Marinade
A seasoned liquid or paste in which meat or vegetables rest before cooking.
Also: spiced marinade, tandoori marinade, adobo, yakiniku tare
A marinade holds spices, salt, acid, fat and sometimes yoghurt, in which food rests from a few minutes to a day or more. Salt penetrates the food, helping it hold moisture. Acids such as lemon, vinegar or yoghurt soften the surface, though overlong exposure makes meat mushy. Oil carries fat-soluble spice flavours, and in a tandoori marinade, yoghurt with Kashmiri chilli, ginger, garlic and garam masala gives the red colour and tender texture. Mexican adobo, Jamaican jerk, Korean bulgogi and Indonesian satay each have their own. Marinating in the fridge keeps food safe, and a marinade used on raw meat should be boiled before serving as a sauce.