Zestful flavour in Herbs and Spice

I once used to old folks saying 'all things nice and spiced adds variety to life.' Well indeed if only they can wake up today to find out the amount of hard work and grind it takes to generate the happy contentment and well being of diners in their indulgence for gastronomic perfection. Above are some of the herbs and spices we daily use in our kitchen. These are the purchasing stage of basic food ingredients. Some herbs and spices are outsourced whilst others are dealt directly with wholesalers and frequently retailers such as supermarkets are relied on should vital items be not available with the primary suppliers. A lot of travelling time is spent on buying from the source of supplies, as not all suppliers are involved in deliveries especially to the suburbs where we are now.

In any successful Asian restaurant the main essential ingredients and spices are found on the premises are of the following. Fresh ginger, galangal, garlic, dried and fresh chilli, fish sauce, lime lemon juice, lemon grass, tamarind paste, sambal oelek and shrimp paste. For fresh vegetables we always stick to the authentic asian leafy type like bok choy, wong bok, coriander, basil leaves, and bean sprouts whilst not forgetting the basic tofu bean curd and chinese dried mushroom.



The Indians use to enormous amount of chlli in their curries. Chillies are a good accompaniment to Asian food especially in the hotter climate. This is because it not only adds to your appetite but it makes you feel cooler when and especially after you sweat over a hot spicy meal. Chilli is also a means of cheap food preservation over a longer period than fresh food would otherwise allowed in less developed places where refrigeration are hard to come by. In a lot of fishing villages where I visited overstocked fresh fish caught from the sea are generally salted and dried in the sun or preserved in chilli for future use. Such process also adds additional flavour to what is in the fish.