Pantry

Have you been to an Asian store and felt completely lost by looking at tons of ingredients and brands and don’t know which to buy? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed especially if you’re unfamiliar with the cuisine.

In this post, I will list some of the essential ingredients you’ll need to have in your pantry to cook delicious Asian dishes at home.

I have tried many different brands of Asian ingredients over the years and this is the short list I’ve come up with. These are the brands that I have used for years and have consistently delivered great results in my cooking.

Every time we try a new brand, it’s a risk to ruin the whole meal, which could be an expensive exercise. That’s why I stick with the brands that I know and trust to give me the flavors and textures that I want in my dishes.

This list is not the be-all and end-all of Asian ingredients. As a Chinese person living overseas, I know how difficult it can be to find authentic ingredients in local Asian stores. That being said, these ingredients are the ones that are most readily available where I live and have worked well for me in my cooking.