What Are Your Most Essential Asian Stir-Fry Products For Cooking On The Wok or Griddle?

[Panhead John]

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do with my new Wok and DNG. I’m really looking forward to trying my hand at this. So I have a few questions for you guys and gals. What products do you think are the most essential to keep on hand for (mostly Asian) stir-frys? Also, do you have a favorite brand you’ve found to be better than most? Luckily here in Houston we have a ton of Asian and other ethnic supermarkets fairly close to me. So if it’s not available at my Kroger, I won’t have too far to go.

What I’d like to hear from y’all is what products (and brand names) should I always keep in my pantry or refrigerator? The top 5-10 should suffice me for now. I know from recent posts it was suggested I always have oyster sauce and cooking sherry. I was at Wally World yesterday and picked up this oyster "flavored" sauce, probably not the best but it’s all they had. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Oyster "flavored" sauce from Walmart…left side. This is all I’ve got so far.

[Attjack]

Fish sauce
Soy Sauce light and dark
Oyster Sauce
Hoisin Sauce
Chili garlic sauce
Miso
Sriracha
Gochujang
Thai red curry paste
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
Rice wine vinegar
Mirin
Shaoxing wine

[RonB]

fzxdoc - you could be right, I got that info from a wine store in the Outer Banks several years ago. I can get the salted variety in Asian stores here. Was the wine you saw in FM in the Asian section or the wine section? If in the Asian section, it probably had salt in it...

[fzxdoc]

You're right, RonB , the Shaoxing wine from Fresh Market's Asian section or the Asian grocery that I frequent does have salt in it. It also has printed on the front label "Not for Beverage Use". That said, it's the exact same brand that Grace Young recommends in her book "The Breath of a Wok", so I trust it and use it all the time.

Kathryn

[RonB]

fzxdoc - My favorite Chinese cookbook. I think she says somewhere in the book to not use the version with salt. At least I don't know where else I would have seen it.

[WillTravelForFood]

• Kikkoman (lite) Soy
• Red Boat fish sauce
• Usually one of the red tubs of gochujang with a label we can't read/pronounce from the local H Mart
• Mother in Law's Gochugaru chili flakes (useful for kimchi coleslaw!)
• Hakubaku noodles (ramen, somen, etc) Yes, they're made in Australia.
• Chinkiang Black vinegar
• Chili Oil
• Shaoxing wine (chinese rice wine)

and as others will say: sesame seeds (toasted), ginger, miso - check firmness requirements!, bamboo shoots (we prefer matchstick pre-cut), assorted entertaining mushrooms, bok choy (ooooh, grilled bok choy is fun)

[Andrrr]

If you make bloody Mary’s from scratch, fish sauce is an excellent thing to add in. You know, in case you were looking to find other reasons to use it.

[Old Glory]

Here are some websites to read through. Whole new rabbit hole.

https://www.seriouseats.com/search?q=wok

https://thewoksoflife.com/

https://www.recipetineats.com/

https://schoolofwok.co.uk/tips-and-recipes?sort=latest&filter=recipe

https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/

https://mykoreankitchen.com/recipes/

https://kimchimari.com/

10 Essential ingredients:

https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-pantry-essential-ingredients/

https://omnivorescookbook.com/essential-chinese-ingredients/

https://iamafoodblog.com/10-tips-and-tricks-to-making-the-best-stir-fry/

How to stock the pantry:

https://www.seriouseats.com/chinese-pantry-essentials

[Panhead John]

Thanks! I saw some great lists.

[JCBBQ]

This is awesome. Was going to start a whole new thread but searched here first. Exactly what i was looking for.

[shify]

For stir frying in a wok, below are the items I use the most (often at the same time)

Lite soy sauce (the kikomans you have is lite)
dark soy sauce
oyster sauce
sesame oil
fish sauce
shao xing wine
cornstarch
chili oil
white pepper

the above ingredients are all used (ex fish sauce) in a lo mein for example. If you extend deeper, things like doubanjiang or pixian bean sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, etc can extend your Chinese cooking repertoire. Those plus chiangking and rice wine vinegars make up most of my Chinese food pantry.

Woks of Life is a great website and has a lot of great info and I love all of the recipes I’ve tried from them

The other ingredients like gochujang, gochugaru are key in Korean food but I don’t really use my wok for those.

[Panhead John]

Thanks shify Great list and good to know those you use most often. What did you think of my oyster "flavored" sauce? I haven’t used it yet, but should I look for something that just says..Oyster Sauce?

[shify]

Panhead John - still figuring my way around an Asian pantry so don’t know for sure. Being I’ve only used it as a component for a sauce I’m not sure Id even be able to know the difference between the two. I dont know if that is the vegetarian version or not but unless you are going for a strong oyster sauce dish, I would think you’d be fine using that

[JoeSousa]

Bachans Japanese Barbecue Sauce is a must. This stuff is excellent for some quick stir frys. Don't really think of it as a barbecue sauce but more of a delicious teriyaki type sauce. I have had the original and the spicy. Haven't tried the Yuzu version though.

The stuff is great on the grill too:



Other than that I would say soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil will cover 90% of what you want to do.

[Panhead John]

Thanks Joe! Great info. Gonna try that Bachans.

[JoeSousa]

Panhead John Seriously, this stuff is good on beef, chicken, pork, and even (shudder) vegetables. Haven't had it on fish yet but I see no reason why it wouldn't be great with salmon or shrimp. And next time you grill some wings toss them in this sauce after cooking.

[Panhead John]

Ok Joe, now ya got me! Wings in that sauce? Definitely gonna get some now. I’m gonna go check out a few Asian grocery stores nearby and stock up on my essentials, and that is on the list.

[58limited]

The lists above are pretty complete so I don't have anything to add. Here is my favorite Gochujang paste: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can make your own chili oil, its easy. Check out Mikey Chen's youtube channel Strictly Dumpling for the recipe and a how-to video.

I like Pearl River Bridge light and dark soy sauces in addition to Kikkoman.

[Panhead John]

Me making my own chili oil? Ain’t gonna happen. I’m doing good to DO a stir fry. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna start making my own ingredients. 😂

[RonB]

Everything I use has been mentioned, so go fish.

[barelfly]

Good lists above here. There are a few staples to have that you can use over and over in multiple dishes. You’ve seen what I’ve made the last few weeks on the wok, all have included a combo of these:

soy sauce (being gluten free, I only use one kind)
Oyster sauce
Sherry Wine (substitute for Shaoxing wine) I’ve never been able to find Shaoxing, but if I looked a bit more I’m sure i could
sesame oil
Garlic Chile paste
Corn starch
Chicken stock

I’ve made 4-5 dishes over the last 2 weeks with just this. It’s a good base to start with. You have great suggestions above to add to your pantry as you start to find the flavors you enjoy the most.

[DavidNorcross]

One I do not see is ginger. Use it often in Asian dishes. It also keeps well.

[Panhead John]

Thanks David! How long will it keep in the fridge if stored properly? Ginger root?

[DavidNorcross]

Yes ginger root. I have stored in fridge for over a month. You can also freeze and get several month out of unpeeled ginger root

[das85]

Most of these are repeats, but my top handful personally..

Agree ginger, I like this one when I don't have patience or access to grind fresh: https://gingerpeople.com/products/or...minced-ginger/
Garlic: ideally fresh but those jars you keep in fridge are handy..
Shaoxing wine
Fish sauce (I like Red Boat)
Doubanjiang (example https://themalamarket.com/collection...ou-doubanjiang)
Toasted sesame oil Chinkiang vinegar
​​​​​​

[barelfly]

Oh yeah - garlic and ginger! Those are must haves!

[CaptainMike]

I've had Martin Yan on retainer for years so I can't be of any help to you. I'll ask him to give you a call, though.

[MBMorgan]

I hear Yan can cook.

[Jim White]

If you want to add Indian food, too, a few more essentials are some Madras curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, coriander powder and some cumin seed (these also kick chili up a notch compared to ground cumin). If you want to get fancy, add some black mustard seeds and some whole cardamom pods.

And going back to the fact that garlic and ginger should always be around, I also try to make sure I have an extra sweet onion or two around for impromptu stir-frying of anything else that happens to be around.

[bbqLuv]

Take Out.