- Hey, guys.
So a couple of weeks ago, Skypeace89 left me a comment
wanting to know about pantry basics.
And I love this idea.
If you have a well stocked pantry,
grocery shopping becomes so much easier every week
and you always have a dinner a few steps away.
So if you like to make my recipes,
these are the items that I use week after week
and I always have stocked in my pantry and fridge.
So let's start with the sauces.
And for me, it comes down to three key products,
fish sauce, worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
Fish sauce is great in Asian dishes.
It's also terrific in soups and curries.
It adds a wonderful saltiness to depth the flavor
in any dish you put it into.
And hot sauce.
You can never have enough hot sauce to dash on eggs,
put in marinades, or put in a dip.
It's really a great go to condiment.
Now for the pastes.
I always love to have tomato paste and pesto on hand.
So tomato paste, I always will buy in a tube.
That way when you open it
and use just a tablespoon for a recipe,
you can pop the rest in the fridge.
And then pesto.
I love to always have a jar of pesto in the fridge.
It's great to put in pasta.
I even like it in the summer time
drizzled on some fresh mozzarella.
Great paste to have on hand.
Now for the general pantry items.
I always like to have some chicken broth
or vegetable broth on hand.
Great for soups or stews.
Coconut milk, which I use for curries
or also some wonderful Thai soups
that are quick and easy to put together.
And then olives and capers.
I love to have these on hand because
they last forever in your fridge
and they're just a great thing to throw into
either a stew or a salad
when you want a little bit of saltiness.
So now I've tackled the pastas.
Pasta is a great thing to have in your pantry
because it lasts forever, it's there when you need it,
and can make a really quick and easy dinner
when you're in a rush.
Penne is great for chunky sauces.
I love it when I do a like a chunky tomato sauce
or a bowl of nasay sauce
and then I also love to have gnocchi.
If you're not familiar with gnocchi, it's a potato dumpling
that cooks up like a pasta
and you can put a variety of sauces on it.
I love it because it cooks quicker than any pasta
and is really my go-to meal when I'm in a rush
and need something fast.
So when it comes to mustards, I like three different types.
I like to have a dijon
which is great for really strong flavor,
a whole grain mustard
which is good for a little bit of texture,
and then a honey mustard
which is a really nice sweet mustard.
Then for the vinegars.
Like mustards, I like to have a little bit of an assortment
of vinegars because depending on the type of recipe
I'm making, I may go for one over the other.
So the vinegars that I always have on hand
include a red wine vinegar, a traditional balsamic vinegar,
and then a white balsamic vinegar.
I like to have a white balsamic vinegar because
it's a little bit sweeter than the traditional balsamic
and it's really great for salads.
Then I like to have a few oils on hand.
I like to do an olive oil
which is great for everyday cooking, sauteing
or even if you just wanna put some in a marinade.
Then I'll do grapeseed oil
which I really prefer for salad dressings
'cause I think it's lighter.
And then sesame oil.
I love to have sesame oil on hand
because it has a wonderful nutty flavor
and I'll put it in things like dipping sauces
for Asian dishes or stir-fries.
Then when it comes to cheeses, I usually have three
in the shopping cart every week,
parmesan cheese which I use for finishing for pastas,
mozzarella cheese which I'll used for omelets
and things for the kids 'cause it's a mild cheese,
and then gruyere cheese which is nice strong cheese
which is good when you need something that has
a little bit more kick to it.
Now let's talk about fresh herbs.
I am a big proponent of having fresh herbs around
at all times.
There's nothing that tastes better
than something freshly picked.
You will get so much flavor out of it,
you don't even need that many ingredients
if you have fresh herbs.
So the herbs that I like to have on hand at all times
are cilantro for Mexican dishes or Thai dishes,
basil for anything Italian or Californian,
parsley which works on so many dishes
and is just great when you want something
that tastes really fresh,
and thyme for all of my French dishes.
Now I will say this.
The problem sometimes with buying fresh herbs
is if you don't get to them,
they really go bad pretty quickly.
So I have found the best way to go
is really just to grow your own
and you don't need a big yard to do it.
You can get just maybe two or three pots
and put it in a sunny place in your kitchen
or maybe out on the front stoop
and plant it with the herbs that you like best
and that way when you're cooking throughout the week,
you always have fresh herbs on hand
that aren't gonna go bad.
And they also look pretty too.
Then let's talk about citrus.
I always like to have lemons and limes on hand.
They're not only great for the juice
but they're also great for the zest.
I use them in everything from marinades to salad dressing,
even muffins in the morning.
I can't say enough about having fresh citrus on hand.
And as far as salt and pepper, I really recommend
investing in a little pepper grinder.
They don't need to be expensive.
You don't need a fancy model
because there's nothing quite like freshly cracked pepper
when you're cooking.
And when it comes to salt,
I always have two different types of salt on hand.
I like to have a kosher salt which is just great
for all around cooking and baking
and Maldon sea salt.
It's a beautiful salt for finishing dishes
and I'll use it on things like roasted vegetables
or grilled meats.
It's even good to sort of top pasta with.
It's a great salt that's not that salty
but adds a wonderful texture.
And lastly, in the freezer.
When it comes to vegetables, I always am a big proponent of
frozen peas and frozen spinach.
They're great to have on hand
when you haven't gotten to the market
and you want something fresh, they're always good to go.
So there you have it, best pantry staples.
Now at first, it may look like a lot of stuff.
You don't have to buy it all at once.
Each week, pick up a few items here and there.
I'll see you back here next week
when I'm gonna show you a recipe
for what you can do with all of this stuff.
A quick and easy dinner that will come together
in 15 minutes or less using most of your pantry staples.
I'll see you then.
(cheerful music)