; it is often called the fish or pickle herb.

Limes

Limes are a small citrus fruit with a distinctive fragrant and refreshing flavour. Both rind and juice are used in cuisines worldwide particularly in South East Asia.

Kaffir lime

Kaffir Lime has a fruit dark green in colour with a wrinkled and bumpy skin.

Ginger

Ginger is the root of the ginger plant or more correctly a rhizome or underground stem.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a scented grass native to South East Asia it grows in dense clumps with stems about 20cm long.

Rice paper rounds

Made from rice-flour, water and salt, rice paper sheets are round, tissue thin "crepes" that are dried on bamboo mats in the sun, which results in the criss-cross pattern on each sheet.

Birds Eye Chillies

This is a Thai variety of chilli and even though they are very small they are very hot and fiery.

Lemon thyme

The leaves of Lemon Thyme are softer and rounder than common garden thyme and have a delicate lemon "note" overlaying the typical thyme flavour.

Bok Choy

Made from plum juice or pureed plums with sugar, salt and vinegar.

Mint

There are many varieties of mint the most common being spearmint with long pointed bright green leaves.

Oregano

Oregano is a herb popular since Ancient times in Greece and other Mediterranean countries and one of the most common culinary herbs today.

English and Italian Parsley

Parsley is one of the most popular and utilised culinary herbs. There are two types, the curly leaf or the flat leaf, commonly known as Italian or Continental parsley.

Rosemary

Rosemary is a very aromatic herb with a fresh pine flavour and dark green spiky leaves 2-3 cm long.

Sage

Common or garden sage has long pointed leaves, greenish grey in colour and a strong pungent flavour.

Thyme

Thyme is a very aromatic herb with slender densely branched stems with tiny delicate pointed leaves.

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