Good morning. Last week, we covered stocking up on essentials at a Latin supermarket. Today, we’re sharing our recommendations for a field trip to an Asian international supermarket.

LIFESTYLE PROTOCOL 🤝

Asian supermarket field trip

If you live in a city, it’s worth seeking one out (H Mart and 99 Ranch Market are commonly found in US metro areas).

Why?

Better value: The ingredients below are worth buying at international supermarkets instead of your normal store. You can usually find higher quality options at a better price.

• For example, international markets are almost always the best place to fill your spice rack for cheap.

Inspiration: You’ll walk away with fresh ideas of dishes, ingredients to use, and how other cultures buy ingredients.

• We go a few times a year to stock up on these essentials, which sets us up for almost any stir fry.

✅ Our recs

1) Sauces & base ingredients

Umami sauces: soy sauce (light & dark), oyster sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, miso paste

Spicy condiments: sriracha, sambal oelek, chili crisp, gochujang

Aromatic ingredients: sesame oil, shaoxing wine, black vinegar

2) Other pantry staples

Rice products: bulk sushi rice, jasmine, basmati, or rice cakes (for tteokbokki style dishes)

Spices: white pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, curry pastes or powders, bulk sesame seeds

Noodles: dried soba, wheat, and ramen noodles; fresh egg noodles (lo mein, chow mein); Wonton/dumpling wrappers

3) Protein & produce

Tofu (try different firmnesses — silken tofu for miso soup)

Meat: regional cuts, thinly shaved shabu shabu meat, Chinese sausage, flanken cut short ribs

Specialty produce/fresh aromatics: bean sprouts, garlic chives, bok choi, pickled mustard greens, Chinese broccoli, lemongrass, etc

Interesting fruit: You can usually find durian, pomelo, papaya, and other hard-to-find varieties!

💯 Bonus points - for fun!

• Snacks & candy

• Better instant ramen options

• Frozen dumplings

• Prepared kimchi, sushi, and onigiri

🍳 And don’t forget to peruse the equipment section: see if there are any good deals on woks, steamers, clay pots, rice cookers, etc for sale.

RECIPE RECS ✅

Use your new ingredients…

Here’s what to make with your new ingredients! Check out our collection of Asian inspired dishes over on Cook Well:

FOOD TRENDS 🚀

Celebrity scrambled eggs?

Why does it feel like every celebrity has an egg recipe?

Scrambled eggs are one of the easiest things to make, but everyone has a different way of doing it (including celebrities).

• Gordon Ramsay is famous for his soft eggs that go for 30 seconds on heat and 10 off for 3 minutes. The results are dense and creamy eggs with a small curd.

• Bobby Flay strains the eggs first and adds crème fraîche for a richer, more indulgent flavor.

• Ina Garten uses half and half and goes low and slow until they are done.

• Dolly Parton adds ice water and cooks over medium heat until they are done. The extra water makes them fluffy.

Eggs are unique in that you can manipulate them in almost endless ways. The celebrity egg trend is proof of this.

Once you understand the fundamentals of cooking eggs (temperature, agitation, adding ingredients), you can harness their powder and make any texture you want.

For a pretty standard scramble, check out our recipe here.

READER Q&A 🧠

When to use butter vs oil

Answer: When it comes to swapping out butter for oil, you will want to consider the flavor and texture of the dish.

• If you want the flavor of dairy milk fats in a dish, use butter. Butter is richer and creamier in flavor but has a lower smoke point. If you are searing, stir frying, or cooking over high heat, butter can brown (introducing nutty aromas — which may or may not be desirable), and then burn, so consider using oil instead:

• Oils tend to have a neutral flavor and higher smoke point, so they can be used more universally. You can fry and sear without worrying about the flavor. When in doubt, use a neutral oil!

However, sometimes you need butter for its emulsifying properties. You can’t swap out butter for oil in a pan sauce recipe, since the butter helps thicken and bring everything together. In baking, butter often has a specific role for flavor and texture — so stick to the recipe there.

TLDR: in dishes where you are just sautéing vegetables or aromatics until softened or cooked through, you can swap out the butter for oil without consequence.

Bonus tip: Use butter to gage the temperature of your pan. Butter has around 15-20% water content. If you toss it in and it immediately starts sputtering, you know the pan is above boiling point (212°F) and ready for higher heat cooking. If the butter just slowly melts, you know the pan is below that point and won’t scorch gentler ingredients.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

Peanut butter pie

This week’s dinner winner is Marcia! She made a peanut butter pie with peanut brittle, chocolate drizzle, and stabilized whipped cream.

Reply with your best home-cooked food photos for a chance to win & be featured!

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: 9 French Press Hacks

In a minute or less: How to Season A Cast Iron

What we’re watching: The Burger Is A Portrait of America

Food science: Kneading Dough

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