Sybaritic Diversions

When you’ve been cooking for as long as I have (which is roughly about ten years) or if you come from a home where food is practically a religion, you probably have a kitchen that’s more than up to snuff for preparing both the simplest of snacks and the most elaborate of feasts. 

It doesn’t have to have the fanciest appliances (say: a SubZero fridge, an AGA cooker, and a Gaggenau deep-fryer), but it has to have a refrigerator in good condition, a working stove, a proper toaster, and a cupboard well-stocked with essentials. 

Of course, some pieces of kitchen equipment become indispensable in certain circumstances.  If you’re Asian (Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, et al), you have to have a rice cooker and a rice dispenser.  (And I feel so sorry for the poor man who had neither in his condo!)  Urbanites [and some suburbanites who are too tired or busy to fix proper meals] should have a microwave oven to heat stuff up.  Oh, and any of the following are absolutely essential: a kettle, a hot-water jug, or a water heater.  Regular SybDive readers know why I insist on these and I guess I need not elaborate here. ^_-

Why am I writing this post today?  This was a suggestion from a friend of mine who pretty much has a lot on her plate and sets great store on microwaveble plastic containers and plastic cutlery.  It was just a notion, but it gave me a lot to think about last night. 

The tastes of many Filipino households have evolved over the past twenty-five years.  Seriously: 25 years ago, the average middle-class Filipino household would have been shocked by such exotic foods like sushi or tom yam goong.  These days, tom yam is just a more exotic take on classic sinigang and sushi is a quick snack you can order from the corner Japanese kiosk.  That said, what we may find essential to our kitchen activities these days may not necessarily be the same ones our mothers and grandmothers had in their cupboards years ago. 

Filipino kitchen buffs these days are more adventurous and are, thus, willing to explore a wealth of culinary possibilities.  While some staples - rice, flour, salt, sugar - are eternal, there are a number of things that have also become a standard part of home gastronomy.  That said, I present my ten most important culinary essentials:

Italian Seasoning   This plays a key role in a number of savory dishes.  You cannot make a fabulous lasagna without this and even a standard-issue meat sauce becomes absolutely heavenly when you throw in a bit of this heady herb mixture.  For simple yet flavorful grilled meats, rub some rock salt and Italian seasoning onto pork or lamb chops about an hour or so prior to grilling.

Pre-packaged/pre-cut salad greens   These are a wonderful way to get your five-a-day veggie fix.  What’s more is that they can also be used to add nutritional value to sandwiches.

Chocolate   What manner of kitchen worthy of the title would find itself out of chocolate?!  (I shudder at the thought.)  A stash of chocolate in any form in one’s kitchen lends itself well to the preparation of quick desserts.  The ideal set-up would involve a box of unsweetened baking chocolate, a jar of unsweetened cocoa, and a bag of semisweet morsels in the cupboard and a small hoard of eating chocolate in the fridge.

Garlic   Whether you love it or loathe it, you need it.  Otherwise, even the simplest dish of sauteed vegetables will fall flat on its face.  My personal preference is for the minuscule cloves of Ilocano garlic from the north; they’re more flavorful than the huge Taiwanese cloves available in many supermarkets.

Commercially-prepared Italian-style Spaghetti Sauce   This forms the basis of many of my savory dishes.  It can be used for dishes other than pasta as a richer alternative to regular tomato sauce.

Balsamic Vinegar   Best for dips and dressings as it’s more flavorful than most commercial vinegars.

Extra-virgin Olive Oil   Come on: you can’t possibly imagine dipping homemade foccaccia into anything less now, can you?  Vinaigrettes and all manner of salad dressings also come to life with the addition of olio extra-virgine.

Pre-packaged Frozen Fillets   Chicken or fish, fillets are a cook’s best friend when it comes to quick lunches or suppers.

Soy Sauce   You should never attempt many Asian recipes without this.  Cheaper brands come into their own when used for traditional braised or stewed dishes; the pricier ones are best used as dips.

Short-grain Rice   This is really versatile and tends to cross cultures.  Use in sushi, maki, temaki, risotto, and paella; you can never go wrong with it.

Well, that’s my list.  What about you?  What are the things your kitchen can never be without?  Leave a comment here or drop me a line!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2005 at 8:41 am and is filed under Food and Drink, Midge's Own Little World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.