Padma Lakshmi Wants to Help Spice Up Your Life | GQ
You may think you know your way around a spice rack, but spend some time with Padma Lakshmi and you’ll soon realize there’s a lot to learn. The good news is that the Top Chef host and food writer is more than happy to share her vast reservoir of spice knowledge—from the complexities of chiles to the medicinal qualities of mint. In fact, she’s written an entire encyclopedia on the subject. That’s right, an encyclopedia, not a lightweight cookbook with “fun facts” about cumin. The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World, co-written with Judith Sutton, is a lush, deeply researched tome that practically exudes all the aromas and flavors you’d expect from a culinary reference book of this sort. “I knew that somebody should do this book,” Lakshmi says. “And I didn't want anyone else to do it. I don't know if it will really sell, but I want it to be dog-eared and splattered with food.”
Ask Lakshmi about any given ingredient, and she’ll present you with a laundry list of facts, colloquial names, common (and not so common) uses, along her favorite recipes to cook at home. Her passion for food and flavors is palpable, and her ability to describe the complexities of seemingly ordinary pantry staples—like peppercorns (“a mighty bead of heat”)—is enough to make your mouth water. “Spices are what a painter's box is to an artist,” she says. “You can make so many beautiful combinations.” So when she’s looking to whip up something on the fly, it has pack a punch. Here, Lakshmi talks us through her go-to: Balinese Fried Rice with Sesame Fried Eggs. It’s quick, easy, filling, and loaded with a murderer’s row of mouth-tingling flavors.