Black Bean Paste (1)
3T soaked (1 hour) rinsed + drained fermented black beans, 2T oil, 2T minced garlic, 2T minced ginger, 2 chopped scallions, 1/2C chicken broth, 2T Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry), 1T gluten free tamari sauce, 1t sugar, 1/2t rice vinegar, 1t hot red pepper sauce, 1-1/2t cornstarch dissolved in 1T water
Mash soaked and drained fermented black beans with a fork and set aside. Heat oil in a small saucepan. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add green onions and cook for ~1 minute. Add the mashed beans and cook for another minute. Then add all remaining ingredients (not cornstarch). Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for ~10 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer until thickened. Let the sauce cool and store in an sealed glass container in fridge for ~2 weeks.
1T = 42c, 9.53k, 1.14p, 1.02f
Ginger Paste
1# peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger, 2T avocado oil, splash water
Combine ginger and oil in a blender, pulse until the mixture forms a paste. Add 1t of water if you have trouble grinding the ginger at first, keep adding water 1t at a time until it works. Store your ginger paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freeze teaspoon-sized servings in an ice cube tray for convenient measuring.
3/4t = 10c, 1k, 0p, 0f
Harissa Paste
4oz soft (not dried) chiles, 1t caraway seeds, 1t coriander seeds, 1t cumin seeds, 3 to 4 peeled garlic, 1t kosher salt, 2T extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 juiced lemon, 1t dried mint, 1t dried cilantro, 1T tomato paste, 1/4t cayenne, 1/2t paprika.
Toast the seeds then grind. Destem and deseed the chilies. Combine in blender, drizzling oil as pulsed until a paste is formed. Taste and adjust as needed. Place in sealed jar with oil on top to prevent oxidation.
4 servings: 160c, 21.4k, 3.4p, 8.6f
Poultry Paste
Fresh wash, dried, and cut rosemary, thyme and sage. Pulse in blender until they form mash of chopped herbs. Drizzle olive oil while pulsing until paste is formed. Add paste to a sealed glass container, with a drizzel of oil on top to cover the fresh herbs (prevents oxidation).
Red Curry Paste
1/2t ground coriander, 1t ground cumin, 1/2t ground black pepper, 1 deseeded + chopped red bell pepper, 2-4 de-stemmed medium red chilies, 1 trimmed + chopped lemongrass (peeled until just the soft core is used), 1T zested ginger, 1T zested galangal, 3 skinless garlic, 1T ground turmeric, 1/2t kosher salt, 3T lemon juice, 1 zested + juiced lime, 6 sliced green onions, 3T avocado oil, 1T maple syrup.
Combine in a blender and add additional oil if needed. Store in sealed glass jar in fridge ~ 2weeks.
1T = 15c, 2k, 1p, 1f
Tahini Paste
1C hulled and toasted sesame seeds, 3T extra virgin olive oil
Heat a cast iron skillet and add sesame seeds to toast. Stir frequently until they turn golden brown. Remove from skillet and let cool. Then pour into blender. Pulse drizzling in up to 3T oil until the seeds turn into a paste. Makes less than a Cup of paste depending upon the amount of oil. Store in sealed glass jar in fridge for ~2-3 months.
1T = 76c, 2k, 1p, 1f
Tomato Paste
10# pounds Roma or San Marzanos tomatoes, 2T olive oil, 2t kosher salt, 1/2t citric acid
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Chop tomatoes into quarters. Simmer the tomatoes with the olive oil until soft and the peels detach. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill to seperate pulp, seeds, and skins. Stir in the salt and citric acid into the pulp and compost the rest. Place the pulp on 2 parchment lined baking sheets until the pulp is reduced to a paste. Check every 30 minutes to make sure it is happening evenly At some point, both sheets will be reduced and can be combined onto one sheet.
Keep baking (this can take up to 4 hours all totaled). There should be no water or moisture in the sheet pan. Then transfer to sealed glass jars. Top each jar with oil to prevent oxidation and place in fridge (~4 weeks storage) , or put into ice cubes and then in a freezer baggie (~a year), or process as you would canning (~1 year storage).
Comment: I think making the quantities I need of tomato paste is too much work and just purchase tomato paste in tubes which are better for my use since I never use up a full can, no matter how small it is. Given how much I use, and how often, purchasing this is a better deal for me.
1T = 44c, 7.4k, 1.7p, 2.3f
Umami Paste (2)
1/4C Worcestershire, 3T gluten free tamari sauce, 2T finely ground dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms, 6oz tomato paste, 1/2C grated Parmesan, 1t fish sauce
Whisk everything together in a saucepan and heat to combine. Once it has cooked ~5min remove from heat and place in sealed glass jars. Keeps in fridge ~2 weeks.
That pistachio-green paste you get at regular Japanese restaurants, called Wasabi, is not wasabi but a combination of things including horseradish. I searched the web for a recipe to try and make the faux-Wasabi and could only find one, duplicated here.
2t freshly grated horseradish
1t of hot chinese mustard
Few drops of soy sauce
1 chopped anchovy
Green coloring
Combine in a food processor, place in a lidded glass jar and put in the fridge.
