It’s safe to say that we do a LOT of cooking in our house. Over the years we have tried all kinds of recipes and experimented with a bunch of different cuisines and dishes. Literally hundreds upon hundreds of them. When you try out that many recipes, well, you end up with a kitchen full of ingredients you never even knew you needed. Here are my top 5 uncommon ingredients that I never knew I needed to have stocked in my kitchen at all times.
I picked these 5 specific ingredients out for this post specifically because of their usefulness across a wide variety of dishes and cuisines. Let’s go over why you should have these in your kitchen too, and how you can incorporate them into your cooking to really add some wow factor to your dishes.
Soy Sauce
This is my top of list, number one, MUST have in the kitchen at ALL times! Soy sauce forms the basis of all kinds of sauces and marinades. Whether you’re cooking Chinese, Japanese, Thai, plain old chicken wings, or even pulled pork, soy sauce is a great way to add flavor and saltiness to your meal. Whenever I’m working on a new recipe and I know it’s missing something, adding a little bit of soy sauce is usually one of the first things I try.
Real Maple Syrup
Coming in at number two, Real Maple Syrup is right behind soy sauce at the top of list. Michelle, thinks I have a problem because I keep bringing home maple syrup every time I go shopping. My feeling is that you can never have enough maple syrup. It’s literally liquid gold. Here’s a picture from one of my recent grocery runs to emphasize my point:
Ok, maybe that’s a bit too much maple syrup! I didn’t actually buy all that, I just love to give Michelle a hard time, so I texted her this during my shopping trip and got this GIF back in return:
So why maple syrup? Specifically the real stuff? Because it’s a fantastic natural sweetener! If you’re looking to sweeten up a marinade or a glaze a little bit of maple syrup is your best friend. Not to mention, it’s great on pancakes, french toast, and waffles! If you’ve read through our other recipes, you know that Sunday Morning Pancakes are a big deal in our house and the kids love the real stuff!
Coconut Palm Sugar
I was introduced to coconut palm sugar while on the hunt for the perfect pad thai recipe. Again, this is a great less refined sweetener. I find it has an almost earthy, caramel flavor that I really enjoy. It’s less “sugary” tasting than table sugar or brown sugar and It’s perfect for sweetening marinades, sauces, and glazes. This is also a must have for any pad thai recipe and a bunch of southeast Asian dishes.
Rice Vinegar
I’m not saying that rice vinegar has completely replaced white vinegar in my kitchen, but it mostly has. It’s a bit less acidic than white vinegar, and has some really great, rich flavors while still adding that sourness that you expect. I find that it really lends itself to cooking and it’s a bit more forgiving than white vinegar. It’s perfect for adding a bit of tanginess to any marinade, sauce or salad dressing. I even use it in my homemade tomato soup recipe to give it a little bite at the end.
Mirin Sweet Cooking Seasoning (Rice Wine)
I like to think of Mirin as the Marsala of Japanese cooking. It’s used in a bunch of traditional Japanese dishes, but also lends itself well to a lot of other cuisines as well. I’ve even used it in place of Marsala in a pinch. I use it to deglaze my pan after frying, or to kick up the flavor in sushi rice. I also use it in a lot of my marinades, sauces and glazes as it really helps enhance the flavors of whatever I’m cooking. It adds a subtle sweetness and umami notes to any dish.
So next time your out shopping grab one or two of these and give them a try for yourself. I know you won’t be disappointed, and pretty soon they’ll be MUST HAVE’s in your kitchen too!
