Food Recipes Sauces, Condiments and Preserves Jams Tamarind-Chile Jam 5.0 (1) 1 Review "Move over tomato ketchup, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise," says cookbook author and recipe developer Lara Lee. "There's a new condiment-that-goes-with-everything in town!" Meet Tamarind-Chile Jam, a one-pot wonder that is sweet, spicy, sour, sharp, tangy, and pungent all at once. Savory, funky fish sauce balances the fruity sourness of the tamarind, while long red chiles add a pleasantly strong piquancy to this thick and sticky jam. Its uses are endless; spread it on a sandwich, serve it alongside sausage rolls, dollop it over eggs, dunk sweet potato wedges into it, or use it as a condiment for meat, chicken, or fish. For those who are heat adverse, seed the chiles before adding them for a milder jam. Use a wide, deep saucepan for faster reduction time—be careful of splattering jam—and take the pot off the heat as soon as the jam has reduced to 1 1/2 cups; it will continue to thicken as it cools. By Lara Lee Lara Lee Londoner Lara Lee is an Indonesian-Australian chef, food writer, and co-founder of the events catering company Kiwi & Roo. The New York Times named her debut book Coconut & Sambal one of the best cookbooks of fall 2020. Lara contributes to The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food52, Food & Wine, The Guardian, and Waitrose, among others. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 2, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Active Time: 20 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 pound tomatoes (about 3 medium tomatoes), cored and quartered 3 to 4 fresh red chiles (about 2 ounces) (unseeded), stemmed and roughly chopped (about 1/3 cup) 1 ½ tablespoons roughly chopped peeled fresh ginger 4 medium garlic cloves, roughly chopped (about 4 teaspoons) 1 ¼ cups superfine sugar 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Tamarind Water (see Note), divided 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fish sauce 1 whole star anise, toasted Directions Pulse tomatoes, chiles, ginger, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped and well combined, about 8 pulses. Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan. Stir in sugar, 3 tablespoons tamarind water, vinegar, fish sauce, and star anise. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until jam is thickened and reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove mixture from heat; stir in remaining 1 teaspoon tamarind water. Let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Note Associated Recipe: Tamarind Water Make Ahead Store jam in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month. Originally appeared: May 2022 Rate It Print