Her book, Condiments is about flavours that have been harnessed and somehow tinned, poured into a bottle, or preserved in a jar.

"For more than a year I've been mixing and blending, boiling and roasting, canning and fermenting," she says.

"I've found sriracha on my ceiling after the explosion of an overly potent bottle. I've fought a war against an army of uniquely stubborn fruit flies in the heat of summer. And I've lovingly fed vinegar mothers like they were my own children. All this to find the best homemade condiments. This book is a love song to these flavourful accompaniments, and a crash course in making them yourself."

But why you should spend a bunch of time making your own condiments?

"Let me tell you: Your weeknight stir-fry will taste better with homemade oyster sauce, your burger will be more delicious with your own ketchup, your oysters will be that much fancier paired with hot sauce that you've fermented yourself. Store-bought condiments, especially for the Asian kitchen, tend to have a lot of additives. If you're no friend of MSG you have one more reason to make your own sauces and spice blends."

She says the recipes in the book have innumerable variations, and the original formulas are often top secret. Her recipes are interpretations of more or less well-known condiments, adapted to suit the home kitchen and using ingredients you can find in your local grocery store. Part of the fun of making your own condiments is that you're in charge of their flavour profile. These recipes should serve as a guide for your experiments in finding your own favourite combinations. If you like spicy food, use an extra-hot chilli variety in your hot sauce. If you prefer your ketchup on the sweeter side, add more sugar.

"Most recipes in this book are pretty straightforward. Some of them require a bit more time, and others ask for unusual ingredients. But what's great is that the cooking time tends to reflect shelf life - if you spend a long time making it, you can enjoy it for longer, too. Exactly how long is impossible to say, and I won't be able to give you any precise best before dates. You'll have to trust your own senses: Look, sniff, and taste. If it looks good and smells fine, it's generally safe to eat."

Toss chicken pieces with buttermilk and hot sauce and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for three hours to marinate.

Remove chicken from buttermilk marinade and drain slightly.

Combine flour, cornmeal and paprika in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil to 160C in a large saucepan (a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 30-35 seconds).

Coat chicken in the flour mix, shaking off any excess, and carefully place pieces in the oil in batches. Fry in batches for about 10-15 minutes, depending on what part of the chicken you're cooking until crisp, golden and cooked through (white meat should have an internal temperature of 65C, and bone-in pieces should have a temperature of 78C at the bone.

Drain on paper towel to soak up some of the oil.

Season chicken with salt and serve with mayonnaise and ssam barbecue sauce.

Blend chilli and vinegar until coarsely chopped and combined. Pour into sterilised jar and cover with muslin.

Leave at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for six weeks to ferment, removing any mould that forms.

After six weeks, transfer to a saucepan. Add one tablespoon of salt, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for three to four minutes.

Cool slightly, then transfer to a blender and blend until as smooth as possible. Pass through a muslin or fine sieve.

Pour into a sterilised bottle. If possible, let hot sauce sit for one to two weeks before serving. Hot sauce will keep for at least one year. It's best in the fridge.

Makes 600ml.

Combine all ingredients, except miso, in a saucepan with 2 1/2 tablespoons water and whisk until smooth. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for three to four minutes or until slightly thickened. Add miso, stirring until sauce is smooth.

Pour into a sterilised glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until needed. Keeps refrigerated for about three months.

Makes 200ml.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

Whisk egg yolks and Dijon mustard in a bowl until smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in oil until you've achieved a thick mayonnaise.

Whisk in vinegar, adjusting to taste and whisk in salt to taste. Mayonnaise keeps refrigerated for up to one month.

Makes 400ml.

Make sure all ingredients are room temperature. Combine egg, miso and vinegar in a tall jug. Blend with a hand-held blender until smooth, then still blending, slowly add oil until a thick mayonnaise. Blend in a little water to thin it out to your desired consistency and add salt to taste. Keeps refrigerated for up to one month.

Makes 400ml.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Whisk egg yolks, mustard and garlic paste in a bowl until smooth. Whisking continuously, slowly pour in canola oil, then the garlic oil until thick. Whisk in lemon juice and salt to taste. Keeps refrigerated for about two weeks.

Makes 300ml.

Combine all ingredients with 80ml water in a glass jar and leave in a cool, dark place for one week. Blend the mixture until it's as smooth as possible. Pass mustard through a fine-mesh sieve to remove all remaining pieces of seed. This makes the mustard truly smooth. Pour into a sterilised jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for about two weeks before serving. Keeps refrigerated for about six months.

Makes 100ml.

Combine all ingredients with 60ml water and a pinch of salt in a glass jar and let sit at room temperature overnight. Grind ingredients to a coarse-grained mustard with a mortar and pestle or a food processor. Pour into sterilised jars with tight-fitting lids. Let sit in a cool place for a week or so before serving. Keeps refrigerated for about six months.

Makes 400ml.

Blend all ingredients, except onions, with 150ml water in a food processor until almost smooth. Combine onion and tomato sauce in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, then continuously towards the end of cooking. Remove from heat once the consistency is slightly looser than regular ketchup; it will thicken as it cools. Add salt to taste. Strain through a wide-mesh sieve to remove onion and any larger pieces of spices. Pour into a sterilised bottle with a tight-fitting lid and store in the fridge. Keeps for about a month.

Makes 400ml.

Preheat oven to 100C. Place tomatoes on a baking tray, cut-side up. Dust with icing sugar, season with salt and pepper, then roast for about four hours until very soft. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, and 350ml water and simmer for 15 minutes until thickened. Cool slightly, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste. Pour into a sterilised bottle with a tight-fitting lid and store in a cool place. Keeps for one to two weeks.

Makes 400ml.