Pastes, Sauces and Spice Cabinet Finds from Around the World

Doubanjiang is a fermented paste of broad beans, chili peppers, soybeans, salt and flour. It is called the soul of Sichuan cuisine and anchors dishes such as mapo tofu and Sichuan hotpot, and its spicy form is called la doubanjiang in Guangdong and Taiwan to set it apart from milder regional pastes.

Sichuan pepper is the dried outer shell of the fruit of Zanthoxylum plants, which belong to the citrus and rue family, not to the pepper family. A compound called hydroxy-alpha sanshool gives it a tingling, numbing feel, and cooks pair it with chili for the flavor Chinese calls mala.

Ponzu is a thin, tart Japanese citrus sauce made by simmering mirin, rice vinegar, katsuobushi and kombu and then adding juice from fruit such as yuzu or sudachi. Its name comes from the Dutch word pons, for a fruit punch, and with soy sauce added it becomes ponzu shoyu, a dip for shabu-shabu and sashimi.

Sambal is a family of chili sauces from maritime Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. It could only take shape after chili peppers arrived from the Americas in the sixteenth century, replacing older relishes made from long pepper and ginger, and it was established across the archipelago by the eighteenth century.

Tahini is a Middle Eastern condiment of ground sesame seeds, usually roasted, and the word comes from Arabic. It works as a dip on its own and is a main ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush and halva.

Mustard is made from the seeds of white, brown or black mustard plants mixed with liquids such as vinegar, wine or water, giving a paste from bright yellow to dark brown. The seed is pungent and bitter while the finished condiment runs from sweet to hot, and it is used across India, the Mediterranean, Europe, the Americas and Africa.

The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf added whole to soups, stews and meat or vegetable dishes and removed before eating. Bay laurel is the most common source, but Indian, Indonesian, West Indian and Mexican bay leaves exist too, and their essential oils such as eucalyptol give the characteristic aroma.

Tartar sauce is a cold, mayonnaise-based French condiment named for steak tartare, which it accompanied in the nineteenth century. British versions stress capers and gherkins, American ones add dill pickles and onions, and today it mostly goes with breaded fried seafood.

Allspice is the dried unripe berry of a tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America. English traders coined the name by 1621 because it seemed to combine cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, yet it is a single spice and not a blend.

Chimichurri is an uncooked Argentine sauce of chopped parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano, chili and vinegar or lemon juice, served with grilled meat. It comes as green chimichurri verde or red chimichurri rojo and is also eaten in Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.