Have the vegetables and meats to stir-fry, but not sure what sauce you'd like to finish them in? In this post I'll list six simple stir-fry sauces to try. Put down the take-out menu and grab your wok - this will be fun and easy!
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Dashi is a simple broth made from sea kelp and bonito flakes. It is used in classic dishes like miso soup — it's an essential staple of Japanese kitchens and one of the easiest soup stocks to make. Since it's so easy and quick, most Japanese cooks make it when they need it, rather than making a batch ahead and freezing it. Here is how to make it yourself.
We've talked before about how tamarind is the "secret ingredient" in a lot of Asian cooking. A combination of sweet and sour, it just gives some dishes an extra "oomph" that they wouldn't have otherwise. Until I googled "tamarind soup recipes" I had no idea exactly how many kinds of tamarind soup there are!
If you've ever visited an Asian grocery store, chances are you've found yourself in the produce section wondering what all those green leafy vegetables are, and how to cook them. Each vegetable has its own taste and texture; from the crunchy gai lan to the spicy, mustard-y gai choy. As with most greens, these can be steamed, stir-fried, stewed, braised, chopped and cooked in dumplings, and cooked in soups. In this post, I'll demystify some of them for you.
Too hot or too tired to cook? Consider making an antipasto dish as your main meal. Long considered a "first course" in traditional Italian meals or as a shared appetizer plate in Italian-American restaurants, antipasto dishes are filling and satisfying, can be made ahead, and best of all, can be served cold!
I've talked about Japanese cooking quite often here on The Kitchn. It is one of my favorite cuisines, and although I do enjoy eating out in restaurants now and then, I can't afford to do it every night. I started teaching myself Japanese cooking for several reasons. One, to know how to do it myself and save money on eating out. Two, to help me understand both the cuisine and the culture - I strongly believe one of the best ways to learn about a culture is through its food. Here is a roundup of the Japanese dishes I've posted about here on The Kitchn.
One of my favorite cooking shows is on YouTube — Cooking With Dog. It's hosted by a Japanese woman whose gray poodle sits on the counter and barks appreciatively while she cooks. Each episode provides a how-to demonstration, with recipes, for a singular basic Japanese dish. Best of all, they all have English subtitles, which is a necessity since I do not speak Japanese, and I am deaf.
For a very long time, the only mushrooms I knew about were button mushrooms and the canned straw mushrooms you'd get in your stir-fry at Chinese restaurants. I liked them fine, but little did I know there was a whole world of mushrooms out there to discover. Eventually, portobello, enoki, and shiitake mushrooms found their way to me.








































