Matt Preston reveals 7 ways to spice up your pantry condiments

Tired of opening your cupboards to the same old condiments, oils and sauces? Matt Preston offers seven ingredients that will help expand your selection.

Matt Preston always looks for something new to add to his pantry.

There is nothing I like better than shuffling through all manner of delis and grocery stores to discover something new to play with in the kitchen.

The best of these finds then become staples, whether that’s dried Indian-style methi (fenugreek) leaves, which I sprinkle over roast meats or add to curries and stews; lap cheong Chinese sausage, which I fry up in anything that needs a sweet, porky hit; or Korean gochujang chilli paste, which I smear on steaks before roasting or use as a base for dressings and mayonnaise.

But there are some less-familiar pantry staples that might help you lift your meal game to another level.

Pick what you like, give them a go and, when you post your successes on social media, tag me so that I can marvel at your talent.

For more food, travel and lifestyle news, go to delicious.com.au

Tahini

Sure, we all probably know by now that one of the secrets of great hummus is good tahini. And when it’s mixed with just yoghurt and lemon juice, this sesame seed paste makes a great dressing for roast fish, chicken or pumpkin.

Make some hummus using tahini.

But there is more: try crudely mixing your tahini with honey or a date molasses for a sweet tea-time dip with bread, or make tahini cookies.

Alternatively, seek out zhi ma jiang, the Chinese paste made from a darker grind of roasted sesame seeds.

It’s wonderful mixed with soy sauce, a little vinegar (black or rice wine), and perhaps a little sesame oil or a dollop of peanut butter for increased depth of flavour.

Loosen this with a little stock and stir through cooked wheat noodles, for a take on the dish ma jiang mian, beloved in Taiwan and northern China.

Vinegars

It’s been about chardonnay and sherry vinegars over the past few years, but if you haven’t also got a bottle of the lighter rice wine vinegar around, you are missing out.

It’s great for pickling and for Japanese dressings. Then, splash out a (very) few dollars on a bottle of Chinese black vinegar (zhenjiang), not just for dumpling dipping, but also to add to Chinese braises.

Add some different oils and vinegars to your pantry. Picture: Supplied

Mint jelly

Sure, no lamb roast is complete without a dollop of this minty relish, but try bringing out some “swicy-ness” by mixing it with diced jalapeños to add a spicy punch to the sweetness.

Or melt some of the jelly down with lemon juice to glaze those lamb chops at the end of cooking on the barbecue, or use it as a dressing for homemade souvlaki or on pea and ricotta salad with fresh mint.

Pork skin

Recently, pork skins have been appearing in supermarkets, sold in packs. Foodies have been using them to help flavour their bubbling bolognese, while the number of air-fryer recipes for pork belly bites are on the rise.

We have to admit, we love eating pork for the golden crackling more than anything else, so let’s jump on this trend. Roast some pork skin so you get sheets of crackling that can be broken up to garnish prawn rolls, egg sandwiches and salads, or simply served as a decadent finger food, drizzled with a fresh red-chilli caramel that’s been hit with a little black vinegar.

The sweetness will kick against the richness of the crackle.

Kaiserfleisch can be stored in the fridge or freezer rather than the pantry. Picture: Sarah Marshall

Kaiserfleisch

This smoked German-style pork belly is like slab bacon – only better!

Cut it into chewy, meaty batons and fry them to elevate your next pasta carbonara; sprinkle on your red wine stew (or beef Bourguignon); or use it in a simple but delicious Lyonnaise salad with bitter leaves (such as frisée lettuce), warm vinaigrette and a soft-poached egg.

With a good amount of fat to go crispy when fried, kaiserfleisch is great tossed through roasted brussels sprouts or sprinkled over mash and sauerkraut for a simple, hearty supper.

Pumpkin seed oil

Loved in Croatia and Austria, this is a raw oil best used for finishing a dish rather than for cooking.

The colour is a wonderful dark green, so try it drizzled on a brilliant-orange pumpkin soup, over scrambled eggs topped with pepitas, pumpkin oil and goats cheese, or in a pumpkin seed pesto with pepitas instead of pine nuts and pumpkin seed oil replacing the olive oil.

Give some pumpkin seed oil a try. Picture: Bruce Long

Try this on penne or on steak with horseradish. You can even replace some of your grape seed oil with pumpkin seed oil in your next instant mayonnaise to make a verdant mayo that works well with slices of crumbed and fried pumpkin.

Doubanjiang

I see doubanjiang (sometimes labelled toban djan on supermarket shelves) getting an even greater workout in my kitchen than more familiar jars like hoisin, char siu, black bean and oyster sauce.

This fermented chilli-bean paste can be used as a part of your base for stir-fry dishes, in your own XO sauces or in braises.

Buy it to try in mapo tofu (the spicy Sichuan dish) or make my vegetarian take on it, which substitutes mince with lentils (pictured above).

There’s also a divine Sichuan pork and glass noodle soup by delicious.com.au food editor Lucy Nunes.

For more food, travel and lifestyle news, go to delicious.com.au

Originally published as Matt Preston reveals 7 ways to spice up your pantry condiments