If you have the January blues, zest up your life by making some homemade condiments. I’m talking tasty sauces and spreads that will add life to a range of other foods, not to mention fill your kitchen with wonderful aromas.
Just about every home has a bottle of ketchup at the ready in the refrigerator. But its flavour can taste almost gourmet if you make that classic condiment yourself.
In my easy-to-make rendition, onions and garlic are sautéed until tender and then simmered with diced tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar and spices.
I call it four-chili ketchup, because among those spices are four different types of dried, ground chilies. They include paprika, cayenne, ancho and chipotle peppers, the latter of which are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers.
The resulting ketchup, which you purée and cool after it is simmered and thickened, has sweet, tangy, smokey and spicy-hot tastes. Serve it on or alongside the things you normally serve ketchup with, such as eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs or fries. You could also brush the ketchup on such things as meatloaf or ribs.
Mustard is also a condiment that folks regularly keep on hand and it too can taste more intriguing if you make yourself. It’s easy, as you’ll see by today’s recipe.
Last week I flavoured foods with whisky and that continued with my mustard this week.
The process begins by placing dried yellow mustard seeds, sold in the spice or bulk foods aisle of most supermarkets, in a jar with some whisky and cider vinegar.
You let the seeds soak and soften 24 to 36 hours, before blending with sweet maple syrup, earthy sage, salt, and, if desired, a pinch of ground turmeric for added colour.
This mustard has a nice kick and a wonderful aroma and is great to serve with sausages, ham, roasts, sandwiches or anything else you like to serve mustard with.
Over the years I’ve received requests to share a recipe for Japanese-style steak sauce. It’s that addictive condiment served with steak teppanyaki, steamed rice and other foods at many Japanese restaurants.
I decided to include one today after coming across a recipe for it in an older Japanese cookbook I have called At the Japanese Table. I used that recipe as a guide, but adjusted it, as the sauce was thicker than I like.
The sauce is made by blending sesame seeds with a mix of Japanese-style ingredients, including sake, soy sauce, dashi, a bonito-flavoured stock, and mirin, a sweet, low-alcohol type of rice wine.
When combined, those ingredients create a unique-tasting sauce that tastes great with steak and steamed rice. You could also toss or drizzle it over steamed vegetables, such as green beans, edamame or snap peas, or use it to dress salad greens.
Four-Chili Ketchup
The dried, ground chili peppers flavouring this ketchup include paprika, cayenne, ancho and chipotle. Serve the ketchup with anything you would normal serve ketchup with.
Preparation: 10 minutes, plus chilling time
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes: About three cups
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 (798 mL/28-oz) can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp chipotle chill powder
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground allspice
Place the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (mine was eight-inches wide) and set over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about five to six minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a very gentle simmer (small bubbles should just break on the surface).
Simmer the ketchup, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, until the mixture is quite thick. When the mixture does start to thicken, stir it more frequently to ensure it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.
Purée the ketchup in the pot with an immersion (hand) blender, or transfer to a food processor or blender and purée it there.
Transfer ketchup to a heatproof glass jar and cool to room temperature. Seal the jar, refrigerate and chill the ketchup a few hours before using. Ketchup will keep in the refrigerator at least two weeks.
Spicy Mustard with Whiskey and Maple
This easy to make mustard is spicy, tangy, sweet and aromatic.
Preparation: Five minutes, plus steeping time
Cooking time: None
Makes: About 1 1/2 cups
1/2 cup yellow mustard seeds
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup American whiskey, such as Jack Daniel’s
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp ground sage
1/8 tsp ground turmeric, optional
Place the mustard seeds in a glass jar. Pour in the vinegar and whiskey. Tightly sealing the jar and let the mustard seeds steep in the liquid at room temperature for 24 to 36 hours.
Place the mustard seed mixture in a small food processor or blender, or in the cup that came with your hand (immersion) blender. Add the maple syrup, salt, sage and turmeric, if using. Pulse the mustard to the desired smoothness. Taste the mustard and added a little more maple syrup, if you prefer it to be sweeter.
Transfer mustard to a clean glass jar, seal and keep refrigerated until ready to use. Mustard will keep a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Japanese-style Steak Sauce
This is a homemade version of the addictive sesame-seed rich sauce served in Japanese restaurants.
Preparation: Five minutes
Cooking time: none
Makes: About one cup
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp white sesame seeds
1/8 tsp instant dashi powder (see Note)
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp Japanese-style soy sauce (I used Kikkoman brand)
2 Tbsp sake
2 tsp mirin (see Note)
2 to 3 tsp granulated sugar
Place all ingredients in the cup that came with your immersion (hand) blender (see Eric’s options). Blend, purée and thicken the mixture into a sauce. Taste and adjust the sauce, if desired, such as adding more sweetness (sugar) or saltiness (soy sauce), or more water or sake, if you prefer a thinner sauce.
Note: Instant dashi powder is a bonito (dried, fermented tuna flakes) flavoured seasoning sold in small boxes at Japanese food stores, such as Fujiya in Victoria, located at 3624 Shelbourne Street. The brand I used was Shimaya dashi-moto. This powder is intense tasting, why only a small amount is added to the steak sauce. The leftover dashi powder you have can be used to make other Japanese-style dishes, such as miso soup and noodle soups. Mirin is available at the store noted above, and also in the Asian foods aisle of most supermarkets.
Eric’s options: If you don’t have an immersion blender, you could also blend the sauce ingredients together in a regular blender. Or, make the sauce in a more traditional way, by crushing the sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle, and then mixing in the remaining ingredients.
