Everybody loves their food, and I'm pretty sure you guys have your own "secret sauce" when it comes to pairing the right food with the right condiment. It could be teriyaki sauce or parsley sprinkles. In your opinion, which condiment is under-mentioned / under-rated and could use more love?

I'm dedicating this post to my BCE - Best Condiments Ever. Of course, it's gonna be quite biased because I grew up with Chinese food! My favourites are:-

• XO sauce
• Fried shallots
• Tiny red dates

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XO sauce

Even the name resembles how people look like when XO enters their mouth. It goes pretty well with everything I get to eat around South East Asia. For best effect, pair the XO with steamed rice and noodles, only if you're up for some hot sauce. It's made of fried shrimp, scallops, shallots, garlic, chilli, and oil - here's how to prepare them. Getting the pre-made ones are fine too, if not better: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lee-Kum-Kee-Sauce-220/dp/B00FZH3KHS

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Fried shallots

Its Caramelised Crunchiness is a pleasure on the palate. Avoid those pre-fried shallots you find in supermarkets. Go for freshly fried ones instead. Great for just about anything with rice and noodle, soupy or not. But sometimes I tend to add too much of this that it no longer becomes a condiment. One example is with tofu. Easy preparation: get a block of tofu, add soy sauce, and finally sprinkle loads of these fried shallots. The tofu can be cold or steamed - check out this link. Another great pairing is with non-dairy congee or some would call, porridge.

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Tiny red dates

These berries-but-not-berries when torn apart, explode with seeds that are subtly sweet. They're heavenly and light on the tongue. Best served with soupy food, and indeed, it's one of the most common ingredients found in Chinese "clear" soups. I just think nobody talks about them often enough. Never found any instances of anyone being impressed by these wrinkly sacks of nature. Here's a great soup dish that uses red dates: http://www.justasdelish.com/lotus-root-soup/

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