Sour, spicy or savoury – and whether in sauce, sambal or seasoning form – every chef has a favourite condiment that adds that special something to a dish.
Some love the long savoury notes of a good chilli oil; others seek the sharp bite of a strong mustard – ideally one that “wallops you between the eyes”. One condiment is so loved, the chef’s partner sneaks it into movie theatres.
Whether store-bought or homemade, these are the favourite condiments of 10 Australian chefs and cooks.
Dan Hong: kombu tsuyu
Kombu tsuyu is a Japanese blended soy sauce infused with kombu and bonito, but it’s sweeter and less salty than regular soy sauce. [Chef] Chase Kojima introduced me; he said it was good on everything – and wow, he was right.
I use the Yamasa brand. It’s so versatile. It’s a base for noodles with shallot oil, dressings with vinegar and yuzu oil, to season chicken broth or bone broth. It can fix mistakes – if you add too much water to instant noodles, kombu tsuyu brings back the complexity. My kids love it with rice plus sesame oil and seaweed. They call it “tasty rice”.
– Dan Hong is the host of The Streets Hong Kong, streaming on SBS on Demand; and executive chef at Mr Wong, Queen Chow, The Establishment and Mumu in Sydney.
Karen Martini: yuzu kosho
I’m experimenting with making yuzu kosho, a Japanese paste made from equal parts yuzu zest and chilli plus 18% to 20% salt. The citrus oil makes it so fragrant and totally addictive. It started during this fleeting moment when fresh yuzu was available in Melbourne; I made a yuzu, mandarin and red chilli version, and since then I’ve done a lot of variations with other citrus.
It’s so potent, traditionally served in a tiny amount with fatty, rich meat or sashimi. You add it at the end of cooking. I’ve done it with roast duck and grilled seafood and recently I put it in cabbage quickly stir-fried in bacon fat.
But for a store-bought option, I quite like Japaice red yuzu kosho.
– Karen Martini is a cookbook author, TV presenter and culinary director at restaurant Saint George in Melbourne.
Alejandro Huerta: Valentina salsa picante
In Mexico, Valentina hot sauce is everywhere. It’s spicy and acidic, made from vinegar, garlic and chillies. When I was a kid, I’d have a little container in my lunchbox to eat with jicama or cucumber. It’s on the table at every restaurant, and when you go to the cinema, you have butter and Valentina sauce for popcorn.
In Australia I go to the cinema every week and I’ve really missed that flavour combination, so my wife carries a bottle of Valentina in her bag to put on our popcorn.
– Alejandro Huerta is the head chef and co-owner of wine bar Comedor in Sydney.
Stephanie Feher: Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow chilli oil
A good chilli oil is in everyone’s arsenal, but I like Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow because it’s not too in-your-face and it goes with everything. The ingredients are basic: soya beans, garlic, chilli peppers, sugar, sesame seeds and MSG, which is the best. More than the versions with cumin or ginger or extra heat, this one is versatile and true to the essence of the chilli.
I had it with hot pot yesterday, I put it on pizza or in dumpling dipping sauce, in dressings, and it’s also good with burrata or anything creamy.
– Stephanie Feher is a home cook and creator of the Lucky Dragon Supper Club on Instagram.
Neil Perry: horseradish cream
Whether it’s at Margaret or at home, I love to put horseradish cream on my steak. It gives a little bit of heat and creaminess, which are really supportive of the flavour profile of dry-aged steak. They go well with the meatiness without being overwhelming. I find things like barbecue sauce and mustard too dominant; horseradish has a beautiful, muted flavour with a good warmth.
To make the condiment, I grate fresh horseradish and mix with mayonnaise and whipping cream. Even though the cream has a nice softening effect on the heat, fat molecules also carry flavour, so the horseradish is amplified.
– Neil Perry is the chef-owner of restaurant Margaret in Sydney.
George Woodyard: sambal oelek
The flavour profile at Bart Jr isn’t south-east Asian, but sambal oelek is the condiment we use the most. It’s an Indonesian chilli paste with this delicious, fermenty vibe. The menu changes every month, but the mainstay dishes – anchovy toast and bloody mary butter with focaccia – both incorporate sambal oelek.
We combine the Castle Brand sambal oelek chilli paste with our own fermented chilli to make this beautiful, fluorescent orange mixture with vinegary, smoky notes. At home I use bloody mary butter on grilled seafood: prawns, calamari, fish or a big spoonful on pippies or clams.
– George Woodyard is the head chef and co-owner of Bart Jr, a wine and cocktail bar in Sydney.
Will Mahusay: balsamic vinegar
In a Filipino pantry you have multiple vinegars – coconut, cane, white and then the regional vinegars – but one of my favourites is balsamic. It must be from Modena, of course; even the Mazzetti brand I get from a major supermarket is nice. The sweet flavour profile makes it more versatile. For example, if you’re making a sawsawan (Filipino vinegar dipping sauce for meat), the core ingredients are vinegar, soy and sugar, but balsamic already has sweet and sour included.
I have sawsawan with roast or grilled pork, and barbecue chicken. The sourness cuts through the fat and the balsamic brings sweetness that balances the umami and saltiness of the meat.
– Will Mahusay is the chef-owner of Filipino restaurants Sydney Cebu Lechon and Mesa in Sydney.
Huss Rachid: hot sauce
I love putting chilli oil on my food, but my favourite condiment is hot sauce. I think it’s so underrated. It’s got a great acidity and heat that chilli oil doesn’t have. I eat it on oysters, sardines and sandwiches, and it breaks up the richness of buttery eggs.
My favourite dish at home is toast with sardines. I drench a piece of sourdough in heaps of butter, add sardines and hot sauce.
At our cafes there’s a bottle of The Fermentalists Everyday Red Hotsauce on every table and we also make our own with vinegar, brown onions, chillies and butter, which is important for a velvety texture.
– Huss Rachid is the co-owner of Self-Raised Bread Shoppe, a sandwich shop and bakery in Sydney.
O Tama Carey: pol sambol
Our fridge is condiments galore, that’s pretty much all we have. Apart from chilli crisp oil, pol sambol is my favourite.
It’s a fresh condiment made from freshly grated coconut, maldive fish, chilli, paprika, lots of black pepper and lime juice. If you look beyond the ingredients that are specific to Sri Lanka and think about the flavour profile, it’s very balanced. It’s got heat, umami and smokiness from the maldive fish, sweetness from the coconut and tanginess from the lime. It’s extremely adaptable.
We’d have pol sambol as a side for most Sri Lankan food, but it’s also delicious with poached eggs on toast or cheese on toast. It goes well with a nice piece of roasted fish, or you can make watercress salad and dress it with pol sambol and olive oil.
– O Tama Carey is the chef and owner of Sri Lankan restaurant Lankan Filling Station in Sydney.
James Partington: strong English mustard
I love a proper strong English mustard that wallops you between the eyes. The minute you lift the lid, you get a hit to the back of the nose. As I kid I watched my parents spooning it out of a mystical yellow Colman’s jar in the fridge, but I didn’t develop a taste for it until I was older. I first had it on a ham sandwich and it just popped. It’s beautiful with roast beef and yorkshire pudding.
I grew up in Yorkshire in a farming village. All around were arable fields filled with yellow mustard seed flowers. I don’t have English mustard every day, but when I do, it transports me back there.
– James Partington owns Staple Bread & Necessities in Sydney.
