20 Essential Chinese Ingredients

 

Do you often struggle with Chinese cooking because you don’t have a certain ingredient in your kitchen? Or have you discovered a delicious recipe, but couldn’t make it because the nearest Asian market was an hour away? Have you thought about making your favorite take-out dish at home but are too intimidated to start?

You’ll feel relieved after reading this post.
In fact, you only need a few basic ingredients to cook most Chinese dishes. In the list below, I’ve included two sections. The first section contains 10 must-have ingredients that might require a trip to an Asian market. The second section contains 10 ingredients that are nice to have and will expand your ability to cook even more authentic Chinese dishes. But you might not need all of them, depending on your personal cooking habits. After getting these basic items, you’ll be able to cook a wide variety of Chinese dishes by combining them with other ingredients from the average grocery store.
Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look.
[I have included a short introduction for each ingredient. If you want to read more about it, click on the picture or title. It will lead you to a more thorough article on use, storage, and shopping.]

10 must-have Chinese ingredients

Soy Sauce (or Light Soy Sauce)

I personally keep a stock of Kikkoman soy sauce, Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce, and Thai golden mountain sauce (a flavor-enhanced soy sauce), which I use on a daily basis.

Soy sauce is the foundation of Chinese and other Asian cooking, so you’ll really want to get the right type. Read the label before you buy any soy sauce. The main ingredients should be just soybeans, wheat, water and salt. Some of the flavor enhanced-soy sauces also contain syrup and alcohol. These should always come after the main ingredients.
Back in China, we mostly use light soy sauce, which has a lighter color than regular soy sauce and tastes saltier. We pair it with dark soy sauce, to add color to a dish, if needed. If you don’t want to have too many bottles in your pantry, you can get regular soy sauce instead. It creates very authentic tasting Chinese food. The dish might be a bit lighter colored than you hoped, but won’t taste any different.

Shaoxing wine (or Japanese sake, or dry sherry)

I have Shaoxing wine, Japanese sake, and dry sherry in the pantry. Although sometimes we run out of Shaoxing wine (We have to travel 3 hours to get a proper non-salted one).

Shaoxing wine is the only cooking wine used by most Chinese families, but the right type can be tricky to find outside of China. Read the label before you purchase any Shaoxing wine. It should NOT contain salt. The US-branded Shaoxing wine often contains a very high salt content, because that’s the only way it can be sold in a shop without liquor restrictions. Do not get this type.

Alternatively, do consider Japanese sake and dry sherry. Both do very well in Asian cooking and can result in a very similar flavor.

Generally speaking, dry sherry is closer to Shaoxing wine, only with a slight hint of sweetness. Japanese sake is more delicate and mild, and also has a sweet flavor. If you have both on hand, use dry sherry in pungent dishes (esp. spicy ones), and use sake to cook delicate dishes (such as dumpling filling, soup, etc.). We always have sake in the fridge, because we love to drink it, too!

Chinkiang vinegar (or Black vinegar)

Although Chinese cooking uses both Chinkiang vinegar (also called Chinese black vinegar) and rice vinegar, the former is used more often in authentic Chinese cuisine.

As its alternate name suggests, Chinkiang vinegar has a much darker color, close to that of soy sauce, due to the long aging process. It has a rich, pungent, and tart flavor, with a fermented, malty taste and woody character that distinguish it from the light colored and fruity rice vinegar.

It’s a key ingredient in cold salad, dumpling dipping sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and hot noodle sauce.

There is no substitute for Chinkiang vinegar.

It may also be referred to, using the modern pinyin romanization, as Zhenjiang vinegar.

Oyster sauce

Like hoisin sauce, oyster sauce will make every dish taste better. The difference between the two sauces is that oyster sauce is much less sweet and has a richer umami flavor. If you add a drop of oyster sauce to simple friednoodles ornoodle soup, it will enhance the depth of flavor and make the dish instantly taste better. It’s also a very important ingredient in marinades for roast chickenand Chinese char siu (BBQ pork).

I always use Lee Kum Kee’s oyster sauce, because they invented oyster sauce. For vegetarian dishes, use mushroom oyster sauce as an alternative.

There is no substitute for oyster sauce.

Dried shiitake mushrooms

This is one of the most important ingredients in Chinese cooking and is used to add umami and depth of flavor.  They have a very concentrated flavor and most of the time cannot be replaced by fresh shiitake mushrooms. Various classic dishes such as hot and sour soup, egg rolls, and potstickers use shiitake mushrooms to enhance the flavor. The mushrooms also taste wonderful innoodles, claypot rice, and braised meat dishes, in which they get infused with meat drippings.

I always prefer whole dried shiitake mushroom to sliced ones.

Dried chili peppers

 

The key ingredient in Sichuan cooking and an important ingredient in all sorts of Chinese dishes. To cook real, authentic Sichuan food, you ideally need several types of chili pepper that range from super spicy to super smoky. However, it’s very unlikely you can find them all in a single place outside of Sichuan province. The next best thing would be Korean or Thai chili peppers. They are very close to the typical dried chili peppers used in Chinese cuisine.

Sichuan peppercorn

It is the most important ingredient in Sichuan cuisine (as crucial as chili pepper), and commonly used in all sorts of Chinese cooking. It’s the essential spice for creating pantry sauces such as chili oil and spicy garlic sauce. It’s a must in almost all Sichuan dishes, including dry fried green beans and kung pao chicken. It’s a very convenient spice to infuse in hot oil (instead of using garlic, green onion, or ginger) to create simple, delicious stir fried dishes, such as thiscabbage dish or this okra dish.

The sad truth is that there is almost no way to source good Sichuan peppercorns in the US. Because all peppercorns must be heated and sterilized before importation (like all spices), they lose most of the numbing potency that creates the true essence of Sichuan cuisine.

Doubanjiang (fermented spicy bean paste)

A basic ingredient in Sichuan cuisine. Just like oyster sauce, it makes every dish taste better, but in a spicy way.

You’ll need it to cook basic dishes such as mapo tofu and Chinese beef noodles. You can also use it to create these very simple baked wings and stir fried green beans.

Try to find the brand Pi Xian Dou Ban (named after its origin and current source of production). It’s the most famous brand in China and it guarantees the best flavor. You can shop for this brand on Amazon, but the price will likely be much lower in your local Asian grocery store.

Star anise

Whole star anise pods are widely used in braised dishes, such as braised spareribs, beef stew, and braised duck. It’s also a key ingredient in beef stockand noodle soup,

Star anise pods are powerful and have a very long shelf life. So it’s always nice to have them in your pantry.

Five spice powder

This is a very powerful spice and is convenient to have around. It’s an important ingredient in marinating and braising, but you can add it to any other dish for depth of flavor. Although most cookbooks will suggest you make your own, I find that store-bought works just fine. Just remember, a tiny amount goes a long way.

10 nice-to-have Chinese ingredients

Dark soy sauce

 From left: light soy sauce, regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce

Dark soy sauce is more like food coloring, as it is used to darken a dish with an appetizing color. It is usually used in combination with light soy sauce in fried rice, fried noodles and braised meat. It will last a very long time in the fridge, so it’s nice to have in your pantry. We always keep a bottle of Lee Kum Kee dark soy sauce in the fridge.

On the other hand, you can use ordinary soy sauce, as it still gives the meat anice seared color. But if you want to create beautiful chow fun, you will need dark soy sauce.

Hoisin sauce

Hoisin sauce is important for cooking Chinese BBQ and as a dipping sauce when serving duck pancakes. I believe it’s a must-have seasoning for some cooks. The reason I listed it here is because you can make your own hoisin sauce quite easily.

Peanut oil

A great bottle of peanut oil will make all your stir-fried dishes instantly better. Try to find an Asian brand that consists of 100% peanut oil. When you open the lid, the oil should be particularly fragrant and smell like peanut butter. It is as fragrant as toasted sesame oil, but with a higher smoke point and a much lower price (per volume, anyway). If you cook simple vegetable dishes, such as bok choy with hot garlic soy sauce or stir fried cabbage, you’ll notice a big difference when using pure peanut oil instead of regular vegetable oil.

Toasted sesame oil

 

Another flavor enhancer in Chinese cooking that’s usually added at the end of a stir-fry, or into dumpling filling. Please note, there are a few types of sesame oil and you’ll need the toasted one for Chinese cooking. It has a transparent reddish brown or amber color.

On the other hand, if you already have a bottle of high quality pure peanut oil, you can use that as a substitute for toasted sesame oil and still get very satisfying results.

Dried wood ear mushrooms

 

Dried wood ear mushrooms and rehydrated one

A common ingredient in hot and sour soup, moo shu stir-fry, egg rolls, noodle gravy, and many other dishes, to add texture. Fresh or rehydrated wood ear mushrooms have a crunchy texture and earthy flavor. They do not taste like much by themselves, but absorb the flavor of whatever they’re cooked with. You’ll need this ingredient in your pantry if you want to cook real-deal Chinese food.

Dried lily flowers (Lily flower buds)

Just like dried shiitake mushrooms, dried lily flower is another flavor enhancer used in all kinds of dishes, and especially in vegetarian dishes. Lily flower itself has a very earthy flavor. When added to a dish, it lends both a nice crunchy, chewy texture and a rich umami, almost like bamboo shoots. It’s a key ingredient in Buddha’s Delight and moo shu vegetables.

Deep fried tofu



We have a name for this type of tofu in Chinese – vegetarian meat. Just as the name suggests, you can use it in a vegetarian dish and it will turn out as satisfying as if you had used meat. If you don’t believe me, try out this stir fried baby bok choy or this Korean stew.

You can find it in any Asian market, though it might be labeled very differently in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese markets. Look for it in the frozen aisle (and sometimes the refrigerated aisle). It comes in different shapes, but all have a golden surface and fluffy texture.
Dried shrimp








Dried shrimp is a handy ingredient to have in your pantry, to add a seafood-like flavor to soup and dumplings without adding many calories to a dish.


Fermented bean curd (Fermented tofu)



I call it Chinese cheese, because its production process and taste are quite similar to those of cheese. You can add it into braised meat (red-cooked) as a hidden flavor. Or you can simply serve it with porridge or noodle soup as a side. Just like you’d spread just a small chunk of bleu cheese on toasted bread, a small piece of this goes a long way. There are two types – white and red. I always prefer the red one because I’m a Northerner. 

Fermented black beans

 The key ingredient in black bean sauce. The flavor is similar to that of soy sauce, just more pungent and powerful. They’re usually used in stir fried and steamed dishes, especially in southern Chinese cuisine. You can find them at an Asian market or on Amazon.