When my friends asked me certain condiments in a particular recipe, I have shared part of the list below, but never the complete one. My friends recently have suggested that they shall just make a trip to T&T (A local Chinese supermarket) with me and shop for all necessary pantry items at once. They also suggested me to start a blog for simple Chinese cooking which includes one post on essential Chinese condiments. So here it (finally) goes.

 

     The picture above shows two types of soy sauces I currently use. The left one is dark／old soy sauce(老抽 lao chou), and the right one is light/fresh soy sauce(生抽 sheng chou). Those two types of soy sauces are musts for Chinese cooking, and they serve different purposes. Dark/Old soy sauce is made from fresh soy sauce, but less salty and sweeter. Dark soy sauce often contains molasses. This variety is used during cooking but never for dressing, because it develops flavor in heating. Dark soy sauce “colours” food, makes it darker and adds bit caramel appearance. Fresh/light soy sauce, on the other hand, is used in any type of cooking methods. In one sentence, fresh soy sauce is for the taste, and dark soy sauce is for the coloring. (Although it is not entirely true, but you get the gist) You can make do with just fresh soy sauce, but you can not cook Chinese with just dark soy sauce.

         Shopping guide note:

      If you look closer at the picture, you will find that my fresh soy sauce is called double fermented soy sauce rather than light/fresh soy sauce and the Chinese character does not match what I wrote above 生抽 either. It is a sub genre of fresh soy sauce. Because it is double fermented, it has more complexity in taste. It is just fancier, but still fresh soy sauce. You probably just got a clue of soy sauces at the stop of last paragraph, but now are getting confused again. I guess you might worry that you will panic in front of rows and rows of soy sauces with different names. Don’t worry, let me help you here. When you first go shop for soy sauces, look for just Fresh/Light Soy Sauce （生抽） and Dark/Old Soy Sauce （老抽）, ignore all the fancy ones. Fresh/Light Soy sauce is sometimes just called soy sauce, and its Chinese character is always 生抽.

      Regarding brands, I prefer using Chinese brands over Japanese and Korean to cook Chinese. Price ranges from $2 to $10 per bottle. It is actually true that the more expensive the better. However considering price-performance ratio, $3+ is the best. It guarantees good quality and is quite affordable. There are still several brands in the price range. How do I choose you ask. I choose by appearance. I appreciate greatly on packaging. Not packaging excessively but rather good design. I believe in their product with good aesthetic. Having said that, if it is on sale, it overrides my rule!

      Now let’s talk about vinegar and Chinese cooking wine.  The left is Zhejiang Vinegar, it is black just like soy sauce, but when you smell it you will immediately know it is vinegar. It is most frequently used in cold dishes/Salads. On the right it is cooking yellow wine. Its color is light brown. Cooking wine is often used in cooking meat and river/seafood. Its main purpose is to get rid of the odour of the ingredients. Thus if you do not wish to use alcohol, you can still find ways to substitute it in cooking Chinese dishes. Unlike soy sauce, those two products have the best brands. The most recognized ones are the brands shown in the picture. Vinegar prices can vary quite a bit depending on how many years it fermented, and again $3+ should gurantee a decent bottle.

      This part is about spices, and fundamental seasoning ingredients. No.1 is a plate of most commonly used spices, star anise, dried red chilies, and Sichuan pepper. No.2 is a plate of green onions, ginger, and garlic. There are the staples in our pantry. No.3 seems obvious, it is rice. We eat rice with dishes most of the time, and short grain rice is the most popular in my family. We sometimes switch to Thai fragrant rice. You can definitely add brown rice/grains/beans in rice too.

      The last picture shows two pantry items that can be optional if you want to go minimal. Left is corn starch, it is mainly used when marinating meat in order to make meat tender during cooking. The right one is sesame oil which is very aromatic and often drizzled at last on soup, salad or a stir fry dish to add fragrance.

       Salt and sugar are not included here for I guess most households have them already.

      Wuf! I did not expect that this post to be this long. I merely listed essential condiments! With above pantry items, you should be able to make quite a few authentic Chinese dishes. Hope it helps, and I’d love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments.