Condiments of the world, unite!

[Fat Guy]

We've had a couple of "favorite condiment" topics in the past (here and here). I was hoping we could try something a little different.

I'm thinking not about favorite condiments, but about learning about the condiments of different nations and cultures the world over. I've been noticing more and more imported condiments available here in the US, but there are so many hundreds of them I have no idea where to start.

So, if you're from an interesting place, or even an uninteresting place, please give us a glimpse of your local condiment culture.

[torakris]

I am sure most people would be hard pressed to think of a Japanese condiment, but there is a wonderful green paste called yuzu koshou that has just recently made its way from Kyushu to other parts of Japan and even overseas. The paste is a mix of the very fragant Japanese citrus fruit, yuzu, and green chiles, referred to as koshou in the Kyushu area.

There really isn't anything you can't use this on. I like it with miso soup, noodles and tofu but it is also great in marinades for meat.

the yuzu koshou thread

[Hiroyuki]

Kanzuri

Shichimi togarashi

Sansho

[snowangel]

A Thai noodle shop table is laden with condiments. There's the fish sauce with sliced bird chilis. There's another version with vinegar and bird (again sliced) which is a favorite. Hot Sour Salty Sweet mentioned a "Vietnamese Must-Have Table Sauce that is redolent with lime, nam pla, a big 'o vinegar, the pinch of sugar and birds. What about peanut sauce?

An Asian table that isn't loaded with condiments just isn't right.

There's the sweetness of peanuts, acid, salty, hot spicy...endless ways to enliven a bowl of pretty plain food.

[Domestic Goddess]

In the Philippines, the dining table of most families would have the usual Soy Sauce/Vinegar/Fish Sauce bottles arranged in a small platter. In a lot of those platters, there would be fresh siling labuyo (bird chilis described in the earlier Guinness Book of World Records as the hottest chili peppers on the planet).

Filipinos would mix soy sauce and vinegar for grilled food dipping sauce. Sometimes the combination is soy sauce and calamansi juice. There are also a variation of fish sauce and calamansi juice for grilled fish or for the meat of the boiled soups like nilaga or pesang isda ( boiled fish soup).

Another favorite condiment is the bagoong (fermented fish or shrimp paste), a jar of smelly, stink-to-high heavens sauce that is so potent yet so flavorful. That needs another thread of its own.

[Kerry Beal]

In the Philippines, the dining table of most families would have the usual Soy Sauce/Vinegar/Fish Sauce bottles arranged in a small platter. In a lot of those platters, there would be fresh siling labuyo (bird chilis described in the earlier Guinness Book of World Records as the hottest chili peppers on the planet).

Filipinos would mix soy sauce and vinegar for grilled food dipping sauce. Sometimes the combination is soy sauce and calamansi juice. There are also a variation of fish sauce and calamansi juice for grilled fish or for the meat of the boiled soups like nilaga or pesang isda ( boiled fish soup).

Another favorite condiment is the bagoong (fermented fish or shrimp paste), a jar of smelly, stink-to-high heavens sauce that is so potent yet so flavorful. That needs another thread of its own.

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And how about banana ketsup.

[insomniac]

aah, tuyumansi

[insomniac]

what I miss here about the Thai condiment array is the ubiquitous toilet paper roll in handy plastic dispenser

[PAYAL SHARMA]

We've had a couple of "favorite condiment" topics in the past (here and here). I was hoping we could try something a little different.

I'm thinking not about favorite condiments, but about learning about the condiments of different nations and cultures the world over. I've been noticing more and more imported condiments available here in the US, but there are so many hundreds of them I have no idea where to start.

So, if you're from an interesting place, or even an uninteresting place, please give us a glimpse of your local condiment culture.

←

In India pickles are extremely important. At the dinner table there are atleast choice of five to seven pickles. All different like mangoes sweet pickle or spicy. Also there is carrot, cauliflower, turnips, greenchilly, lime, lemon, guava all in different spices. The ladies in the house use to make pickes for the whole year in the summer since there are better ingredients available in the summer. Also after making them they use to keep it in the sun for the excess moisture to dry out so you could preserve them longer.

[PPPans]

In the Philippines, the dining table of most families would have the usual Soy Sauce/Vinegar/Fish Sauce bottles arranged in a small platter. In a lot of those platters, there would be fresh siling labuyo (bird chilis described in the earlier Guinness Book of World Records as the hottest chili peppers on the planet).

Filipinos would mix soy sauce and vinegar for grilled food dipping sauce. Sometimes the combination is soy sauce and calamansi juice. There are also a variation of fish sauce and calamansi juice for grilled fish or for the meat of the boiled soups like nilaga or pesang isda ( boiled fish soup).

Another favorite condiment is the bagoong (fermented fish or shrimp paste), a jar of smelly, stink-to-high heavens sauce that is so potent yet so flavorful. That needs another thread of its own.

←

And how about banana ketsup.

←

Banana indeed!

The achara is also a mainstay of most refrigerators. The most popular achara is of (pickled) unripe papaya with a few other vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, etc. But there is an endless variety: bitter gourd, radish, bamboo shoots...

In my province, broiled fish goes with fermented rice and shrimps or fish. That's another staple though I'm not sure if it's still considered a condiment.

I can probably think of a few others later.

[scottie]

In Bali, I enjoyed ketjup manis with sliced green chilies. It often appears with corn fritters, but it's also good on rice.

My Dutch ex-husband loves Maggi.

[jumanggy]

Ooh, but scottie, did you not learn to love Maggi yourself? Yum... hydrolyzed vegetable proteins... With a taste not unlike soy sauce, kids love to sprinkle it on rice to salvage a bland meal.

The Philippines in particular has a wide range of non-imported and imported condiments. (The more common ones I have trouble finding are Tahini and Mango Chutney, which is weird because we have so many here.) Imported sauces are not hard to find, courtesy of Lee Kum Kee, Kikkoman, and an ever-present imported food section in most good groceries.

Here's a short list of locally produced condiments:

Ketchup - Tomato, Spicy Tomato, Chili (YUM), Sweet Tomato, Rich Tomato, Banana, Spicy Banana

Soy Sauce - almost always dark (brewed and light ones are usually imported)

Fish Sauce, Shrimp Paste (Bagoong)

Vinegar - usually cane vinegar, and undistilled.

Sweet Chili Sauce - so popular nowadays. Stand-in for ketchup.

Sweet and Sour Sauce - always a disappointment, considering you can make it yourself and always better. Never know why this is bottled.

Hot Sauce - just like Tabasco, but cheaper and milder. Ubiquitous.

Teriyaki sauce

Barbecue sauce - usually chinese-style, sans the fruity flavors (e.g. tomato) of Western barbecue sauces. Soy-sauce based.

Worcestershire sauce

Liquid seasoning - such as Maggi. Not as salty as soy sauce but has more interesting flavor.

Achara - pickled shredded papaya, carrots, etc. as described above. Popular with barbecue.

Chili-garlic paste, Oyster Sauce

Mustard - I'm not sure if McCormick just repacks this, but I think it's mostly imported anyway...

Mayonnaise

Sandwich Spread - this is Mayonnaise that has been sweetened and to which pickle relish has been added (as well as a coral tinge).

Sweet pickles and pickle relish (dill pickles are always imported because they are so unpopular)