Pesto where it is known as "pistou". In contrast with "pesto alla genovese", "pistou" is generally made with olive oil, basil and garlic only: while cheese may be added, usually no nuts are included in a traditional "pistou" because no pine trees grow there to provide the nuts. "Pistou" is used in the typical "soupe au pistou", a hearty vegetable soup with "pistou" flavour. The sauce did not originally contain basil, however; instead, cheese and olive oil were the main constituents. Sometimes almonds are used instead of pine nuts, and sometimes mint leaves are mixed in with the basil leaves. It
Mala sauce ingredients are simmered with beef tallow and vegetable oil for many hours, and packed into a jar. Other herbs and spices, such as sand ginger, "Angelica" "dahurica" and poppy seeds, can be added to create a unique flavour. Traditionally, a restaurant hired a chef specializing in making this sauce; the recipes were kept secret to the chef himself. Today, prepared mala sauce can easily be found in supermarkets, and chain restaurants often produce their own sauce on a large scale, while many others still blend their own one. Like curry, there is a constant debate about the 'best' recipe and