Culverin
05-22-2013, 02:29 AM
I was going to respond to Willystyle's post, but it ended up branching off with me talking about the stuff I use in my kitchen.
Let's discuss our "secret" weapons in our kitchens. The tools and ingredients we absolutely cannot live without and more importantly, where to acquire these items cheap!
So carrying on from Willystyle's Chinese Chili Oil (http://www.revscene.net/forums/684346-chinese-chili-oil.html) thread, I'll talk about how I add spiciness to my dishes.
To me, these are my requisite heat sources in my kitchen:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kfsLngy4cSY/UZyX28s5V3I/AAAAAAAArwY/jip8cbT40vs/w1596-h1197-no/IMG_20130522_030227.jpg
I use the same brand as Willystyle's, but their other type, it's a finer grind.
I actually don't use sriracha and I stopped using cayenne months ago.
I use the first 2 sauces pictured here when making mapo tofu for my non-fancy meals.
The gochugaru (korean red pepper powder) is my substitute for cayenne, I find it has a much more lively flavor.
The one pictured is a fine grind like cayenne.
I also have a coarse grind I use in spicy Chinese and Korean cooking.
In an asian kitchen, I think these are all pretty standard, nothing special.
T&T will have the first 2 for sure, but will probably hella overcharge for the gochugaru.
Gochugaru and sea salt is heavily used for kimchi, so it's actually quite cheap at H-Mart.
H-Mart is actually your ultimate source for sea salt. They sell in various sacks at 1/4 of the price compared to Western supermarkets.
The last ingredient I use is sacha sauce otherwise known as Chinese BBQ sauce. It's actually not quite spicy, but used similar to the other spicy ingrdients. The name is actually a bit confusing.
Sacha sounds like satay, but is not even close at all. Sacha is deep, meaty and oniony whereas satay sauce is usually lighter in flavor and peanut-based.
And to make matters worse, sacha has nothing to do with Chinese-style BBQ. None of the 3 major items (roast pork, bbq pork and roast duck) use sacha.
Culinary uses: Stir fry and finish with a spoon or 2 of it. Mapo tofu. Hot pot dipping sauce.
Cheap Source: Buy in bulk, it lasts forever. Rice World or Kuo Hua.
You probably won't use it too much in day-to-day cooking, but come hot pot season, you will burn through this.
Let's discuss our "secret" weapons in our kitchens. The tools and ingredients we absolutely cannot live without and more importantly, where to acquire these items cheap!
So carrying on from Willystyle's Chinese Chili Oil (http://www.revscene.net/forums/684346-chinese-chili-oil.html) thread, I'll talk about how I add spiciness to my dishes.
To me, these are my requisite heat sources in my kitchen:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kfsLngy4cSY/UZyX28s5V3I/AAAAAAAArwY/jip8cbT40vs/w1596-h1197-no/IMG_20130522_030227.jpg
I use the same brand as Willystyle's, but their other type, it's a finer grind.
I actually don't use sriracha and I stopped using cayenne months ago.
I use the first 2 sauces pictured here when making mapo tofu for my non-fancy meals.
The gochugaru (korean red pepper powder) is my substitute for cayenne, I find it has a much more lively flavor.
The one pictured is a fine grind like cayenne.
I also have a coarse grind I use in spicy Chinese and Korean cooking.
In an asian kitchen, I think these are all pretty standard, nothing special.
T&T will have the first 2 for sure, but will probably hella overcharge for the gochugaru.
Gochugaru and sea salt is heavily used for kimchi, so it's actually quite cheap at H-Mart.
H-Mart is actually your ultimate source for sea salt. They sell in various sacks at 1/4 of the price compared to Western supermarkets.
The last ingredient I use is sacha sauce otherwise known as Chinese BBQ sauce. It's actually not quite spicy, but used similar to the other spicy ingrdients. The name is actually a bit confusing.
Sacha sounds like satay, but is not even close at all. Sacha is deep, meaty and oniony whereas satay sauce is usually lighter in flavor and peanut-based.
And to make matters worse, sacha has nothing to do with Chinese-style BBQ. None of the 3 major items (roast pork, bbq pork and roast duck) use sacha.
Culinary uses: Stir fry and finish with a spoon or 2 of it. Mapo tofu. Hot pot dipping sauce.
Cheap Source: Buy in bulk, it lasts forever. Rice World or Kuo Hua.
You probably won't use it too much in day-to-day cooking, but come hot pot season, you will burn through this.