The phrase “pantry staples” is so dull. How are you to find inspiration from a dusty cabinet filled with jars, spices, and unidentifiable flours?
The pickles and condiments tucked away in dark corners have so much unrealized potential. This sticky jar of honey does not have to be restricted to tea or toast, nor should curry paste be relegated to Tuesday night curries. The mango chutney is begging for attention at the refrigerator door.
They all deserve more than the single recipe for which you purchased them. These little guys are flavor bombs that can be used to enhance your weeknight meals. Imagine! There are umami-rich, toasted, nutty, and smoky ingredients already in your pantry that will elevate and inspire your cooking.
Let’s begin by defining what I mean by the pantry. As I am a chef, an avid home cook, and of Asian descent, my pantry is appropriately stocked. What is unfamiliar to some is essential to others, so go to a grocery store or supermarket and purchase an ingredient you wouldn’t normally use. This is why I am here.
Therefore, let’s begin with a condiment that most of us will likely already have on hand: ketchup.
Tomato sauce is underrated. Australia calls tomato sauce tomato sauce. Or just “sauce”. I like it since it is direct and to the point. As if there were no other condiments.
Its uses are prescribed by Australian culture: hot chips, sausage rolls, and smeared crudely over a charred sausage on a slice of Tip Top white bread. You can get it in squeezable packets for an additional fifty cents with your meat pie, or in a four-liter jug next to the sporks at the chip shop.
The primary distinction between ketchup and tomato sauce, according to Heinz, is the number of tomatoes utilized. Ketchup purportedly contains more tomato, and in some cases also tomato paste, so it is thicker and more flavorful than tomato sauce. However, my taste tests indicate that the real distinction is between brands and price points, not between the names “ketchup” and “tomato sauce.”
I purchased all of the tomato sauces and ketchup available at my local grocery store and evaluated them based on four criteria: sweetness, viscosity, acidity, and complexity. I was disappointed to discover that Heinz did not even make my top three condiments, considering it is a staple in my household. Here is what I attempted:
Rosella
Straight up, Rosella tomato sauce tasted like a mouthful of vinegar (I ate an entire tablespoon of it, which I do not recommend). The sauce is quite thin and watery, and there is an insufficient sweetness to balance the intense acidity. The tomato flavor is also not particularly prominent.
Beerenberg
Beerenberg was intriguing; the sauce is pretty thick, almost chunky, and there is a great deal going on in terms of flavor. Consider an abundance of spicy spices and a persistent onion flavor that essentially overpowers the tomato. Certainly good, although more reminiscent of a chutney than tomato sauce.
Heinz
Extremely balanced sweetness and tartness. This is the only ketchup on the list, and it has “167g of tomato concentrate per 100 mL.” No one else indicated the amount of tomato in their sauce, thus I have no basis for comparison. It can be a lot or it might be typical. In any case, the spices are pretty apparent and the sauce has a nice smooth texture. An all-around performer.
Fountain
Another versatile player. The fountain tomato sauce has a delightfully rich tomato flavor with cinnamon-like spices. Beautiful sweetness and acidity balance.
Masterfoods
Similar to Beerenberg sauce, this tomato sauce is thick and rich but has a very strong onion flavor. It is certainly more savory than sweet, but it is not terrible. A more compact variant of Beerenberg.
Woolworths
The Woolies tomato sauce is smooth yet too acidic and lacks the much-required sweetness. In terms of flavor and substance, it is also slightly weak.
Ozesauce
I had never heard of this brand before sampling it, and I was thrilled to discover that it was delicious. Thick, luscious, and tomatoey, with just the right amount of spices to provide depth of flavor. Also, the acidity is moderate, so there is just enough to give it a pleasant lift. This tomato sauce, according to the label, is produced with naturally fermented vinegar as opposed to acetic acid. Except for the Heinz bottle, acetic acid is specified as the acidity agent on the labels of all the other bottles.
My original objective to compare the differences between sauces and ketchup was thwarted by the fact that there were many sauces but few kinds of ketchup available in a typical Australian supermarket. However, there are glaring distinctions between brands, and determining which is superior is largely a matter of personal opinion.
I’m startled to say that the Ozesauce Australian All-Natural Tomato Sauce was my favorite because I’m very susceptible to branding (and pretty packaging). I don’t have a sweet tooth, so the sweetness was just right for me. Ozesauce was fantastic, combining a robust, tomato-like flavor with nice acidity.
In South-East Asia and Japan, ketchup has made its way into a wide variety of meals, imparting a peculiar acidity, savouriness, and depth to sauces. It imparts a very sweet, rich tomato flavor when used as a condiment, which is highly pleasant. It’s like a shortcut to the tastiest tomatoes you’ve ever had in the heart of summer. Here are two of my favorite ketchup-based recipes, selected from an abundance of available options.
Spaghetti naporitan (Japanese ketchup pasta)
Prep 15 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2
Pasta purists, calm down. Spaghetti Naporitan is a traditional Japanese dish. Itameshi refers to the harmonious fusion of Japanese and Italian cuisines, and the concentrated tomato flavor in ketchup is a wonderful substitute for crushed tomato in this pasta dish. The thickening agents in ketchup also aid in coating the noodles with the sauce, and briefly frying the noodles in the sauce imparts an incredible, roasted flavor to the dish. While the purpose of this article is to use what you have on hand, the onion-forward flavor of Beerenberg and Masterfoods lend themselves well to this dish.
Arabiki is a smoked Japanese pork sausage sold in the freezer section of Japanese and Korean supermarkets. You may use any “snappy” sausage, such as frankfurts or Kransky (even hotdogs), or sliced bacon or ham in its place. For a vegetarian version, omit the meat entirely and add a handful of sliced button mushrooms. This dish is awarded bonus points because it is very kid-friendly.
200g spaghetti
4 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 Japanese arabiki sausage, cut diagonally into 1cm slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ brown onion (85g), cut into ½ cm slices
½ orange capsicum (60g), cut into ½ cm pieces
½ yellow capsicum (60g), cut into ½ cm pieces
1/8 tsp Tabasco
15g parmesan, grated
1 tsp parsley leaves, chopped
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain the pasta and reserve half a cup of the starchy cooking water.
Stir the ketchup, Worcestershire, Tabasco, and soy sauces together in a small bowl.
Melt the butter and olive oil over high heat in a frying pan or skillet. Fry the sausages over medium-high heat until some of the fat renders out and the sausages begin to brown (five or six minutes), then add the minced garlic to the pan. Sauté over medium heat until fragrant (two to three minutes), then add the sliced onion and capsicums. Sauté the onions until they turn transparent (three to four minutes).
Pour the prepared sauce into the pan and cook for 30 seconds over high heat. Toss in the cooked spaghetti to coat it. If the pasta is too dry, add a splash of the pasta water that was previously reserved. Cook for two to three minutes over medium-high heat.
On two warm plates, divide the spaghetti and top with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. Additional Tabasco, if desired.
Nasi pattaya (omelette fried rice)
Prep 15 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4
Pattaya City is located in Thailand, although this dish originated in Singapore and Malaysia. I first met it in Kuala Lumpur as a picky child who eagerly devoured this fried rice wrapped in an egg.
The easy, weeknight-friendly recipe nasi pattaya is a complete dinner for one. The traditional recipe calls for chicken cubes and frozen mixed vegetables, but you can add whatever you like. The rice is the main attraction, wrapped in a thin omelet and sprinkled with additional ketchup. Classic, well-balanced sauces such as Heinz or Fountain are excellent here.
For the fried rice
1½ tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, sliced thinly
2 tbsp sambal oelek
6 medium prawns, peeled, head removed, and deveined
200g chicken thigh, boneless and skinless, cut into small dice
100g carrot, finely diced
8 green beans, chopped
1 birdseye chili (optional), finely sliced
3 cups cold, cooked rice
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp soy sauce
White pepper
Salt to taste
For the omelet
5 eggs
½ tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp white pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Ketchup
In a wok or frying pan, heat 112 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallots to the pan and cook for one to two minutes. Add sambal oelek and cook for thirty seconds. Add the shrimp, cook them for 30 seconds, then remove them and set them aside. Add the chicken and cook for four to five minutes, or until it begins to brown, followed by the carrots, green beans, and birdseye chili. Add the rice and stir-fry it over high heat, breaking up any lumps with the back of a spatula as you go.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the ketchup, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper. Stir-fry over medium-high heat, then taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Set aside the rice while you prepare the omelet.
Whisk together the eggs, soy sauce, and white pepper in a bowl. In a nonstick frying pan, heat a little amount of vegetable oil and pour a quarter of the egg mixture into the pan. Swirl to produce a thin omelet and cook for 20 seconds while covered. Turn off the heat.
Fill a small bowl with fried rice to the brim and carefully invert it into the center of the omelet. The rice should form a nice tiny dome in the omelet’s center. Using a spatula, fold the omelet’s sides over the rice like an envelope. Place a serving dish on top of the cooking pan and invert the omelet immediately onto the plate.
To finish, drizzle additional ketchup over the top, then repeat with the remaining three servings.
