• Home
  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Tofucado

It's always tofucado season

  • Books
    • Cookbook reviews
    • Food From Books
  • Meals
    • Breakfasts
    • Baking
    • Lunch & Dinner
    • Instant Pot
  • Season
    • Fall
    • Holidays
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
  • Special diet
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan

Asian Pantry essentials: vegetarian friendly

June 8, 2020

About a month ago I shared with you a pantry and fridge essentials grocery list and some friends of mine suggested that I did the same but with Asian ingredients. A lot of the food I cook has some Asian touches to it: I’m an unconditional fan of South Korean food, mostly because it burns your intestines every time you eat it, but also because it is mostly soup-based and stir-frieds, which I love. As a result of that, and the fact that I live next to the biggest Asian supermarket in Paris… well my pantry is more 70% packed with Asian pantry essentials than anything else. And today I want to share everything I buy that is not only an essential to a vast majority of recipes but also, vegetarian friendly!

Disclaimer: I mostly cook recipes with a touch of south Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisine because it is what was more accessible to me when I was younger and because when I lived in Korea, well, I learned a lot while I was there. There are also a couple ingredients from Vietnamese, Thai and Indian cuisine !

Asian pantry essentials

I’m going to divide this section into three categories: Sauces, Spices and dried goods.

Sauces

If I was ever to choose one sauce to use for the rest of my life, I’d choose gochujang. I’m that weak for spicy shit. I know many people would have said srirarcha which yes, it’s up top the list of sauces, but gochujang holds a very specific place in my heart. Plus I did not want to start this post by mentioning soy sauce as the main sauce (Which yes, it is second).

Spicy sauces

  • Gochujang: I use gochujang for many things. Mostly Korean cuisine but if I’m ever lacking a bit of spice in whatever dish I made, I will just add some of it. It works really, really well with rice based dishes such as kimchi fried rice, and for soups, like a mandu & kimchi stew.
  • Chili oil: I’m not going to go into another spicy sauce rant but… chili oil.
  • Sriracha because there are never enough spicy sauces. Same uses as gochujang. Use as you will.

All the other ones

  • Soy sauce (light and dark): What could I say about soy sauce. I mostly use it for marinates, tofu really takes a great flavor with it. I mix it with other ingredients such as honey/maple syrup and it does a great glaze. A simple stir-fry with some soy sauce is going to be delicious as well.
  • Hoisin sauce: BEST. THING. FOR. TOFU. MARINATES! So good. It is traditionally used for maaaany meat-based dishes but who said vegetarians aren’t allowed to enjoy this sauce. Another great use: when you make veggie rice wraps, dip some in this sauce and it’s just, so, so good.
  • Tonkatsu sauce: Very flavorful. A great addition to a lot of fried food. Nowadays you can find fried tofu steaks like you would for your meat counterparts, so they are great. I sometimes use a bit with my burgers!
  • Miso paste: The best you can find when making ramen, or marinades. Some people use it as salad dressing but I don’t eat salads, so I wouldn’t know.
  • Rice vinegar: Many, many uses. Sushi rice, marinades, a great addition to many sauces. I usually mix my soy sauce with some rice vinegar and the marinade is so great.
  • Sesame oil: Ah, my friend sesame oil. This is going to give you a toasted flavor to anything you are going to cook. Kimchi fried rice? Add some sesame oil and you’ll see. Just a basic vegetable broth? Add a bit and you will see. It’s so good.

There are many, many, many other sauces out there, but most of the other onces I use, such as peanut sauce, pad thai sauce and such, I make them homemade because I find them better.

Others: Spices, condiments, grains, …

  • Red curry powder & paste
  • Madras curry
  • Garam masala: Great for many dried beans dishes. I use it a lot when cooking lentils in the Instant Pot.
  • Chili flakes: Great addition to many things: soups, when making homemade kimchi, when marinating tofu, …
  • Curcuma
  • Cinnamon
  • Cumin
  • Garlic powder
  • Sesame seeds
  • Japanese curry blocks

I think this list could have been pretty long but I don’t want to add ingredients that we don’t use often and therefore buy just for certain recipes because it kinda defeats the purpose of a “pantry essentials” list.

We have many other spices in our pantry, but that is a whole lot other post and I don’t want to turn this one into the longest post ever written when talking asian pantry essentials.

Image by atul prajapati from Pixabay

Dried Goods

The three things we absolutely, always, always, always have are the following:

  • Rice (usually three types: thai rice, sushi rice and broken rice)
  • Noodles (usually three types: soba noodles, ramen noodles and somen noodles). We occasionally buy some glass-noodles and rice noodles.
  • Dried beans, most specifically red beans, lentils and chickpeas.

Other stuff we buy every now and then:

  • Dried seaweed
  • Dried mushrooms

Asian Fridge essentials

Two ingredients that are always in our fridge:

  • Tofu: From soft to extra-firm. We sometimes buy smoked tofu as well.
  • Kimchi: All types and always making sure it’s vegetarian.

Other stuff we buy:

  • Rice cakes : to make rice cake soup, and tteokbokki.
  • Dumplings (fresh & frozen)
  • Edamame beans
  • Green onions
  • Korean Radish (pickled and fresh)
  • A whole lot of cabbage: All types you can think of? We are going to have that.

Recipes to make with this list of asian pantry essentials

Curry recipes

  • Instant Pot Lentil curry
  • Vegan Chickpea Curry
  • Japanese Spicy Curry Recipe

Other recipes

  • Honey-soy glazed tofu
  • Korean mandu and kimchi stew recipe
  • Kimchi Fried Rice
  • One of my oldest recipes but, still a great one: Spicy Veggies with Rice

In my instagram feed there are many other meal ideas that were made with most of the ingredients in this list, so don’t forget to check it out!

What other pantry friendly ingredients you use when making some Asian inspired recipes? Tell me in the comments!

Don’t forget to tag @tofu_cado if you ever try one of my recipes, I would love to see the results!

Have a great beggining of week and see you next time!

in Food tips # pantry, sauces, spices

Reader Interactions

you may also like
Pantry and fridge essentials: Grocery list and recipes
What a vegetarian eats during Christmas
Trio of fruit parfaits for a very sweet Christmas dinner
How to meal plan on a 30€ weekly budget?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Follow me

Join my newsletter!

Categories

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

bookswithtofucado

bookswithtofucado
Surprised at how many 5 star books I read recently Surprised at how many 5 star books I read recently
💀📚So these are some of my fave horror books. 💀📚So these are some of my fave horror books. What are yours?

I made a full video with more horror book recs if you want to check it out👻

#bookrecs #bookpictures #book #books #horrorbooks #spookybooks #spookyseason #spooky #dracula #stephenking #horrorcommunity #bookswithtofucado #bookstagram #booklover #bookish
💀Babel by R.F. Kuang turned out to be much much 💀Babel by R.F. Kuang turned out to be much much better than I thought. 

💌Read this if you like: nerd students being nerdy about languages, magic, suspense, conspiracy plots and close friendships! 

#bookswithtofucado #babel #rfkuang #darkacademia #academia #darkacademiabooks #babelrfkuang #babelbook #books #beautifulbooks #bibliophile #bookshelf #bookreview #fantasybooks #magicbook ##bookrecs #bookpictures #favebooks #favoritebooks
The new member of the family 🐈 The new member of the family 🐈
🥐 🥐
September was a great reading month even though I September was a great reading month even though I felt I didn't read at all. I read two 5 star books 🌟and one of them is definitely gonna be in my top 10!!

🌞What's the last book you gave a 5 star rating ? 

#bookswithtofucado #books #acertainhunger #yabooks #lgbtqbooks #lbgtqrecs #lgbtq #bookrecs #favebooks #5starbooks #5stars #bookpictures #bookstagram #book #booklover #reading #bookworm #bookish #bookaddict #bibliophile  #love #bookshelf #readersofinstagram #libros #reader #bookphotography
Smells like autumn over here 🍁🍂 Smells like autumn over here 🍁🍂
📚🌻So these were my 3 favorite books of the s 📚🌻So these were my 3 favorite books of the summer, what were yours? (The pallbearers club was also one of my favorite ones, if not my nº1 of the summer but unfortunately I don't have a physical copy)
Books featured in the picture:
- Book lovers by Emily Henry
- Crying in H mart by Michelle Zauner
- Le livre des Baltimore by Joël Dicker

#bookswithtofucado #booksofthesummer #summerbooks #summerreads #booklovers #frenchbooks #tiktokbooks #booktok #cryinginhmart #japanesebreakfast #michellezauner #emilyhenry #joeldicker #booktube #romancebooks #fictionbooks #sadbooks #favoritebooks #topbooks #summerwrapup #summertbr #holidaybooks #beachreads #summer #books #beautifulbooks #beautifulcovers #bookcovers #covers #top3
🌻 🌻
Category is: beautiful, stunning covers🤩 I am s Category is: beautiful, stunning covers🤩
I am so excited to read these books but except the "for the throne" book, I don't really know what they are about. 

💬 Do you usually buy books just because of the cover?
📚Book review: A haunted road atlas by @theemsch 📚Book review: A haunted road atlas by @theemschulz and @xtineschiefer (podcast @atwwdpodcast) 

I gotta say I was way too excited about this book because it is the first time I can actually buy something from my favourite podcasters without having to pay +50€ of shipping. But that's just a side note. 

🌍What is this book about? As the title says, it's a guide of haunted places in the US :  a mix of paranormal and true crime stories told by Em and Christine and other cool / haunted places to visit in each city/state. 

👻The stories, while obviously dark, are told in a funny way and it goes by like a breeze. I read it like a normal book, but you can totally read it one state at a time and it'd be even greater.

The book is quite original because well, there is a million road trip guides out there but few like this one! 

🔥I'm a huge fan of ATWWD so i may be a bit biased, but nonetheless this was great and entertaining and I really want to do a freaking road trip now! 

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 
Genre: Horror/true crime/road trip guide
📚 two weeks ago I posted a video about all the 📚 two weeks ago I posted a video about all the on-going series I am reading and all the ones I want to finish in 2022. ⁠
⁠
Some of them (shown in the picture)⁠
- John dies at the end series (horror/comedy)⁠
- The last magician series (YA/fantasy)⁠
- Wayfarers series (sci-fi)⁠
⁠
And others: ⁠
- Scythe (YA/dystopia)⁠
- I hunt killers (YA/mystery)⁠
- The Wheel of time (Fantasy)⁠
- Mistborn era 2 (Fantasy)⁠

⁠
The list is long and in total there are 25 books I want to finish in 2022! ⁠
⁠
📢What series are you currently reading or want to finish in 2022 ?⁠
Here's all the books I read in April 2022 ! Not th Here's all the books I read in April 2022 ! Not that many for my average but I also got a PS5... and that kinda distracted me 🙃

The 6 books I read : 
- Gallant by V.E. Schwab (2/5⭐️)
- Homicide and halo-halo by Mia P. Manansala (3/5⭐️)
- If we were villains by M.L. Rio (4.5/5⭐️)
- The school for good mothers by Jessamine Chan (3.5/5⭐️)
- The last thing he told me by Laura Dave (3/5⭐️)
- The broken girls by Simone St. James (5/5⭐️ absolute favorite!)
I also re-read the first two heartstopper volumes! 

Check out the video in the link in my bio ! 😍

#books #bookwrapup #bookhaul #haul #book #bookreview #heartstopper #yabooks #yanovels #youngadult #bookpile #haul #bookstagram #booktok #booktube #mysterybooks #horrorbooks #lgbtq🌈 #aliceoseman
Come book shopping with me in Paris and celebrate Come book shopping with me in Paris and celebrate Sant Jordi (Saint George's day)🌹📚! A little book haul in the end with all the books I bought/got offered in the past two months. 

Hope you enjoyed it!

Book stores I visited: 
- Librairie Jousseaume 
- The Abbey bookshop @theabbeybookshop 
- The red wheelbarrow @theredwheelbarrowbookstore 

Check out here the vlog 👉https://youtu.be/aLMwKKfpBnE

#bookstores #parisvlog #vlog #bookshopping #bookshoppingvlog #bookhaul #haul #bookhaulvlog #readingvlog #reading #librairieparis #parisbookstores #bookstore #shopping #books #bookvlog #paris #parisianbookstores #fantasybooks #sanderson #brandonsanderson #yabooks
📚all the books I read in march + a super yummy 📚all the books I read in march + a super yummy vegetarian pot pie

If you want to find out more about all the books I read in march (Spoiler alert, there are some very good ones and some vvvv bad ones) while I cook some vegetarian dutch oven pot pie 👉 it's right here ! https://youtu.be/pJCCM0ab62I

What's your favourite book of march ? Let me know! 

#bookwrapup #marchwrapup #bookstagram #sjm #crescentcity #truecrime #vegetarianpotpie #dutchoven #potpierecipes #dutchovenpotpie #lecreuset #bookstragram #booktube #bookreview #frenchbooks #vegetarianrecipes #onepotmeals #onepotrecipes #tofucado #bookhaul
Ever since I made this recipe two months ago it ha Ever since I made this recipe two months ago it has become my go-to quiche. Every time I make it, it is a success and everyone loves it so it definitely need to be here. The recipe is a spinach, mushroom and sun-dried tomato quiche with some goat cheese and let me tell you, it is not only super easy to make but also freaking delicious. 

*Check out the full recipe here👉 https://youtu.be/_Eg1QD_sKvM 

#tofucado #quicherecipes #reels #foodreels #quicherecipe #vegetarianquiche #spinachquiche #sundriedtomatoes #mushroomrecipes #mushroomquiche #eggrecipes #quickrecipes #30minfood #quickfood #quickmeals #quiche #recettequiche #quicheepinards #recettes #homemadefood #vegetarianrecipes #vegetarian #veggie
Kinda realized I had never posted the reel of one Kinda realized I had never posted the reel of one of my favorite recipes of 2021, so here it is: my kimchi mac & cheese recipe which I have done at least 10801854 times since I first posted it. 

Check out the full recipe in the link in bio! (👉 https://tofucado.com/20-minutes-spicy-and-creamy-kimchi-mac-cheese/) 

#tofucado #tofucadoandbooks #kimchi #kfood #kimchimac #kimchipasta #cheesekimchi #cheesykimchi #koreanfood #koreanfoodlover #koreanjunkfood #kimchirecipe #kimchimeals #quickmeals #kimchirecipes #koreanmeals #koreanrecipes #easyrecipes #comfortfood #macandcheese #macandcheeserecipe #spicyfood #spicymeal
I have been talking about this recipe for so long I have been talking about this recipe for so long and it's finally here!! I basically make this 25 minute creamy swiss chard pasta every week because 1) it's super simple to make; 2) I looooove swiss chard and 3) it's freaaaking delicious!! 

Check out the full recipe in the link in bio! (👉 https://tofucado.com/25-minute-creamy-swiss-chard-pasta/) 

#tofucado #swisschardpasta #swisschard #recipes #vegetarianrecipes #veggiepasta #pastarecipes #homemadepasta #creamypasta #creamyvegetarianpasta #easyvegetarian #vegetarianlunch #vegetarianpasta #swisschardrecipes #easyrecipes #quickrecipes #quickveggiemeals #quickmeals #easymeals #vegetarianmeals #pastameals #pastabowl #onepotpasta
✨ January wrap up ✨ Some very good books but s ✨ January wrap up ✨
Some very good books but some very bad ones too in January. My fave read was "Le refuges" by Jérôme Loubry, such a Great thriller. 
The worst was house of accidents, it could have been SO GOOD, yet it was...so bad.

How many did you read this month? And which one was your favourite? 

#bookreels #books #januarywrapup #januarytbr #january2022 #bookwrapup #bookreviews #yabooks #youngadultbooks #horrorbooks
✨Meat & veggie broth✨ Quick recipe with the In ✨Meat & veggie broth✨
Quick recipe with the Instant pot today : this is one of my favourite things to make because you get : awesome broth, awesome meat and veggies, and tons of possible meals out of it. 

To make this easy broth you will need : 
- 2 to 3 different types of meat : I usually get jamón (but in France it's very costly to find good one), chicken legs, beef ribs or beef meatballs). For this one I used the chicken legs, beef ribs and pork belly. 
- veggies: all you want, everyone is welcomed !! I mainly use cabbage, carrots, leek, celery, potatoes. Sometimes I put garlic in there. 
- chickpeas 
- salt and pepperrrrr
- i use a bit of soy sauce to give an extra quick as well. 

Now, put everything in the instant pot, put water till almost the max limit and close the lid. If you making it with meat, go 1h + natural release (up to two hours). 

*If you want the vegan version, check out the full recipe here👉 https://tofucado.com/instant-pot-rich-vegetable-broth-recipe/ 

*If you are new to the instant pot world and wanna know more about it, I have a guide for you ! 👉  https://tofucado.com/instant-pot-basics-and-recipes-for-beginners/

That's it for today! How do you like making your broth? 

#tofucado #homemadebroth #instantpot #instantpotrecipes #iprecipes #easybroth #pressurecooking #meatbroth #veggiebroth #homecooking #ipbroth #instantpotbroth #ipideas
Load More... Follow on Instagram
2021 © Your Blog Name
made by soulmuse
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT