Pantry Basics: Chinese Essentials

For the second post in my Pantry Basics series, I decided to tackle Chinese ingredients. I very rarely cook classical Chinese dishes, but always keep most of these spices and sauces on hand to temper my multi-culti experiments. I’ve consulted my dear friend Betty Lew who compiled this list based on her mother’s extensive pantry and her own culinary repertoire. Betty cooks primarily Cantonese dishes at home and uses all these ingredients to maintain a true balance of flavours—salty, sweet, hot and sour.

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FRESH INGREDIENTS

Ginger, ground to a paste (I peel and grind large quantities at a time in a food processor, store a small amount in the fridge for current use, and freeze the rest in small containers for later use.)

Garlic

Scallion 

AROMATICS & SPICES

White Sesame

Dry Red Chilli

Dried Orange Peel

Star Anise

White Peppercorn

Szechuan Peppercorn

Five-Spice Powder (This is a combination of ground Cassia or Cinnamon Bark, Clove, Anise, Szechuan Peppercorn, Ginger.)

Dried Shrimp

Dried Scallop

Fermented Soy Bean

Dried Shitake Mushroom

Black Tea

STARCHES

Long-Grain Rice (like Jasmine Rice)

Glutenous Rice (like Sushi Rice)

Glutenous Rice Flour

Egg Noodle

Rice Noodle 

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SAUCES, PASTES & OILS

Fermented Bean Curd
Soy Sauce
Plum Sauce
Hoisin Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Hot Bean Sauce
Chilli Oil
Vegetable Oil
Peanut Oil
Toasted Sesame Oil (for flavouring only)

Pantry Basics: Essential Indian Spices

There are as many spices in the Indian kitchen as there are recipes. Some are rarely used beyond a special recipe or two, while others appear time and again in dishes from all over the subcontinent. For the beginner who is just starting to explore the cuisine, the basics will be enough for a head-start. All these spices are used whole and/or ground, depending on what the recipe calls for, so it is good to keep both kinds on hand.

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WHOLE

Cardamom
Cinnamon
Clove

Garam Masala (When cardamom, cinnamon and clove are combined in equal parts and used together, they are referred to as Garam Masala, or as I call it, the ‘holy trifecta.’)

Bay Leaves
Cumin
Coriander
Dry Red Chillis
Black Peppercorns
Black Mustard  

PAANCH PHORON

Paanch Phoron is a five-spice blend used extensively in Eastern India, especially in the cuisines of Bengal, Orissa and Assam. The five whole spices are blended in equal parts—Fenugreek seeds (methi), Nigella seeds (kalonji, or kaalo jirey), Fennel seeds (mouri), Carom (radhuni), Mustard seeds (shorshey). In my family, the fifth spice, mustard, is not used, but the blend is still referred to as “five spice.” I’m Bengali so paanch phoron is indispensible in my kitchen. But it’s not essential to most general Indian recipes.

GROUND

Garam Masala (cardamom, cinnamon and clove mixed in equal parts and ground finely to a powder.)
Turmeric
Chilli Powder
Cumin
Coriander

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FRESH INGREDIENTS

Ginger, ground to a paste (I peel and grind large quantities at a time in a food processor, store a small amount in the fridge for current use, and freeze the rest in small containers for later use.) 
Garlic, ground to a paste (see note above)
Onion
Green Chillis

OILS

Vegetable Oil (I prefer Canola)
Ghee (clarified butter)
Mustard Oil
Coconut Oil

I’ll do a separate post on the secondary and tertiary spices that add complexity and depth to recipes, but that I don’t use as frequently.

Fat Sister’s Pantry Basics

A lot of people ask me about the essential pantry items and cookware tools in my kitchen that I find indispensable, the things that I always have in stock and ready to use at any moment. So I’ve decided to start a series of posts called ‘Pantry Basics’ to address these questions and will break them up thematically, and by cuisine. Please look for the first Pantry Basics post tomorrow on Essential Indian Spices.