Among meats, lamb is of much more importance than in any other continental European cuisine. The manner of preparation of lamb is decisively different from the only other European cuisine consuming much lamb, the British. There is no such thing as mint sauce in Spanish cooking. Garlic is one of the most important condiments in Spanish cooking. A very delicious garlic dish is gambas al ajillo , shrimp with garlic fried in oil or butter.
Spanish cuisine has a few standard procedures to prepare meats.
An emphasis in Spanish cooking has always been on seafood considering the location of the country but today with the Mediterranean becoming fished out and more and more polluted Thailand is perhaps a better place to sample Spanish seafood than Spain herself. Thai waters are still exceptionally rich in fish as well as in shrimp, shell fish and other seafood. One of the most famous Spanish seafood dishes is zarzuela de mariscos , a seafood stew. To Spanish sauces , for meats as well as for fish, a dash of wine is generally added. Most commonly it is Sherry , a very typical Spanish white wine that is aged 5 to 25 years before consumed.