Whether you’re a beginner in the kitchen or an experienced cook looking to get started with Chinese and Asian cooking, the most common question I get here on the site is about substitutions – mainly for the “seemingly” less common Asian ingredients. “What can I use instead of Shaoxing wine? […]
What is the daikon radish? Also called “white radish,” “Japanese radish,” or “Chinese radish,” the daikon is a staple of Japanese cuisine. Traditionally eaten raw, cooked, or pickled, this fleshy, tube-shaped root looks like a white carrot. The varieties of daikon Across Asia, several daikon varieties exist. The lobak (or […]
What are enoki mushrooms? The enoki is a striking white mushroom with a tiny cap perched atop a long slender stem. Around here, it is more commonly called the “velvet shank”. Native to Japan, these mushrooms usually grow in clusters on tree stumps during the winter period. In the wild, […]
What is umami flavor? Sweet, sour, salty, bitter… These tastes are already familiar to us, but what exactly is umami? It’s actually a relatively recent discovery. It’s also known as the “fifth taste,” and it has often been described as the subtle, velvety aftertaste you encounter in dishes that make […]
Tempeh is a soy-based food believed to have originated in Indonesia thousands of years ago. The earliest recorded use of the word “tempeh” dates to the early 19th century, in a volume of Javanese history. Since the 1970s, when it became readily available in the West, tempeh has become a […]
Arrowroot is a flavorless white powder commonly used to thicken sauces, soups, and dishes such as fruit pie fillings. Made from starch extracted from various tropical tubers, including Maranta arundinacea, arrowroot powder is similar to cornstarch and offers twice the thickening power of wheat flour. It is neutral in taste […]
You may know tapioca from classic puddings, but this gluten-free starch, extracted from the cassava root, also works as a thickener in both sweet and savory dishes. Native to Brazil, the cassava plant, also called yucca, is now grown across South America and Africa, and tapioca made from it is […]
Star anise is the fruit pod of Illicium verum, a shrub native to southwest China. The star-shaped pod typically has eight points, each containing a single pea-sized seed. Both the seeds and the pod are used in cooking and impart a sweet, potent anise flavor. Star anise is sold whole […]
Origins and history of jasmine rice Jasmine rice is a staple of Asian cuisine. It is a type of long-grain rice, usually white, sourced mainly from Thailand and Cambodia. It owes its name not to its fragrance, but to its color, which resembles that of the jasmine flower. For many […]
What is Spam? If you’re not a fan of this food, you’re probably wondering what this unappetizing, dog-food-looking product actually is. Spam is a product made by the American company Hormel Foods. It’s processed pork shaped into a rectangular block, packed in a can with an iconic design. Why am […]
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