The Haute Way to Live

Capturing the experiences I designed. Not an average travel or food blog.

THE PANTRY GUIDE

I love to cook and experiment with flavors. But at the same time, there are 3 things that I really hate that come with cooking from time to time. 1 - Letting something expire / go bad, 2 - I REALLY want to cook this TODAY but I don’t have the ingredients at hand and 3 - I bought this and never found the use of it again. This Pantry Guide is written to help you avoid the 3 things above. I’ve grouped these in terms of type, but I’ve also tried to sort them by the cuisine as. Keep these things stocked in your kitchen, they will last from 10 days to months, you’ll not run out of delicious dishes to cook!

Spices

  • Red Pepper Flakes

  • Herb spice mix - Italian or French would be a good place to start, great for seasoning vegetables

  • Garam Masala - Basically the beginner Indian spice blend!

  • Ground Cumin - Not just a MUST in Indian and Middle Eastern / North African cooking, I find it adds complexity in many meats

  • Ground Coriander

  • Cinnamon - Expand to Cardamom and Nutmeg once you’ve mastered and fully enjoy warm spices

  • Paprika - Adds this subtle spice from vegetables to meat

  • Gochugaru - Your go-to Korean chili flakes

  • Sesame Seeds

Sauces / Condiments

  • Honey - Even if you are not into desserts, you’ll most likely come across dishes that needs the balance of sweetness. Advance to maple syrup or date syrup next!

  • Soy Sauce

  • Mayonnaise - Keep this in your fridge and you’ll always get to make aioli, the magic sauce that makes anything better

  • Rice Vinegar - In my opinion, the most neutral vinegar and easiest to apply across recipes

  • Tomato Paste - It might not seem intuitive, but tomato paste adds so much umami

  • Sambal Oelek - You’ll use this faster than you ever imagine if you like Southeast Asian spiciness

  • Fish Sauce - Southeast Asian cooking must-have

  • Gochujang - Your go-to Korean spicy paste

  • Sesame Oil

  • Mirin

  • Miso - Source of umami, plenty of potential in recipes. Plus easy enough to make it into soup!

  • Rayu - Or you can always make your own!

  • Tahini - If you feel like adventuring to more Mediterranean flavors, here’s a must. If you got it and are not too comfortable, you always have my miso tahini recipe to fall back to

Vegetables

  • Sweet Potatoes - Lasts for 10-15 days at least. Super nutritious and versatile

  • Butternut Squash - Also lasts long, roast it, make it into soup, you name it!

  • Spaghetti Squash - Want the saucy flavorful pasta but not the guilt / carb? Here’s your secret

  • Cabbage

  • Zucchini

  • Eggplant - When in doubt, add it in curry, you won’t regret it

  • Shallots

  • Onions

Herbs/ish

  • GARLIC - Don’t even ask me why

  • Ginger

  • Scallions - A great way to always keep a small amount but never go bad is grow your own scallion by leaving just the white bit (~3 inches) in a mason jar filled half with water, keeps them growing and healthy!

Canned Goods

  • Coconut Milk

  • Canned Tomatoes - San Marzano if you are purists in pizza sauce making, I find crushed easier than whole tomatoes

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