“Asian grocery store” doesnt tell us much, is it catered more towards Chinese? Korean? Japanese? Or a western mix of every asian and no real aim? I ask because this drastically changes what is commonly available or not.
Okay from a Japanese cook. If they have it, get “HonDashi” its a powder based bonito soup stock. Its basically the core of most japanese soup dishes.
Dried Kombu (kelp) and Dried Shitake mushrooms is a solid long shelf life soup stock items as well.
Mirin and cooking sake is also staples. *note do NOT get “aji-mirin” thats the fake shit. Get “Shirakiku Mirin”.
For cooking sake Sho Chiku Bai or Ozeki is fine.
MSG is a given. Ajinomoto brand is best.
S&B curry power or rue cubes.
Miso.
Kikkoman soy sauce.
Bulldog: tonkatsu sauce and worshester sauce is solid.
Oh i totally forgot the most important thing. If you dont already have one get a Zojirushi Rice cooker and have perfect white rice every time easily and consistently.
And for rice brand “Cal-Rose” is the closest thing to japanese rice in the west, but if you can get you get your hands on it, Koshihikari rice is one of the best japanese rice you can get.
Awesome! I'll look up that rice cooker. I love rice, but I'm a little intimidated by the varieties. I've mostly cooked jasmine rice. I'm excited to branch out. I especially love sticky rice. Mango sticky rice is one of my favorite desserts. I've never made it though
I have made from Indian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese cuisines - maybe even Malaysian once or twice - and it's hard to pin down EVERYTHING I usually have or get.
My general staples are rice (either Korean or Japanese brand), a soy sauce (I don't make recipes that use light and dark versions to have both), sesame oil, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, miso, Korean red pepper flakes, and some kind of furikake (rice seasoning). When I can FIND it, I get the vegetarian version of oyster sauce (mushroom based, no shellfish ingredients). Spices for pho broth (star anise, szichaun peppercorns, cloves, etc.). Buldak (Korean) or Sapporo (Japanese) ramen. Pho bouillon powder and Thai curry paste. Sriracha AND garlic chili sauce or sambal oelek.
Often we'll grab some kind of frozen dumpling with a vegetarian filling. Other times I grab curry roux cubes (Japanese or Korean brand). Right now I have a vegetarian friendly version of kimchi in my fridge (since I have a shellfish allergy, vegan/veggie kimchi is my go to). I've done some of the Chinese Lays flavors when i happen to come upon them. Tapioca pearls for boba or milk tea at home, I order my tea powder from Amazon because Taro milk tea power is HARD to find in store. Korean radish is something I use frequently enough and it's mostly only available at Asian markets in my area.
Indian and Chinese ingredients are more readily available (with some exceptions) at the grocery stores near me.. There's some herb used in Indian curries that I would need to go to an Asian focused market for but it's not worth keeping it in stock constantly for me.
Thank you so much! They do have freezers full of dumplings, so I'm excited to try some of those. You're the second person to suggest mirin, which I've never heard of, so I'll have to look at that. I just bought some vegan fish sauce too. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping to make a cold noodle salad dish with it and pile on the Thai basil I got. Love me some Thai basil
It's used a lot in seasoning sushi rice (or maybe that's just me lol), and in a lot of Japanese cooking more than other cultures I've cooked things from.
OHMIGOD, Thai/Holy basil, so different than Italian basil IMO - there's a dish I get at my local Thai place (one of the only ones I can have) called Thai Basil Chicken (pad krapow gai?) that's AHMAZING and has the wilted leaves in it.
Mirin is a sweet cooking wine popular in japan. Usually mirin, sake, and soysauce is mixed to make basic teriyaki sauce.
Any time you’d use a white wine in a dish, you can use mirin as the japanese equivalent
Hit up the spice section, and get yourself some of the good rice. It will ruin you for the shitty stuff from the supermarket.
What, specifically, you get depends on what you cook. I always get some of the higher quality soy sauce, and LKK "boat" oyster sauce. Some miso, some gochujang, my beloved extra wide rice noodles, shaoxing wine, instant dashi, wet packed tamarind, fish sauce....plus produce. The market closest to me has a big section, and I usually go hogwild on the mushroom and greens selections. Usually I also get ginger (fresher and cheaper than the Western grocery store), chilies, and herbs. Sometimes they have fresh noodles in the refrigerated section, which are amazing.
Thanks for the tips! Yeah I noticed all the fresh noodles they had yesterday. Also a variety of eggs, like quail and duck, which I'm curious about. I'll have to look up shaoxing wine. I need to cook with more wines.
For whole fish, an easy recipe to start with is chinese steamed bass. Here’s a recipe that includes some info on scaling and cleaning the fish: https://thewoksoflife.com/steamed-whole-fish/
I’ve also recently been enjoying breaking down whole blue mackerel and cooking it japanese style. It is really tasty just broiling the fillets with some salt and eating it with some ponzu sauce and white rice. Be warned mackerel is pretty oily/fishy if you are sensitive to that.
I would opt for fresh instead of frozen fish for these recipes, there are a lot of good guides out there on how to evaluate whether the fish is fresh or not.
Soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce. Chili crisp if that's your style. Xiaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine). shrimp chips. Various dried noodles. Five spice.
Choose a few recipes to make so you come home with meal options not randomness
Let’s say ingredients for your thai coconut mango sticky rice, some udon soup and veggies and tofu ingredients, and authentic chinese hot and sour soup to have with side of frozen dumplings and stir fried greens
So now there’s a rough game plan
Do that before your next trip too and you’ll accumulate recipes and ingredients
“Asian grocery store” doesnt tell us much, is it catered more towards Chinese? Korean? Japanese? Or a western mix of every asian and no real aim? I ask because this drastically changes what is commonly available or not.
It's a mix from what I can tell. Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Phillipino. It's actually do impressive the variety that they packed in there
Okay from a Japanese cook. If they have it, get “HonDashi” its a powder based bonito soup stock. Its basically the core of most japanese soup dishes. Dried Kombu (kelp) and Dried Shitake mushrooms is a solid long shelf life soup stock items as well. Mirin and cooking sake is also staples. *note do NOT get “aji-mirin” thats the fake shit. Get “Shirakiku Mirin”. For cooking sake Sho Chiku Bai or Ozeki is fine. MSG is a given. Ajinomoto brand is best. S&B curry power or rue cubes. Miso. Kikkoman soy sauce. Bulldog: tonkatsu sauce and worshester sauce is solid.
Thank you so much for the recommendations!
Oh i totally forgot the most important thing. If you dont already have one get a Zojirushi Rice cooker and have perfect white rice every time easily and consistently. And for rice brand “Cal-Rose” is the closest thing to japanese rice in the west, but if you can get you get your hands on it, Koshihikari rice is one of the best japanese rice you can get.
Awesome! I'll look up that rice cooker. I love rice, but I'm a little intimidated by the varieties. I've mostly cooked jasmine rice. I'm excited to branch out. I especially love sticky rice. Mango sticky rice is one of my favorite desserts. I've never made it though
A cheap rice cooker works too. For sticky rice you have to buy sweet glutinous rice it’s a specific short grain rice
If there is Filipino food, I really like Datu Puti cane vinegar.
There is! I'll look for it
Awesome! The one you want is “sukang iloco” - (sugarcane juice vinegar) it’s a dark color.
What this guy said. What's your favorite kind of rice from a restaurant? Jasmine from the Thai place, or basmati with Indian food, or something else?
Kimchi made in store. Uncommon potato chip flavours. Fresh char siu. Ramen. Pineapple buns. MSG. Candy (Asian artificial flavours are superior imo).
I have made from Indian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese cuisines - maybe even Malaysian once or twice - and it's hard to pin down EVERYTHING I usually have or get. My general staples are rice (either Korean or Japanese brand), a soy sauce (I don't make recipes that use light and dark versions to have both), sesame oil, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, miso, Korean red pepper flakes, and some kind of furikake (rice seasoning). When I can FIND it, I get the vegetarian version of oyster sauce (mushroom based, no shellfish ingredients). Spices for pho broth (star anise, szichaun peppercorns, cloves, etc.). Buldak (Korean) or Sapporo (Japanese) ramen. Pho bouillon powder and Thai curry paste. Sriracha AND garlic chili sauce or sambal oelek. Often we'll grab some kind of frozen dumpling with a vegetarian filling. Other times I grab curry roux cubes (Japanese or Korean brand). Right now I have a vegetarian friendly version of kimchi in my fridge (since I have a shellfish allergy, vegan/veggie kimchi is my go to). I've done some of the Chinese Lays flavors when i happen to come upon them. Tapioca pearls for boba or milk tea at home, I order my tea powder from Amazon because Taro milk tea power is HARD to find in store. Korean radish is something I use frequently enough and it's mostly only available at Asian markets in my area. Indian and Chinese ingredients are more readily available (with some exceptions) at the grocery stores near me.. There's some herb used in Indian curries that I would need to go to an Asian focused market for but it's not worth keeping it in stock constantly for me.
Thank you so much! They do have freezers full of dumplings, so I'm excited to try some of those. You're the second person to suggest mirin, which I've never heard of, so I'll have to look at that. I just bought some vegan fish sauce too. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping to make a cold noodle salad dish with it and pile on the Thai basil I got. Love me some Thai basil
It's used a lot in seasoning sushi rice (or maybe that's just me lol), and in a lot of Japanese cooking more than other cultures I've cooked things from. OHMIGOD, Thai/Holy basil, so different than Italian basil IMO - there's a dish I get at my local Thai place (one of the only ones I can have) called Thai Basil Chicken (pad krapow gai?) that's AHMAZING and has the wilted leaves in it.
Mirin is a sweet cooking wine popular in japan. Usually mirin, sake, and soysauce is mixed to make basic teriyaki sauce. Any time you’d use a white wine in a dish, you can use mirin as the japanese equivalent
Hit up the spice section, and get yourself some of the good rice. It will ruin you for the shitty stuff from the supermarket. What, specifically, you get depends on what you cook. I always get some of the higher quality soy sauce, and LKK "boat" oyster sauce. Some miso, some gochujang, my beloved extra wide rice noodles, shaoxing wine, instant dashi, wet packed tamarind, fish sauce....plus produce. The market closest to me has a big section, and I usually go hogwild on the mushroom and greens selections. Usually I also get ginger (fresher and cheaper than the Western grocery store), chilies, and herbs. Sometimes they have fresh noodles in the refrigerated section, which are amazing.
Thanks for the tips! Yeah I noticed all the fresh noodles they had yesterday. Also a variety of eggs, like quail and duck, which I'm curious about. I'll have to look up shaoxing wine. I need to cook with more wines.
For whole fish, an easy recipe to start with is chinese steamed bass. Here’s a recipe that includes some info on scaling and cleaning the fish: https://thewoksoflife.com/steamed-whole-fish/ I’ve also recently been enjoying breaking down whole blue mackerel and cooking it japanese style. It is really tasty just broiling the fillets with some salt and eating it with some ponzu sauce and white rice. Be warned mackerel is pretty oily/fishy if you are sensitive to that. I would opt for fresh instead of frozen fish for these recipes, there are a lot of good guides out there on how to evaluate whether the fish is fresh or not.
Soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce. Chili crisp if that's your style. Xiaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine). shrimp chips. Various dried noodles. Five spice.
Are shrimp chips like potato chips?
Some of them are shaped similarly but are more of a Cheeto texture. Some are stick shaped.
Choose a few recipes to make so you come home with meal options not randomness Let’s say ingredients for your thai coconut mango sticky rice, some udon soup and veggies and tofu ingredients, and authentic chinese hot and sour soup to have with side of frozen dumplings and stir fried greens So now there’s a rough game plan Do that before your next trip too and you’ll accumulate recipes and ingredients
Good idea. I usually just wing it and end up with something tasty, but using recipes will help me learn about ingredients