A few ingredients from Christina Arokiasamy's repertoire:

ANISE: Anise seeds are highly fragrant, 1/8 to 1/5 inch long, and have a fine short stalk attached to their greenish-brown, slightly crescent-shaped seeds. Although they look similar to cumin, you can tell the difference from the shape and licorice aroma. There are many ways to use anise seeds: Add 1/2 teaspoon of seeds to hot oil before adding vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini and potato to give dishes a delicious nutty and savory flavor. Mix anise seeds with cream cheese for dips or spreads or use them in dense bread doughs or in soups. Note that adding too much anise seed will make your dish bitter.

PANDAN: An aromatic member of the screwpine family, the pandan plant has light green oblong leaves and is commonly grown in backyard gardens in Southeast Asia. The flavor is aromatic and sweet and is as important to Asian cuisine as vanilla is to Western food. The pandan leaf is amazingly versatile. Throughout Southeast Asia, the leaf is tied into a knot and added to rice before cooking to provide a fragrance of newly harvested grain. The leaves also are pounded and the juice extracted to flavor and color cakes and sweet coconut puddings. Use it to wrap marinated chicken pieces before placing on the grill for a great taste. In America, you can buy pandan extract for desserts and fresh or frozen leaves at most Southeast Asian stores. Place the leaves in freezer bags and freeze for up to three months. The leaves thaw out quickly under running water.

SHRIMP PASTE: Fishermen in the straits of Malacca and on the island of Penang catch geragau, tiny shrimp, using a special fine net spread between two crossed stakes. When the nets are full, the tiny shrimp are rinsed in sea water and placed on stretched mats on the beach to dry. Once dried, the shrimp are mixed with salt and sun-dried again for eight hours. They are then crushed into a paste and dried on large wooden trays for two weeks. ... Shrimp paste is called belachan in Malaysia, trassi in Indonesia and kapi in Thailand and pairs well with chile dishes; its strong smell dissipates when it is mixed with other ingredients. Available in block form or in tubs, shrimp paste is naturally dark brown in color but you also may find it chemically dyed a deep pink. I always purchase the shrimp paste without the dye as the taste is far superior. ... It's important to note that when you purchase shrimp paste, it is raw and must be cooked in the recipe or toasted before use. To toast, spoon the shrimp paste on a doubled square of aluminum foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

©2008 The Spice Merchant's Daughter