Sesame into a bar resembling peanut brittle and sold in stores and street corners. Sesame is a popular and essential ingredient in many Middle Eastern cuisines. Sesame seeds are made into a paste called "tahini" (used in various ways, including "hummus bi tahini") and the Middle Eastern confection "halvah". Ground and processed, the seed is also used in sweet confections. Sesame is also a common component of the Levantine spice mixture "za'atar", popular all throughout the Middle East. In South Asian, Middle Eastern, and East Asian cuisines, popular confectionery are made from sesame mixed with honey or syrup and roasted into
Shrimp paste "Then, I observed each dish of the native or European, those that I have consumed since my arrival in the East contains this; the essence of that rotten stuff that has been used as a spice." Shrimp paste may vary in appearance from pale liquid sauces to solid chocolate-colored blocks. Shrimp paste produced in Hong Kong and Vietnam is typically a light pinkish gray; while the type used for Burmese, Lao, Cambodian, Thai and Indonesian cooking is darker brown. While all shrimp paste has a pungent aroma, the scent of higher grade shrimp paste is generally milder. Markets near villages