What Is Black Cardamom? Chinese black cardamom, amomum tsao-ko, is a spice commonly used in Asian cuisine. It is also called tsao-ko or cǎoguǒ in Chinese and thao qua in Vietnamese. It is the fruit of an herbaceous plant from the Zingiberaceae family (ginger) with red stems and long, pointed […]
Mung bean paste – what is it? Picture an ingredient that slips as easily into a savory dish as it does into a sweet one – a true culinary double agent. That is exactly what mung bean paste is, a quiet star of Asian cooking (let’s shine the light on […]
Sugar is an essential ingredient in cooking to add flavor and sweetness to many sweet and savory dishes. From white sugar to brown sugar, including powdered sugar, cane sugar, or raw sugar, there’s something for every taste. Among them, palm sugar takes the gold medal. Natural and exotic, it’s ultimately […]
What people generally call bean sprouts are actually young mung bean shoots—often mislabeled as “soy sprouts”—hence the common confusion. To grow them, mung beans are soaked and sprouted in water. Once germinated, the water is drained and the sprouts are kept in a cool, dark place to develop. What do […]
Rice, that staple of Asian cuisine… but not only that! Did you know that a little over 750 million tonnes of it are produced worldwide every year? Granted, while the biggest producers are mostly found on the Asian continent, Europe, even though it trails far behind in the rankings, still […]
Used in countless dishes—whether as a simple condiment or a building block—fried garlic deserves a spot in the fridge of every fan of Asian cuisine This recipe comes from Feng David, a member of the official site group. The key to great fried garlic is timing: watch it closely as […]
What is choy sum? Choy sum, also known as “yu choy” or “yu choy sum”, is a leafy green from the cabbage family. In this article we simply call it Chinese cabbage, but the name “choy sum” literally means “vegetable heart”. It is one of many varieties of Chinese cabbage, […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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