What's an unusual ingredient, spice, or food item that you can't live without?
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Fresh mint, not ridiculously uncommon or anything but I never see people buying it and its rarely called for in recipes I encounter. I use it in a ton of soups, salads, and dressings. Also its like my favorite flavor ever.
Maybe not very uncommon but very underrated!
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Bradj, an Algerian delicacy
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Not really unusual, but I’ll put Marmite on anything. Also, no matter what it is you’re cooking, it’ll taste better with a little garam masala added.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Hoisin Sauce - Umami bomb!
So here’s what you do…
Marinate chicken breast in soy sauce a good couple hours or overnight.
Chop it into cubes, put them on skewers and grill until done.
Take an onion bun, paint one side with peanut sauce, the other with hoisin sauce. Stack up the chicken, top off with a slaw mixture, green and purple cabbage, shredded carrots.
Top all that off with sweet chili sauce. Put the top bun on and enjoy!
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Oh hey, I recently got some as a gift. Do you use it on just rice or what do you use it for?
Mostly rice, but it’s pretty versatile and there are lots of flavor variations so it could work for all sorts of dishes.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Speaking of roasted sesame oil, ever since moving to Japan I have fallen in love with roasted sesame dressing and now I won’t eat salads with anything else.
For me I really like minced dried onion when cooking ground beef.
I also make my own cinnamon sugar, which gets used in a lot of stuff.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
I make a veggie version which is just fresh lime juice, thinly sliced red onions, thinly sliced habaneros, and fresh cilantro. It can be used to make ceviche, which is a delicious cold-cooked fish dish (and Latino counterpart to sashimi), or just use it as a zesty side that can be added to just about anything non-sweet.
Simple to make, stores for weeks, low cal and super-healthy.
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Fresh mint, not ridiculously uncommon or anything but I never see people buying it and its rarely called for in recipes I encounter. I use it in a ton of soups, salads, and dressings. Also its like my favorite flavor ever.
I grow my own!
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Capers are more useful than one might think.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
A classic home-made/canned chili sauce. It goes into any hearty sauce that’s tomato based (some that aren’t), tacos, eggs, and a bunch more in probably forgetting.
Just adds a nice sweetness and complexity from the peppers etc.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Lemon pepper. It’s surprising what a little sweet kick can do for food. My personal favorite is to put lemon pepper on cream cheese on a bagel.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
I have a deep, torrid addiction to Sriracha (‘rooster’) sauce.
It’s awesome.
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Tony Chachere's Creole
I’m surprised by how much I use this stuff, and the competitor Slap Ya Mama. I started buying a can for red beans and rice, but it’s just perfect for seasoning eggs, marinating chicken, etc.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Gochujang and Miso. They are very versatile ingredients.
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I have a deep, torrid addiction to Sriracha (‘rooster’) sauce.
It’s awesome.
I use it instead of ketchup.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Maggi seasoning:
The flavor is a little bit like soy sauce, but it has ‘umami’ taste too.
It’s pretty unique, but fucking delicious in things like banh mi sandwiches or stir fry.
A tiny little bit goes a long way - don’t overdo it!
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I’m surprised by how much I use this stuff, and the competitor Slap Ya Mama. I started buying a can for red beans and rice, but it’s just perfect for seasoning eggs, marinating chicken, etc.
For about seven years, I lived as a traveling software guy. Extended Stays were my preferred hotels: with a full sized fridge, and an okay stove - it's not a bad life. I would make up big batches of land gumbo and freeze most of it.
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Maggi seasoning:
The flavor is a little bit like soy sauce, but it has ‘umami’ taste too.
It’s pretty unique, but fucking delicious in things like banh mi sandwiches or stir fry.
A tiny little bit goes a long way - don’t overdo it!
Check out the similar Knorr Seasoning. I like the flavor much more than Maggi.
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For about seven years, I lived as a traveling software guy. Extended Stays were my preferred hotels: with a full sized fridge, and an okay stove - it's not a bad life. I would make up big batches of land gumbo and freeze most of it.
For soups and chilis, big batches and freezers is the only way to go.
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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren’t super common where you live.
Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn’t know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.
Canned chipotles in adobo are really good additions to anything savory. Add it to mayo or mac n cheese for a smoky & tangy depth of flavor. Plus where I live it’s like 70¢ a can, which is a great price for how much it upgrades the dish.
