Marinades, spices, and herbs, oh my.
I keep intending to do this and silly things like doctoral studies and Denmark keep distracting me. I think I’ll break down my favorite blends by geographical region. Notice I don’t include salt here, because in practice I put salt in fucking everything. Salt to taste, and do it slowly (you can always add more).
Sincere hat tip to my adopted international family for teaching me most of these. My biological family can’t cook for shit, and welp that’s what created the kitchen beast you see before you. All measures in ratios; I suggest pairing with melodic death metal.
Internet, are you ready to spice tornado?
Thai Curry Blend
We’ll start with Thai mum’s first lesson in Southeast Asian magic. This is lovely blended into anything requiring coconut milk (soups & curries etc), but could also flavor a biryani protein nicely. If pairing this with rice, I suggest tossing a bay leaf into the pot while it simmers down to compliment the flavor. Pictured above^.
3: Turmeric, ginger, cumin
2: Black pepper, coriander, chilli powder (or cayenne, and recall that my kitchen is a spicy one... feel free to spare your anus and reduce to 1)
Japanese Togarashi
Use this on grilled/roasted meat or veggies; makes a lovely marinade as well when combined with soy sauce (try blenderizing with fresh garlic/ginger, and perhaps a splash of toasted sesame oil). First encountered at an ESN (Erasmus Student Network) international dinner, and shamelessly exploited to impress colleagues from Hokkaido University. The proper thing to do is grind it all together, but I’m generally too lazy to be bothered. All roughly equal volumes in this one.
Garlic (fresh or powdered)
Ginger (also either fresh or powdered)
West African Suya Marinade
It’s made with fucking peanut butter (traditionally ground, roasted peanuts). I have substituted toasted almond meal to see how the ground nuts hold up against pre-made nut butter, and found I just need to blend with a bit more oil to make a sticky paste. I’m very much attached to living la vida low carbon emissions, but I just cannot imagine this on anything besides grilled beef. Pictured above^, blend into your jar of nut butter/ground (and lightly toasted) nuts:
2: Paprika & Onion powder
1: White pepper & cayenne
Optional drizzle of oil (enough to make a paste that will hold to your meat; my standard is olive, but I think the best suya I ever made was with toasted sesame oil).
Moroccan Ras el Hanout
Learned from Moroccan refugees in Athens, we used this on grilled fish and I pretty much died. Also Moroccan Arabic confused the fuck out of me; we had to talk foodie things in French, and this is a big spice mix. Once mixed, you can toss it in the blender with a few chillies, roasted bell pepper and tomato, caraway seeds, garlic cloves and olive oil for a quick (and niche flavored) harissa paste.
2: Cinnamon, coriander, allspice, nutmeg, turmeric, paprika
1: Black pepper, white pepper, cayenne, cloves, anise
Optional dash of mint (this was a source of fiery debate)
Tanzanian Pilau Mix
Blend this into freshly made rice with a splash of coconut milk, + bell pepper and toasted cashews. Also wonderful on chicken.
2: Ginger, garlic, coriander, cardamom
1: Black pepper, cinnamon, cloves
Optional pinch of turmeric (also a source of fiery debate, I think the idea is just to give the rice a brilliant yellow color; saffron does the same job with milder flavor).
Greek Garlic Herb Marinade
Incredible on chicken and any fish I’ve ever made. Super easy if you throw it all in a blender (using fresh garlic) but you can also use powdered garlic and enough olive oil to make a paste. Add some liquid (or don’t) to make a wicked salad dressing. Warm it up for lamb or moussaka by adding cinnamon + nutmeg and omitting the lemon. Pictured above^, blenderized. Special thanks to Greek mum, Eri.
A few full cloves of garlic
Equal volumes: oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram
Black pepper and lemon to taste
Enough olive oil to make a saucy paste
French Quatre Épices
Take your Herbes de Provence back to wine country; this one is for autumn vegetables, ground meat, soups, and ragoût de boulettes. Learned in Paris from some darling vegan leftists, we used this in a tomato-based veggie stew.
1: Ginger, nutmeg, cloves
Za’atar
Levantine topping for flatbread (mana’esh), salads, labneh, and basically anything. There are a few characteristic blends, and mine is generally considered green za’atar. Pictured above^ and learned from Syrian refugees in Greece.
3: Thyme (and try toasting it lightly)
Baharat
Literally means “spices” in Arabic; also called Arabic 7 spice. Probably my favorite blend ever for chicken, pork, and roasted vegetables. Pictured at the top of this post. Also learned from Syrian refugees, my blend is probably appropriately characteristic. You can find baharat all across the Arab world, and each locality (even small town) will have it’s own twist.
6: Allspice (yes there’s a lot of allspice here)
3: Black pepper, cinnamon
Pakistani Biryani Blend
Best on chicken and stir-fried veggies by my measure. This can also be blended with Greek yogurt for a bomb ass marinade or dipping sauce. Pakistani mum always scolded me for being too heavy-handed with the chilli; adjust heat to your surrogate mum’s rigorous standards. I suggest pairing with rice boiled with a few saffron threads, and maybe a bay leaf and extra dash of cumin.
3: Cumin, turmeric, chilli (or cut it with paprika you fairy)
2: Ginger, cloves, cardamom
1: Cinnamon & black pepper
Arabic Coffee Spice
Blend this with your coffee grounds; trust me.
Central American Chipotle
This is one firecracker marinade, dip, sauce, etc. It’s one I’ve neglected since my Mexican friend moved out of Joensuu, but it goes great with just about any protein, grilled or roasted. Pictured above during an evening of alcohol and merriment. Easy in the blender, but if you sub powdered garlic for fresh you could easily just blend with a bit of oil (+vinegar if you’re marinating meat) to make a paste. Blender recipe:
1: Black pepper & onion powder
Enough oil to make a paste
Louisiana Creole
The best fucking thing on fish. You can make this into a spectacular Caribbean jerk marinade by using fresh garlic and ginger, and combining in the blender with a fruit puree and/or brown sugar syrup. Another option is to use it in my remoulade sauce recipe here because this post is getting lengthy and I’m tired of typing.
3: Smoked paprika & onion powder
2: Garlic, oregano, basil, thyme
1: Scallion flakes, cayenne, white pepper
Optional warm it up with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon (or some wicked hot chilli peppers)
New York Buffalo Wing Blend
For gloriously crispy bomb-ass buffalo wings. I’ve actually taken to tossing things like savoy kale and cauliflower in coconut or olive oil and then sprinkling dousing them with this before roasting to sate my vegan buffalo cravings.
2: Cayenne pepper (spice weenies, cut with paprika)
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Last but not least. Also perfect in baked anything alongside apples, blueberries, or simple spice cake. Bonus round: cream cheese or mascarpone frosting (blend your soft cheese of choice with powdered sugar and a touch of vanilla).
Optional dash of cardamom
YOU ARE NOW A SPICE TORNADO.
And this post has taken me 2+ hours and 3 (rather large) cups of coffee. Go forth in the world and flavor it well.
