What’s in your pantry?
Most of the stuff you’ll need – you’ll be able to find locally. Whether that’s at Target, Walmart, or your local supermarket – there is always a growing Asian ingredients section. Some of you may live in an area where there is an Asian supermarket – lucky you! And finally there’s always Amazon. But let’s get down to the list of what you’ll need. We’ll separate this out into what ‘need to haves’ and the ‘nice to haves’.
Misen Place
So what kind of seasonings should we have in our pantry? Well, as so many things A Taste of Home, I’m going to start with the basics and then highlight a few power ups.
Basics
Salt – I never use table salt. Buy something with a more course ground. I’ve used Himalayan, Sea, Solar, and Hawaiian salt – and they all taste great. I wish I had the right chefs talk – that salts other than table salt have a deeper and more expansive flavor profile over the shallow single dimensional table salt due to the blah blah blah. I really don’t know why – I just know that these other salts taste better!
Sugar – We always have your normal white sugar on hand. But I will often cook with brown sugar. Asians love to use their rock sugar in their saucing as well. Any of these will work!
Soy Sauce – I’ve used Chinese, Korean, and Japanese soy sauce – I’ve even used Walmart brand – and they are all great. They differ from one another, mostly in their saltiness. So just be aware – I’ve gotten into trouble when switching brands. What was normal for one type could be way too salty for another.
Vinegar – most common is your everyday white vinegar.
Oyster Sauce – a uniquely Asian sauce used in a lot of stir frying. Fortunately Oyster sauce has become more mainstream, and you should be able to find some at your local grocery store, Target, or Walmart.
Mirin – an important Japanese ingredient. Adds a ton. Fortunately Mirin has become more mainstream, and you should be able to find some at your local grocery store, Target, or Walmart.
Corn Starch – used as a thickener for sauces.
Neutral Cooking Oil – Canola, Olive (Not Extra Virgin), Avocado