Asian Cooking Pantry Staples (Added Details by Culture Cuisine)
Stocking your pantry with Asian essential ingredients from various Asian cuisines allows you to recreate authentic dishes easily in your own home. Being celebrated worldwide, Asian food is full of flavor, spices, and aromatics. With these simple to access ingredients, you’ll be well on your way to making it homemade with love. Whether you love Filipino adobo, Vietnamese pho, Chinese stir-fries, Thai curries, or Japanese sushi, this guide covers the pantry staples you need for each cuisine.
Overall Most Essential Asian Cooking Ingredients
Rice
While this is not a seasoning, rice is number one. No explanation really needed, but it goes with everything and is even a main ingredient in soups, congee, makes a variety of rice dishes, and is 100% a part of daily Asian eating. No table is set without the rice!
Soy Sauce
A universal ingredient in Asian cooking, soy sauce adds salty umami flavor to dishes. It’s a must for stir-fries, marinades, and dipping sauces. Both light and dark soy sauce varieties are worth having on hand.
Fish Sauce
This pungent, salty sauce is essential for dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It provides depth and complexity to soups, curries, and dipping sauces.
Rice Vinegar
A mild and slightly sweet vinegar used in Japanese sushi rice, Chinese stir-fries, and Vietnamese dipping sauces. It’s versatile and balances dishes beautifully. It also is excellent for salad dressings.
Oyster Sauce
Almost every Asian cusine uses this condiment which adds sweet, salty, umami to basting sauce, stir fry, noodles, and flavoring dishes. Even the vegan variety works!
Sesame Oil
A small amount of this aromatic oil goes a long way. Its nutty flavor is perfect for seasoning stir-fries, soups, Korean japchae, and salads. Making goma sauce and Asian sesame dressing can’t be done without sesame oil.
Coconut Milk
Creamy and rich, coconut milk is a staple in Thai and Filipino cooking. It’s essential for curries, stews, and desserts like Mango sticky rice or Filipino biko.
Miso Paste
Made from fermented soybeans, miso paste is a Japanese staple for soups, marinades, and dressings. It adds savory umami and a touch of sweetness.
Rice Noodles
A versatile carbohydrate, rice noodles are used in dishes like Vietnamese pho, Thai pad Thai, Filipino pancit, and Chinese stir-fried noodles. They come in various thicknesses to suit different recipes.
Star Anise
This aromatic spice is key to the warm and sweet flavors of Chinese and Vietnamese dishes like pho broth and braised meats. It is also a main ingredient in Filipino beef pares, an aromatic and savory dish of super-tender beef in fragrant anise broth.
Ginger and Garlic
Fresh ginger and garlic are the cornerstones of many Asian dishes, providing a fragrant and spicy base for stir-fries, soups, and marinades. These two are an absolute must have. Store them on the counter and not in the fridge. Also, organic ginger is much better and more potent.
Eggs
These are the garnish and add on for everything from ramen, soups, making soy eggs, and highlighting any dish with jammy eggs.
Asian Cooking Essential Ingredients by Culture
The culture sections of essential ingredients add more depth to the dishes. Do remember the above staples are must haves for all Asian cooking, such as ginger and garlic, and the lists below compliment for more variety in your home cooking.
Filipino Pantry Staples
Filipino cuisine is a beautiful blend of indigenous, Spanish, Chinese, and American influences. Its flavors are often savory, sweet, and tangy. Here are essential staples for cooking Filipino dishes:
Soy Sauce (Toyo)
A foundational ingredient in Filipino cooking, soy sauce is used in dishes like adobo, pancit, and marinades. Filipino soy sauce tends to be milder and slightly sweeter than other varieties.
Vinegar (Suka)
Vinegar plays a key role in Filipino dishes, especially adobo and paksiw. Popular varieties include cane vinegar, coconut vinegar, and palm vinegar, each offering a unique flavor profile. If you have to choose one, white distilled vinegar is all you need for homecooking Filipino style.
Peppercorns
Essential for the robust black pepper spice in adobo, the unofficial national dish. Peppercorns are also a must for marinades, lechon, and any seasoning of soups and stocks.
Fish Sauce (Patis)
Fish sauce adds depth and umami to soups, stews, and dipping sauces. It’s a must-have for dishes like sinigang and arroz caldo.
You can easily find fish sauce at any grocery in major cities. I love Red Boat brand, but the use what you like and even vegan fish sauce works!
Banana Ketchup
This uniquely Filipino condiment is a sweet and tangy alternative to tomato ketchup. Use banana ketchup for marinades, barbecue, or as a dipping sauce for fried dishes. Take note, there are no tomatoes in banana ketchup!
Banana ketchup was banned a while back, but it returned with better for you ingredients.
Coconut Milk (Gata)
Coconut milk is essential for creamy and rich dishes like ginataang dishes and pork adobo with coconut cream or coconut milk. Always opt for high-quality, full-fat coconut milk. Dessert drinks like mango bango and sago needs coconut milk for added plant-based goodness and creaminess.
Shrimp Paste (Bagoong)
Kare Kare, Pinakbet, and a variety of dishes don’t taste the same without some umami shrimp paste mixed in or on on the side.
Vietnamese Pantry Staples
Vietnamese cuisine is known for its fresh ingredients, balance of flavors, and use of herbs. The following staples are essential for creating iconic Vietnamese dishes:
Fish Sauce (Nước Mắm)
Fish sauce is a cornerstone of Vietnamese cooking. It’s used in marinades, dressings, soups, and dipping sauces like nước chấm.
Rice Noodles
Rice noodles are versatile and come in various thicknesses. They’re essential for pho, bún bò Huế, and spring rolls.
Hoisin Sauce
Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory condiment often used as a dipping sauce for fresh rolls or a flavor enhancer in pho and stir-fries. A proper spring roll dish with peanut sauce has to have this.
Shrimp Paste (Mắm Ruốc)
This pungent ingredient is used sparingly in dishes like bún bò Huế and other central Vietnamese specialties to add depth and umami.
Star Anise and Vietnamese Cinnamon
These aromatic spices are essential for the broth in pho, lending their warm, sweet fragrance to the dish.
Herbs (Thai Basil, Cilantro, Mint)
Fresh herbs are indispensable in Vietnamese cooking. They’re often added as garnishes or wraps for fresh spring rolls.
Chinese Pantry Staples
Chinese cuisine is incredibly diverse, spanning sweet, spicy, sour, and umami flavors. Here are must-have staples for cooking authentic Chinese dishes:
Soy Sauce
Both light and dark soy sauces are essential. Light soy sauce is used for seasoning, while dark soy sauce adds a deeper color and flavor to dishes. Dark soy sauce is much deeper in flavor, but needed for those better-than-takeout dishes that match restaurant quality.
Rice Vinegar
This mildly tangy vinegar is used in stir-fries, dipping sauces, and marinades. Black vinegar, with its richer flavor, is perfect for dumplings and noodle dishes.
Oyster Sauce
Oyster sauce is a thick, savory-sweet sauce used in stir-fries, marinades, and vegetable dishes.
Sesame Oil
This fragrant oil is used sparingly to add a nutty aroma to stir-fries, soups, and dressings.
Five-Spice Powder
A blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds, five-spice powder is used in marinades and braised dishes. It’s a must for the best char siu!
Dried Mushrooms
Dried shiitake mushrooms are a pantry staple for soups, stir-fries, and stews. Rehydrate them before use to release their rich umami flavor.
Fermented Black Beans
These salty, umami-packed beans are used in sauces and stir-fries, such as black bean chicken.
Thai Pantry Staples
Thai cuisine is famous for its harmonious blend of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors. These staples will help you create authentic Thai dishes:
Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
Fish sauce is the backbone of Thai cooking, used in everything from soups and curries to dipping sauces.
Coconut Milk
Rich and creamy, coconut milk is essential for Thai curries like green curry, red curry, and tom kha gai.
Curry Pastes
Green, red, and yellow curry pastes are essential for Thai curries. They’re made from a blend of chili, garlic, lemongrass, and spices.
Palm Sugar
Palm sugar adds a natural sweetness to Thai dishes, balancing out the salty and spicy flavors.
Tamarind Paste
Tamarind paste is used to add a tangy, sour flavor to dishes like pad Thai and som tam. This tamarind paste recipe shows you how easy it is to make.
Lemongrass and Kaffir Lime Leaves
These aromatic ingredients are essential for soups, curries, and marinades, imparting a citrusy fragrance. Learn how to use lemongrass if you haven’t tried it before.
Japanese Pantry Staples
Japanese cuisine is characterized by its simplicity, fresh ingredients, and umami flavors. Here are the essentials for your Japanese pantry:
Soy Sauce (Shoyu)
Japanese soy sauce is lighter and less salty than Chinese soy sauce. It’s a key ingredient for sushi, ramen, and teriyaki.
Miso Paste
Miso paste is made from fermented soybeans and comes in white, yellow, and red varieties. It’s used in soups, marinades, and dressings.
Rice Vinegar
Mild and slightly sweet, rice vinegar is essential for sushi rice, pickles, and salad dressings.
Dashi
Dashi is a traditional Japanese stock made from kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). It’s the base for miso soup and many other dishes.
Nori and Wakame
Nori is dried seaweed used for sushi and garnishing. Wakame is used in soups and salads.
Sake and Mirin
Sake (Japanese rice wine) and mirin (sweet rice wine) are used for cooking to enhance flavor and balance sweetness.
Sesame Seeds and Oil
These add a nutty flavor to salads, dressings, and stir-fries.
Korean Pantry Staples
Spicy and bold, Korean food is high on fermented, hot, and sea derived ingredients.
Gochujang (Red Chili Paste)
A cornerstone of Korean cooking, gochujang is a sweet, spicy, and savory fermented chili paste used in dishes like bibimbap, tteokbokki, and marinades.
Gochugaru (Red Chili Flakes)
These mildly spicy and smoky chili flakes are essential for making kimchi, soups, and stews.
Soy Sauce (Joseon Ganjang)
Korean soy sauce is brewed and has a depth of flavor. It’s used for seasoning soups, stews, and marinades. It has a distinct flavor profile compared to Chinese or Japanese varieties.
Doenjang (Fermented Soybean Paste)
This rich and salty paste is the base for doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and adds umami to soups and marinades.
Sesame Oil
A must-have for adding a nutty aroma to Korean dishes. It’s often used as a finishing touch for bibimbap and side dishes.
Kimchi
This fermented vegetable dish, usually made with napa cabbage and radish, is a staple side dish and ingredient in soups, fried rice, and stews.
Vermicelli
Korean vermicelli, often made from sweet potato starch (known as dangmyeon), is essential for several popular dishes in Korean cuisine. Here are some key uses:
- Japchae: This is a classic stir-fried noodle dish that combines the glass noodles with vegetables, meat (often beef), and a flavorful sweet soy sauce-based seasoning.
- Soups: Korean vermicelli can be added to various soups for texture, such as in phở or spicy stews.
- Side Dishes: It can be used in cold side dishes, often seasoned with sesame oil, soy sauce, and other condiments.
- Salads: Incorporate it into salads for added chewiness and to absorb dressings.
Rice (Bap)
Short-grain white rice is the foundation of most Korean meals. Its sticky texture pairs perfectly with savory dishes and soups.
Anchovy Stock (Myeolchi Yuksu)
This stock, made from dried anchovies and kelp, is a key base for soups and stews like sundubu jjigae and kimchi jjigae.
Dried Seaweed (Gim)
Used for making gimbap (Korean sushi rolls) or as a crispy, savory side dish. It’s also a popular snack.
Korean Radish (Mu)
This mild and crunchy radish is a key ingredient in soups, stews, and kimchi.
Building Your Asian Pantry
By stocking these staples, you’ll be ready to explore the diverse flavors of Asia.
Keep these ingredients fresh by storing them properly, such as in airtight containers for dry goods and in the refrigerator for sauces and pastes.
With these essentials on hand, you can effortlessly whip up authentic Asian dishes whenever inspiration strikes. Happy cooking!
