Note: I'm not particularly attached to any brand of products. Usually we buy whatever is on sale and the items pictured are what I had on hand.
- Soy Sauce, the most ubiquitous of all Asian ingredients, is used to season soups and stir-frys. And of course for sushi.
- Memmi is a seasoned soy sauce used as a noodle soup base.
- Ponzu is soy sauce seasoned with citrus and is often poured over nigiri sushi.
- Rice wine vinegar is milder than American white vinegar. I use it primarily to add tang to dipping sauces and occasionally soups.
- Bottled sushi seasoning is my alternative to making vinegar-sugar seasoning for sushi rice.
- Mirin is a sweet, alcohol-based seasoning that I keep on hand for eggs fried for garnish and sushi (tamago). It is also often an ingredient in salad dressings.
- Dried anchovies are often used to make the base for Korean soups. These are the large anchovies that are fished out of the soup before serving. (They taste terrible and look even worse if it's not something you're used to seeing.)
- Bonito soup stock is the powdered version of bonito fish flakes. I like the powder because it dissolves completely, compared to fish flakes which have to be strained out. This particular brand has MSG in it, which I like because of the delicious flavor it imparts, but since many people avoid it, I don't serve it to guests.
- Dried seaweed, or Kombu in Japanese, is dropped in hot water along with the bonito fish flakes (or powder) to create a light, yummy broth. If you're making a vegetarian broth, try adding a small piece of this to add depth of flavor. This is also fished out before serving as it is somewhat tough.
- Kochoo Jang is a red pepper paste. (Kochoo means pepper, Jang means paste). We use it in a variety of foods, primarily soup and as a dipping sauce for lettuce and steamed vegetables. It tastes somewhat raw if you eat it out of the container so I like to add a touch of vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and sesame seeds to smooth the flavor out.
- Kochoo Kahroo is the Korean version of red pepper flakes and is made only from the fleshy part, no seeds. I like to sprinkle it on Korean soups, like I did in the Kalbi Tang photo.
- Deng Jang is soybean paste. We didn't have any true deng jang in the house at the moment so I am showing Japanese miso paste instead. They are very similar except that the Korean version is stronger in flavor.
- Sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds are added to bahn chahn, stir-frys, used as dips and dressings, and as the main ingredient in some desserts.
- Fish sauce is the quintessential ingredient in this cuisine. It is added to everything from soups to stir-frys to salad dressing and dipping sauces.
- Maggi seasoning, which tastes a lot like Bragg Liquid Aminos, is used in Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches. This stuff is very strong and you only need a few drops to add delicious flavor. I bought this giant bottle because it was the only size the store had at the time, but a small bottle would probably last most non-Vietnamese cooks a year or more.
- Sriracha hot sauce
- Tamarind paste is soaked in hot water and strained to add a sweet/sour zip to foods. I bought it to make Pad Thai and Mexican Snakebites, a fantastic drink that I make with ginger ale (instead of beer) on hot summer days.
Chinese Supplies
A while back I thought I'd try my hand at Chinese cooking. It was extremely time-consuming and the flavors didn't turn out quite right. I decided that this was not a cooking-style that I needed to master given that really good Chinese food is available up the street for cheaper than I can make it. But as a result, I also have hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and black soy sauce in my fridge.
The Tally
- The day's tally: $11 (My son and I had In-n-Out for lunch today)
- Total this week so far: $36
- Total this month, to date: $36
Many of these are familiar :-)
ReplyDelete* Ponzu is familar to sushi lovers as the thin light-brown sauce often put on salmon or mackerel. To me it seems more vinegar-y than soy-y(?). Yum.
* Did somebody say Mexican Snakebite? YUM!
One thing to watch out about soy sauce: the real stuff is actually brewed, but many restaurants give out packets of fake stuff that's really "hydrolyzed protein", and it's much more akin to the MSG than to soy sauce.
Those with MSG sensitivities should check carefully (if it says "Naturally brewed", it's probably the real stuff).