Two Indispensable Shortcut Ingredients

While we all have it drilled into our collective culinary psyche that fresh is best when it comes to food, we know that going to great pains to obtain and make absolutely everything fresh and/or from scratch is a feat best left to professional chefs in professional kitchens with professional teams of underlings to do all the grunt work like grating fresh coconut flesh to make fresh coconut milk, or trimming and cooking artichokes to get to the heart just to grind it up for a sauce or dip.  While many home "chefs" try to make as much as possible from scratch and buy the freshest they can get, it can be pretty difficult and time consuming.  I know the last thing I want to do after a long day of work is making fresh coconut milk and pounding away at fresh, made-from-scratch Thai red curry paste.  I want Thai red curry, and I want it in less than an hour...and I don't want to have 3 hours of cleanup time afterwards.

I have made Thai curry paste from scratch before, and it's a fun weekend project that yields flavors that you'll never find in a can of pre-made curry paste.  The coconut milk I have yet to attempt...and I don't see myself attempting that task anytime soon.  When I want a quick Thai coconut milk curry, though, I just reach for a can of curry paste (or the tub I keep in the fridge), add some reconstituted coconut milk and voilà!  With the addition of some sliced chicken and vegetables, I have Thai curry!

Those who know me, know that there are certain things that I like to make from scratch regularly and I prefer to do that than to buy them ready-made at the store.  Yogurt is one of them.  If you get a yogurt maker, it's the easiest thing in the world and will cost you a fraction of what you pay for inferior stuff at the grocery.  Another thing I always do myself are spice blends.  When making South Asian curries, I almost always insist on roasting and grinding my own spices.  There are quite a few things, however, that I take shortcuts on.  For Biryanis, and many Pakistani dishes, I will use pre-packaged seasonings made by Shan.  Unless you worked at Moti Mahal in New Delhi for ten years, you will never get a biryani that tastes as good as one made with Shan masala packets.  I also use jarred ají amarillo and ají panca pastes instead of reconstituting and blending whole chiles for making Peruvian dishes.  I love to use frozen peas to add to dishes, as well as frozen broccoli florets.  Additionally, I keep a pouch of coconut milk powder for making sauces and curries (Thai brands like Chaokoh are packed with fresh coconut flavor and are infinitely better than any canned variety).  Furthermore, although I have a pasta machine and love to make fresh pasta, there are still boxes of dried pasta in our pantry.

There are a few shortcut ingredients that I think are indispensable to the home cook, and they may not be that well-known to many people.  They have saved me a lot of time, and have enabled me to make more elaborate dishes in less time...as well as saving on cleanup time, which is always great.

1. Ginger Paste
• There is nothing like the taste of fresh ginger, although peeling and grating a chunk of ginger root to find that you have to throw half of it out because it was more than what you needed (contrary to what people say, ginger root - once peeled - does not keep well) can be a pain sometimes.  Ginger paste is an essential ingredient for many, if not most, South Asian cooks.  The jars can be found at most Indian groceries and can keep in the refrigerator for months.  Nothing beats the ease of opening a jar and taking out a few spoonfuls to flavor a Korean barbecue marinade or to add into a curry or salad dressing.
2. Garlic Paste
• Better than the convenience of ginger paste, in my opinion, is the convenience of garlic paste.  I have used Indian garlic paste in the paste, but I found that the flavor lacked the pungency of fresh garlic - it had more of the sweetness of roasted garlic, and there flavors of the preservatives were really noticeable.  Why Indian garlic paste is acceptable for making South Asian curries, I've found that Peruvian garlic paste is actually more versatile.  I'd get a jar of this paste, which can be found in most well-stocked supermarkets, and use it for both Indian and other types of cuisines.  There is a bit of salt added as a preservative, but Peruvian garlic paste is the closest you'll get to pressing your own fresh garlic.  The best part is that there are no stinky fingers involved - just scoop out as much of it as you want and put it back in the fridge.  Like the ginger paste, the garlic paste can last in the refrigerator for months.

I've found myself using both of these shortcut ingredients so much that I rarely buy fresh ginger or garlic anymore.  I will admit that they do not replace the flavors and textures of fresh ginger and garlic, but for a quick alternative, they are the next best thing and are perfect for marinades, sauces, stir-fries, and curries.