You can find all the ingredients used in the recipes in the supermarket.
The Condiment Starter Kit lists all the condiments you need for my recipes. The Survival Store lists the food items that I have in the cupboard because I use them a lot, but also so that I can cook up a meal in an emergency. And the Specialty Corner is a short list of the less common ingredients, mainly for Japanese food.
The Condiment Starter Kit
There are a few condiments that I use quite a lot. If you have these you can make all the recipes.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are very tasty when roasted, and provide a very interesting texture as well.
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflower seeds
- sesame seeds
- walnuts
- cashew nuts
Spices
I use ginger and cumin in many of the recipes. Turmeric, coriander and cardamom are for the more curry-style recipes.
- fresh ginger
- cumin seeds
- turmeric
- coriander seeds
- cardamom pods
Other condiments
Dried tomatoes are my favourite condiment because they add a lot of taste to the food and make it look nice too. Dried mushrooms are great for risottos and similar dishes.
- dried tomatoes (just dry, not in oil)
- dried mushrooms (porcini or mixed)
- olive oil
- soy sauce (make sure it is “real” soy sauce, made from soy, wheat and salt and nothing else)
- rice vinegar, wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- garlic oil, not essential but very nice!
The Survival Store
These are items that keep for a very long time and allow you to whip up a meal in an emergency.
- rice (I usually use basmati because it has a great taste and it cooks very quickly)
- pasta (I keep both Italian-style pasta and Japanese-style noodles)
- chick peas (dried or tin)
- frozen peas and/or soy beans
- silken tofu, this is tofu (soy bean protein) in tetra pak.
The Specialty Corner
Japanese dishes use a few ingredients that may be a bit harder to find in the supermarket:
- shichimi togarashi, a Japanese spice mixture.
- mirin, a sweet rice wine for cooking.
- miso paste, a paste made from salt and fermented soy beans, somewhat similar to vegetable stock cubes but much nicer.
- dried wakame seaweed, for use in stews and miso soup.
- dried konbu seaweed, for making dashi, the base for many Japanese dishes.
- dried hijiki seaweed, great for stews and salads.
- dried shiitake mushrooms, great to add taste to stews.