My Asian Ingredient Superheroes + Ingredient Cheat Sheet

40 ingredients for many dishes

2023 will soon come to a close and I’m extra grateful that you’ve joined me for the ride this year! I enjoy PTFS so much that my 2023 to do list got longer as we went along. One of the items was to offer you a list of my go-to ingredients for making Asian food. A paid subscriber suggested it months ago as a way for folks to know that they have all (or most of) the stuff for making recipes I write about.

My kitchen is embarrassingly packed with ingredients but I basically reach for the same ones on a day-to-day basis. When I develop recipes or write cookbooks, I’m sensitive to the fact that no one wants to hunt down an ingredient simply for one recipe. What a waste of time, money, and kitchen storage space!

We want multi-use superhero ingredients that are workhorses. Who has space for all the condiments on these shelves?

Below are roughly 40 ingredients that I most often use to cook with. The list may seem boring and some items are universal — which is the point. To craft beautiful, exciting food from a set of familiar, accessible ingredients is a cook’s dream.

Links below go to a buying guide for that ingredient.

Condiments, Oils, and Wine

1. Fish sauce

2. Soy sauce

3. Oyster sauce

4. Shaoxing rice wine

5. Maggi Seasoning Sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos

6. Hoisin sauce

7. Sichuan fermented chile bean sauce/paste (doubanjiang)

8. Vinegar (apple cider, unseasoned rice, distilled white, Chinkiang)

9. Hot Sauce (chile-garlic sauce, Thai sriracha, or Viet chile sauce) 

10. Neutral oil (canola, peanut, sunflower, or grapeseed)

11. Toasted sesame oil

Dried Vegetables

1. Shiitake

2. Seaweed (kombu, wakame, nori)

Fresh Produce

1. Ginger

2. Yellow onion

3. Green onion

4. Shallot

5. “C” veggies: Carrot, celery, cabbage and any other choi (Brassica) family members 

6. Cilantro

7. Lemongrass

8. Chile: Jalapeno or Fresno, Thai or serrano

9. Lettuce (soft leaf kind)

10. Limes

Canned

1. Coconut milk (full-fat)

Rice and Noodles

1. Rice (jasmine)

2. Rice paper 

3. Flat rice noodles (aka bánh phở, Chantaboon/Jantaboon rice sticks, pad Thai noodles) 

4. Glass noodles (miến, saifun, bean threads) 

5. Maifun (bún, rice vermicelli, rice sticks) 

6. Rice flour (stone-ground white or brown, Thai regular)

   
   

Salt and Spices

1. Fine sea salt

2. Black pepper

3. Chinese five-spice

4. Madras-style curry powder

5. Red chile pepper flakes

6. Sichuan peppercorn

7. Flavor enhancer: MSG or Asian mushroom seasoning granules

Other Essentials

1. Tofu (firm, extra-firm, super-firm)

2. Mayonnaise

3. Butter

4. Eggs

5. Miso (white)

6. Cornstarch

7. Sugar

8. All-purpose flour

Asian Ingredient Cheat Sheet

Because it can be darn confusing to decipher labels and choose ingredients, I created a 2-page downloadable PDF for you to keep on your phone or print out. It contains my brand suggestions plus other helpful shopping tips.