Thursday, November 12, 2015

Spices That Mix For Asian Meals

Create Asian stir fries in the comfort of your own kitchen.


Spice up dull meals by combining zesty, tangy, mouthwatering spices that can help you prepare Asian meals in the comfort of your own home. Create sweet or savory Asian dishes with garlic, sesame, red pepper flakes and more. Easy to make, just add seasonings to chicken, beef, pork, seafood and vegetables for a tasty, spiced dinner that you can pair with soba noodles or rice for an authentic night of Asian-infused cuisine. Add this to my Recipe Box.


Hot Spices


Hot spices can be used to create sauce for stir fry or curries. Whole, fresh red chili pepper is often cooked into sauce for a spicy hot flavor. Sambul Oelek is a chili paste used in Asian recipes and can be made by blending hot fresh chili peppers and a splash of water in a blender until a paste forms. White pepper, hotter than black, is used to flavor hot curry dishes by soaking black peppercorns in water for a few days and removing the skin. Coriander seeds are a hot and spicy treat; ground into soups and curries for extra heat, however the coriander leaf is often used in Asian style salads.


Sweet Spices


Combine the tastes of sweet and sour to cook the perfect Asian chicken meal and serve with sticky rice. Sweet paprika can add color and flavor to both Chinese or Indian style meals, along with cinnamon, these two can sweeten up a curry. The clove is a sweet spice that is mostly used in Western dishes, but also used in Musaman curry paste. Native to Indonesia, cloves are often used in Thai curry. Raw ginger is another spice used for Thai curry paste and compliments curried fish meals.


Fragrant Spices


Asian meals are known for their fragrance as well as taste. Mint is often infused in Thai curries, as well as Indian mint yogurt sauce-the perfect compliment to poppadoms enjoyed with an Indian meal. Cumin comes from a Mediterranean plant and is used to infuse curries with aroma. Turmeric, a tropical plant, can give Indian stews and curries an earthy flavor or be infused with rice for an aromatic, yellow rice dish. Cardamon pods, with a lemon aroma, should be steamed in rice and served with curry.


Chinese Five Spice


Combining several spices together is how many Asian meals are flavored. For instance, Five Chinese Spice consists of Szechwan pepper, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves and cinnamon and is a fragrant spice that can be combined with fresh garlic and soy sauce for a quick spiced stir fry. Combined Chinese five spice with curry powder and stew with tomatoes, onions and carrots, then top with cooked seafood for a truly authentic Asian meal.


Tandoori Spice


Tandoori is an Indian style spice that can be used as a dry rub for Indian barbecue. Tandoori spice mix includes fresh ginger, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. Season chicken, lamb or paneer cheese and grill with green peppers, fresh tomatoes and onions for a delicious meal.

Tags: Asian meals, spice that, comfort your, curry paste, fresh chili, Indian style, often used