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Condiments are everyone’s favourite and rightfully so. No oven-grilled chicken or barbecued splendors are ever complete without side sauces. Sure, store-bought bottles are the most convenient but have you ever thought of simply whipping up your own condiments? Below are some standard sauces that can be made with simple ingredients.
# 1 : Tomato Sauce
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You’d need about 3 kilograms of tomatoes, ¾ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 garlic clove cut into half, 1 basil leaf and 1 bay leaf.
Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out seeds. Press said tomatoes into a grater to expel the flesh. This would give you about 4 cups of tomato pulp.
Put the pulp into a saucepan over high heat and add the ingredients in. Bring the sauce to a boil then lower heat. In 10 to 15 minutes, the portion would have reduced into half, leaving you with medium-thick sauce.
You may leave the tomatoes refrigerated up to 5 days.
# 2 : Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients needed are 2 egg yolks, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of melted salted butter and Cayenne pepper.
In a microwaveable bowl, add the yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper and beat until smooth.
Once this is done, whisk in the melted butter and pop in microwave for about 15 to 20 seconds and voilà! A delicious and creamy sauce, ready to be drizzled over your Eggs Benedict.
# 3 : Mayonnaise
All you need is one egg yolk (room temperature), salt, some lemon juice, half a teaspoon of Dijon Mustard, which can be purchased at any Village Grocer or Cold Storage grocery store, and a ¾ cup of vegetable oil.
Put the yolk and salt in a blender and pulse briefly to combine. Then, add lemon juice and mustard – let it blend well. With the motor still running, add oil drop by drop. Make sure not to rush this or the mayo will break.
Once done, taste and add more salt or lemon juice for taste. The end-product can be kept in the fridge for 5 days.
# 4 : Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
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This one is for those who absolutely love the extra heat. It’s as easy as mixing chili or garlic into a tiny saucer (like we always do in Chinese coffee shops), but the Thai chili sauce packs a little bit more of a punch just using 4 simple ingredients – garlic, soy sauce, lime and red chili peppers and blend away in a food processor. Fuse and be amused!
# 5 : Salsa Dip
Whipping this up will take you no more than 5 minutes! All you need is 2 tomatoes, half a cup of chopped cilantro, 1 small chopped onion, 1 clove of minced garlic, the juice from half a lime, some cumin, salt and sugar.
Once again, just place all ingredients in a food processor and blend to perfection. A perfect alternative for all you Nacho-loving people out there!