Essential Asian Pantry Staples: Your Guide to Cooking

No ratings yet

This is a printable shopping list of essential Asian pantry staples to make delicious homecooked Asian recipes.

rice (Choose Thai jasmine, Japanese sushi rice, long grained rice or glutinous rice)
noodles (Choose rice noodles, lo mein, soba, udon, rice vermicelli, glass noodles or even angel hair pasta)
soy sauce (Choose traditional light soy sauce for everyday cooking. If you do a lot of Asian cooking add dark soy sauce and/or sweet soy sauce. Gluten free options include coconut amino and tamari)
fish sauce (any brand but we like Fish Boat for a gluten free option.)
roasted sesame oil (premium is best)
cooking wine (Shaoxing wine for Chinese cooking. Mirin or Ashi Mirin for Japanese or Korean cooking. Substitute Asian cooking wines with cooking sherry. )
rice vinegar (plain)
neutral oil (Your choice - options like avocado oil or other with a high smoke point.)
aromatics (fresh garlic, green onions and ginger.)
chili garlic sauce (or sriracha sauce)
sweetener (honey, jujubes (Chinese red dates), brown sugar or sugar alternative of choice)
cornstarch (or potato starch)
oyster sauce (Your choice oyster flavored sauce, premium, vegetarian made from mushrooms and gluten free brands)

white pepper
roasted sesame seeds (white or black)
coconut milk (canned unsweetened. We like Arroy-D or choose an option that has the least amount of additives.)
dried mushrooms (shiitake or wood ear mushrooms)
dried seaweed (also called Nori, Gam, Laver sheets for sushi rolls, roasted seaweed snacks or kombu for soups)
miso paste (light for soups, medium, red or mixed. See post above for types and uses.)
tofu (soft, firm or extra firm. We use firm for most of our recipes.)