Taiwanese Tuesday: Ingredients

Ingredients

I figured the next thing I should share with you are some essential ingredients. Or, at the very least, my favorite ones. Most of these ingredients are available in regular grocery stores, although you may have to scour the Asian section of more than one store. The names of the ingredients match the pictures from left to right.

• Rice vinegar
• Oyster sauce
• Peanut oil
• Rice wine
• Soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Sesame oil - used as a finishing oil

• Black bean garlic sauce - I was supposed to find chili black bean sauce but have yet to find it. I have a pic of wrong thing, but don't want to redo it all. Sue me.
• Chili sauce (my fav brand is Sambal Oelek) - harder to find
• Hoisin sauce
• Black bean sauce - harder to find

• Toasted sesame seeds
• Five spice seasoning
• Crystallized ginger - harder to find
• Star anise - hard to find

Here are some other common ingredients (without pictures):

• White rice
• Ginger root
• Garlic
• Scallions
• Water chestnuts
• Bamboo shoots
• Bean sprouts
• Bok choy
• Tofu - firm
• Cellophane noodles
• Potato flour - use this to coat meat for frying and you will get a crispier coating; hard to find
• Cornstarch - in addition to thickening sauces, a little mixed in with meat acts as a tenderizer
• Baking soda - acts as a tenderizer with meat

There are a lot more things used in Taiwanese cooking, but I don't want to overwhelm you too much. I'll impart more wisdom later on. Until next week.