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Asian Cooking Staples

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  • 30-03-2015 3:41pm
    #1
    Tea-a-Maria
    Registered Users Posts: 733 ✭✭✭


    I'm looking to cook more Asian food (Thai and Chinese mostly, I'm not an Indian fan) and I plan on going to an Asian supermarket to stock up on staples. It's a bit of a trek, so I want to make sure I have all the basics. I'm not looking for perishables, but more the key sauces, pastes and the like you should have in your cupboard. So far I have the following on my list:

    Soy sauce
    Oyster Sauce
    Thai fish sauce
    Mirin
    Tamarind paste

    What else would you recommend? Thanks in advance.


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    #2
    Uncle_moe
    Registered Users Posts: 768 ✭✭✭Uncle_moe


    Shaoxing wine
    Hoisin Sauce
    MSG
    Whole Star Anise
    Jasmin Rice
    Glutinous Rice
    Sesame seeds
    Shrimp paste


    Japanse
    Pickled Ginger
    Udon Noodles
    Soba Noodles
    Bonito Flakes
    Kewpie Mayo
    Yuzu Juice
    Miso (Light and dark)
    Wasabi paste


    The list is endless but these are a good start I think. I'm sure I forgot loads of staples though


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    #3
    the beer revolu
    Registered Users Posts: 16,790 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    Preserved black beans.


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    #4
    homemadecider
    Registered Users Posts: 1,858 ✭✭✭homemadecider


    rice noodles
    light soy sauce
    fresh ginger root (peel it and freeze it in 1-inch chunks)
    palm sugar
    rice wine vinegar
    chinese five spice powder

    also get a couple of those nice chinese porcelain spoons, everything tastes better off them!


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    #5
    Minder
    Registered Users Posts: 2,774 ✭✭✭Minder


    Kecap manis
    Sriracha chilli sauce
    Chinchiang black vinegar
    Hoisin sauce
    Shrimp paste
    Toasted sesame oil
    Fish sauce - Thai or Vietnamese if you can get it
    Chilli paste - Lao Gan Ma
    Chilli bean paste
    Garlic and chilli bean paste


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    #6
    Tea-a-Maria
    Registered Users Posts: 733 ✭✭✭Tea-a-Maria


    There are a lot more Asian cooking staples than I thought :o Keep them coming!


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    #7
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,373 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    Tea-a-Maria wrote: »
    There are a lot more Asian cooking staples than I thought :o Keep them coming!
    You might need a vote/poll or people to list in order of most important first.

    Mine were mostly already mentioned,

    soy sauce (pretty obvious)
    ginger & garlic puree, or both separate.
    hoisin sauce,
    sesame oil
    star anise,
    potato starch for thickening


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    #8
    Mellor
    Registered Users Posts: 39,098 ✭✭✭✭Mellor


    Tea-a-Maria wrote: »
    There are a lot more Asian cooking staples than I thought :o Keep them coming!

    There's a lot of cuisines, so there's lot of staples. But no cuisine uses the all.
    There's no point buying everything listed if you aren't going to use them. Find you initial recipes and get what you need, add to it as required.


    FWIW, the staples I currently have are;
    Sticky Rice
    Coconut milk
    Curry paste
    palm sugar
    Shrimp paste
    Sriracha
    Kewpie/Japanese Mayo
    Pickled Ginger
    rice wine vinegar


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    #9
    El_Duderino 09
    Registered Users Posts: 20,008 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    Exactly what Mellor said. Pick 5 recipes that you actually want to cook and get what you need for them. Otherwise you'll spend a small fortune and never use half of it.


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    #10
    Laranian
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭Laranian


    Tea-a-Maria! I must tell you that you should also try Indian and pakistani food. It is one of the most popular and delious food, i ever tated. Indian and pakustabni food are my most favroite perosnlly, They have very different sort of dishes, and spices. I always love top eat to Indian and Pakistani resturants where i visit to any of a new place.


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    #11
    clever user name
    Registered Users Posts: 537 ✭✭✭clever user name


    Chinese food:

    Shaoxing rice wine
    Rice wine vinegar
    Chill bean paste
    Msg
    Oyster sauce
    Soy sauce (light and dark)
    5 spice
    Star anise
    Dried chilies
    Fermented black beans

    That is pretty much all you will need!!

    Maybe some of the premade and shaped dough if you want to make dumplings, really handy!!


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    #12
    Cakeboyee20
    Registered Users Posts: 21 ✭Cakeboyee20


    Try and stay away from MSG, heard bad things about this, but i suppose like anything, good things are usally bad for you.


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    #13
    Faith
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,655 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Cakeboyee20 wrote: »
    Try and stay away from MSG, heard bad things about this, but i suppose like anything, good things are usally bad for you.

    The claims around MSG have all been debunked. It's no more problematic than normal table salt.


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    #14
    homemadecider
    Registered Users Posts: 1,858 ✭✭✭homemadecider


    Cakeboyee20 wrote: »
    Try and stay away from MSG, heard bad things about this, but i suppose like anything, good things are usally bad for you.

    MSG is a naturally-ocurring amino acid in seaweed that is used as a flavour enhancer. There's nothing sinister or unhealthy about it.


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    #15
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,373 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    MSG goes under many different names, so if a place says "MSG free" it might well be free of the pure chemical version but might have something else which is essentially the same.

    Its like cereal companies list ingredients like "malt extract, sugar, honey, maltose, glucose, glucose syrup, dextrose" -all forms of sugar.

    Some Italian food is naturally high in MSG. I liked a study where they made MSG free Chinese food and many said they got "MSG symptoms" from it.

    Also some treat it like its some brand new headshop sinister drug that should be outlawed -meanwhile their grannies have been using knorr aromat (loaded with MSG) for 50 years and they probably suffered no ill effects whenever eating her food.


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    #16
    Minder
    Registered Users Posts: 2,774 ✭✭✭Minder


    http://luckypeach.com/the-mother-sauces-of-thailand/

    David Chang's Lucky Peach have a short article on the Mother Sauces of Thailand.


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