Portugal
SEASONINGS
Portuguese seasoning traditions share many herbs with their Mediterranean neighbors. Portugal stands out in Southern Europe for its extensive use of cilantro, using it in countless traditional dishes. Parsley also dominates the herbal profile, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg enhance pastries, while pepper, bay leaves, cumin, and paprika add distinctiveness to savory dishes. Onions, garlic, and tomatoes form the aromatic base, complemented by olive oil, butter, and grape-based wine vinegar.
SAUCES
While Portuguese cuisine is not known for being spice-hot, it has a unique fiery signature sauce unmatched in southern Mediterranean cooking: PIRI-PIRI (or PERI-PERI). The key ingredient, the spicy chillied travelled a long way to settle in southern Portuguese cuisine. The original chilli comes from the Americas, but it was not immediately adopted by the Portuguese. They carried chilli plants to their African colonies, mainly Mozambique and Angola, where the plants thrived and the African bird’s-eye variety developed. Portuguese settlers and local African cooks began mixing these chillies with garlic, lemon, oil and salt. The sauce later made its way back to Portugal and became part of Portuguese cuisine. The sauce is paired with flame-grilled chicken (frango piri-piri), seafood, rice, and vegetable dishes.
MOLHO VERDE – A green sauce with olive oil, garlic, parsley, and vinegar or lemon juice, commonly served with grilled fish.
VINHA D’ALHOS – A marinade-like sauce of wine vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and paprika used for pork and other meats.
ALHADA – A garlic-olive oil emulsion sometimes enhanced with cilantro, used particularly with shellfish dishes like amêijoas à Bulhão Pato.
MOLHO DE VILÃO – a traditional sauce from the Azores, made of garlic, onions, olive oil, paprika, vinegar, and sometimes white wine. A tangy sauce paired with grilled meats, particularly pork, gives a rich, smoky flavor.
REFOGADO – Not strictly a sauce but a flavor base of sautéed onions, garlic, bay leaf, olive oil, and sometimes tomatoes that starts many Portuguese dishes.
Japan
SEASONINGS AND SAUCES
The concept of umami, often called the fifth taste, is central to Japanese cooking. This depth comes from ingredients like kombu seaweed, bonito flakes, miso, and aged soy sauce, dashi. The pursuit of umami represents the Japanese mastery of extracting maximum flavor from minimal ingredients, creating layers of taste that satisfy. Rather than creating complex spice blends or heavily seasoned dishes, Japanese cooking emphasizes subtle enhancement and natural flavors. This delicacy is enhanced by the frequent use of pickled condiments, such as pickled ginger or radish.
Traditional cuisine uses relatively few dried spices – mainly togarashi (chili pepper blends), sansho pepper, and sesame seeds. Even when spices are used, they’re applied sparingly. When Japanese cuisine does use aromatics, it favors fresh ones like ginger, wasabi, shiso, and scallions over dried ones.
Japanese cuisine relies more heavily on liquid seasonings, fermented pastes, and condiments than on dried herbs and spices, which sets it apart from many other culinary traditions.
SOY SAUCE – is a fundamental liquid seasoning that provides umami depth to countless dishes. Japanese soy sauce is generally refined and light in color.
MISO – beyond soup, this fermented paste serves as a base for glazes, marinades, and dressings, adding complex fermented flavors.
DASHI – while not exactly a condiment, this foundational broth (made from kombu seaweed and bonito flakes) forms the umami backbone of Japanese cooking.
WASABI – fresh grated wasabi provides clean, sharp heat that complements sushi and sashimi
MIRIN – sweet and subtle wine, made of glutinous rice. It adds depth and roundness to dishes, sweetening without a flat taste.
