Condiment

The defining characteristic of this chile sauce is the crispness, and in my version I’ve included old-fashioned rolled oats and coconut flakes for extra crunch. You will find me adding it to pasta, eggs, jook, pizza and, of course, roasted vegetables. 

This smoky chipotle and tomatillo salsa is an excellent dipping sauce for crudités or tortilla chips, or you can spoon it on top of tamales. You can use more chiles for a spicier sauce.

Chances are, if you're not Oaxaqueño and grew up in this last generation in Mexico or the United States, you’ve probably been taught to think that pork fat like aciento—Oaxacan-style chicharrón paste—is not good for you, and that you should always cook and eat things made with a plant-based oil instead. It’s normal to think this way. That is, until you go to Oaxaca and see that aciento is a way of life and that a lot of elders live to be more than one hundred years old eating the stuff on a daily basis. You’ll also realize that it is amazingly flavorful and really completes a lot of masa-based Oaxacan dishes such as tlayudas, memelas, empanadas, and chochoyotes. Think of it as a Oaxacan brown butter. If you do it right, it should taste nutty and toasty, not like lard or like fat. I also understand that a lot of people may not have the time to properly render chicharrón into a paste, so this shortcut version using olive oil is much quicker and tastes almost as good. If you can’t find or don’t have access to fresh chicharrón, American-style pork rinds also work well.

The two imperatives are that the tomatoes must be truly ripe and sweet and that the sauce should be eaten at once. If you must, you can hold it for up to two hours refrigerated and tightly covered, but it loses its magic fast. For the right slightly coarse texture, the ingredients should be chopped separately by hand. The only thing I sometimes do with the food processor is the chiles. Try to find fresh ones—canned jalapeños will work, but aren't ideal in a sauce supposed to be sparkling fresh.

This blend gives my French Onion Breakfast Strata its distinctive flavor profile. Chives are my herb of choice, but oregano or thyme is also nice.

You can store this all-purpose sweet-and-spicy vinegar in clean mason jars, but it is easier to keep it in repurposed glass bottles. Note that this recipe can be adjusted as you like—try using different chiles or other spices like bay leaf.

Add these seasoned peanuts to your som tum.

Originally from Yemen, this fiery condiment has a dense, round flavor that comes from a variety of fresh chiles, herbs, and spices.

This Jalapeño Ranch is gonna kick up all kinds of taco creations and take veggies and dip to a new level in your life.

Without the savory crunch of fried garlic, my kitchen wouldn’t be the same. I use it on rice, noodles, soups, salads, vegetables, and anything else that benefits from a sprinkle of these magical golden flavor nuggets. For the Fried Garlic Noodles, I showed you how to make a quick version of fried garlic in the microwave. If you want to take your fried garlic game to the next level, though, you can fry it in large batches like we do at Tin Roof, since it will keep for several weeks. Though more labor-intensive, this cooking method produces a crispier, evenly browned fried garlic that packs a ridiculous amount of roasted garlickiness.

Once you master a basic aioli, you’ll find yourself adding different flavors (you can mix in herbs, spices, chilies, etc.) to suit the needs of so many savory dishes.

Minced garlic gets doused with oil and microwaved until it becomes golden-brown and crispy.

We took roasted peanuts and coated them with sweet-spicy kochujang, Korean chile flakes, and garlic salt as a topper for the kale and cabbage salad at Tin Roof.

A cornerstone of Ethiopian cooking, this clarified butter is infused with spices and herbs native the region, giving it unique flavor and aroma.

Like chutney in India or salsa in Mexico, no one in South Africa prepares chakalaka, a spicy vegetable relish, the same way. Here is our version, full of vegetables and spices. Serve the chakalaka with bread, rice, grilled meats or fish, stews...anything.

Peanut butter tames the heat in this mild puréed salsa with serrano chiles and onions. Spoon it over mushroom tacos or use it as a dip for chips.

Melty, cheesy, crunchy, spicy: These sandwiches, a street food favorite in India, check all the boxes.