Kitchen Tools

I thought it would be helpful to share the kitchen tools I use daily. I believe choosing the right tools makes cooking a lot easier. So the time you spend in the kitchen will be delightful, instead of feeling like a chore.

Must-Have Tools

Nonstick skillet

Calphalon 12-inch jumbo fryer

If you’re wondering why a Chinese blog would recommend a nonstick skillet over a wok, please read this article first. In my current kitchen, I have an electric stove. I cannot use my flat-

bottomed wok to stir-fry because the surface area of the part in contact with the heating element is too small to transmit enough heat into the rest of the wok.

Woll 11-inch fry pan

I have a Woll 11-inch fry pan, a Calphalon 12-inch jumbo fryer, and a Woll 8-inch fry pan in my kitchen that I use daily, for stir-frying, roasting, baking (both large skillets can go into the oven), and almost everything else. Yes, the nonstick layer will wear off eventually and you’ll need to replace the pans. But if you use them properly (do not heat up an empty pan, and always use a silicone spatula), they can last many years and provide value well beyond the money invested.

(PS. I recently purchased a portable gas stove and will start to cook with a wok again. I will add more info on how to choose a wok after conducting more experiments.)

Cast Iron Dutch oven

Lodge 5-quart cast iron dutch oven

I use my Lodge 5-quart cast iron dutch oven exclusively for making stew. It chars the food beautifully and retains heat very well. If you try once, you’ll be surprised at how the dish will taste so much better when cooking in the cast iron one. If you’re new to cast iron cookware, it might seem intimidating. Check out my post on how to season, clean, and store your new cast iron pan.

Silicone Wok Spatula

This is a must if you have a nonstick skillet. Even bamboo and wooden spatulas will leave scratches on nonstick surfaces. Spend 10 dollars on a large enough wok spatula, and your nonstick pans will last much longer.

Silicone Kitchen Tongs

Not only can you use them to flip food and remove it from the pan (or grill), the tongs are also necessary for tossing fried noodles without spilling half the ingredients on your stove. If you don’t have any in your kitchen,order a pairnow.

Steamer

5-quart Culina Steamer

I have a 5-quart Culina Steamer and I LOVE it. It’s a solid and heavy pot that retains heat very well. I boil noodles and cook soup in it all the time. The steamer is well designed and can hold a lot of veggies. Try steaming veggies and serving them with oyster sauce or garlic soy sauce, and you’ll be amazed at how many veggies you can put away in one sitting. You can also use it to cookmeatballs and steamed fish.

Rice cooker

Zojirushi NP-HBC10 Rice Cooker

The first thing I did after moving to my new home in the US was to donate our old beat up rice cooker to Goodwill and purchase a Zojirushi NP-HBC10 Rice Cooker (just like the one mom uses).

It has options for cooking brown rice, sushi rice, glutinous rice, and porridge, and it produces perfectly cooked rice every single time (you can actually notice that the rice tastes more delicious when made with this rice cooker). It comes with a timer setting too, so you can put everything together before bed, set the timer, and get freshly cooked rice in the morning. My mom used to do this daily, so my dad and I would have fresh rice in our lunch boxes.

After moving to the US, we found a high quality rice cooker still a necessity. We cook brown rice (sometimes with mixed grains) once a week, serve it with soupor use it to make fried rice for quick meals. It does take up some space. What you can do is keep the rice cooker in the closet and move it out once a week (or once a month) to cook a big batch of rice, freeze the rice (for up to a month), and reheat the rice in the microwave before serving (check out this post to learn how to freeze rice properly).

Stock Pot

Farberware 16-Quart Stockpot

When I discovered the Farberware heavy-duty 16-Quart Stockpot, I realized I couldn’t live without one. I’ve used it to make all sorts of stocks (chicken, pork and beef). And I’m planning to use it to make a real deal 18-hour tonkotsu ramen stock (you need a large enough pot to hold many pounds of pork bones; the Momokufu ramen recipe even calls for an additional whole chicken and loads of bacon).
  

 

Knives

Global 7-inch Santoku Hollow Ground Knife, Global paring knife, Victorinox 12-inch slicing knife

I own a few kitchen knives but I only have one favorite knife – the Global 7-inch Santoku Hollow Ground Knife. I use it daily to chop practically everything. Not only is it solidly built and easy to handle, but you can use the 3-step sharpener to keep your knife sharp all the time. I also own a Japanese utility knife (for filleting fish, etc.), a Global paring knife (for peeling and cutting fruit), and aVictorinox 12-inch slicing knife (for perfectly sliced brisket and prime rib).

Cutting board

Boos Maple cutting board

I typically use a set of cheap bamboo cutting boards. But if I want to do some serious cutting or work with dough, I’ll switch to the giant Boos Maple cutting board (20”x15”x2.25”). The Boos board is as huge and heavy as the ones sushi chefs use. Every time I use this heavy board I feel like a pro. If you’re planning to purchase a high-end cutting board like this, be careful of its size and weight. I love my Boos board, but I find it a bit too heavy to handle (I’m only 5’3”). Consider getting the thinner one (20”x15”x1.5”) if you plan on moving it around a lot.

Fine Mesh Strainer

A must-have in any kitchen. I use various sizes in my kitchen to remove loose tea leaves, strain quinoa and other grains, and drain deep fried food (very important. It’s the proper way to strain extra oil from the fried food and prevent it from turning soggy).

Hand Blender

Cuisinart 2-speed hand blender

A treasure in our kitchen. We use a Cuisinart 2-speed hand blender (with 3 attachments) for making morning power drinks (coffee, tea, and smoothies), beat eggs to stiff peaks for baking and making fluffy omelets (or super light waffles), and pureeing soup (and hummus, and a lot of other things).

We don’t have space for a big fancy blender. We found that this hand blender can do almost everything that a big one does, and it’s easier to clean.

Kitchen Scale

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display

You want this in your kitchen if you’re serious about cooking (like me). But if you only cook every once in a while and do not bake, then you probably don’t need one. If you’re making Chinese dumplings,buns, and noodles, the dough won’t be terribly wrong if you convert the grams to cups properly or you cook them often enough that you can “feel” the dough without measuring at all (like my grandma). On the other hand, if you bake tricky things (such as mooncakes), not only will you need a food scale, you will also need a pocket scale that weighs in 0.1 gram increments.

Mortar and pestle

I use them to crush and grind spices (especially Sichuan peppercorns). If you like cooking Asian food, this one is a must-have. I personally like the tall, narrow design of the RSVP grey marble mortar and pestle. It gives you a large enough space to work with. And your ingredients are less likely to spill out.

Tools that make your life easier

Food processor

Cuisinart Pro Custom 11

We own a Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 and use it for various tasks – from making black sesame paste and almond flour to grinding meat (safer and more delicious than supermarket ground meat). It has very positive reviews about its chopping function too, so you might want to check it out if you hate chopping or need to cook for more than 2 people. I always prefer chopping veggies with my knives, but I’d like the machine to help me if I need to cook onion soup for a party. They have stopped producing that model but you can find the new version on Amazon.

KitchenAid Stand Mixer

We have a 5-quart KitchenAid (with the glass bowl) and I found it to be a great help when mixing doughs (e.g. for Chinese meat pies,handmade noodles).

I’m still testing the KitchenAid with different types of dough in Chinese cooking, and I’ll report back when I find out more.

 

Wok

Woll 11.75-inch nonstick wok

I know I’ll offend all the Chinese chefs by putting the wok in this category. I just want to point out that you don’t have to purchase a wok to cook great Chinese food. I do have one – a Woll 11.75-inch nonstick. Currently, I only use it for deep-frying and braising, because my electric stove never generates enough heat to stir-fry. The great thing is that a wok has small bottom surface and high walls, so you can use less oil and minimize oil splatter when deep-frying on the stove top.

Kitchen shears

OXO poultry shears

I almost listed this as a must-have. I own a pair of OXO poultry shears and use them to cut all sorts of things. For example, you can use them to cut green onions directly into the skillet and remove tough ends from veggies (so you don’t need to use, then wash, a cutting board). As their name suggests, you can use them to take apart chicken and turkey (works even better than a cleaver, and is much safer). Next time a recipe asks you to break apart wings or legs, you know which tool to reach for.

 

Julienne peeler

OXO julienne peeler

The OXO julienne peeler saves me tons of time and trouble. In a lot of Asian cooking, the food needs to be cut into strips (like for this potato salad). You can generate evenly sized stripes with this julienne peeler in 1/5 the time.

One of my favorite ways to use the peeler is to create julienned potatoes or sweet potatoes, saute them in a bit of duck fat, and season them with salt and pepper. The potatoes will be cooked quite quickly and there will be a wonderful char on the surface. I serve them as a side for seared duck breast.

Mandoline

Benriner Japanese Mandoline Slicer

We own a Benriner Japanese Mandoline Slicer, but do not use it as often as the julienne peeler. The mandoline slicer is faster if you need to create large batches of sliced veggies. And you can slice more types of food with it – such as tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers. It does take up a bit of space on the counter. The mandoline will be a good choice if you have more kitchen space, do not like cutting, make a lot of salads or Asian food, or need to cook veggies for a large crowd.

 

Cut resistant Gloves

NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves

I cut myself a LOT because I spend many hours in the kitchen, almost every day. So I got myself a pair of NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves. I do not wear them if I’m just chopping a few veggies for a quick stir-fry. On the other hand, they offer great protection when I need to cook quickly (something will always go wrong when your guests are waiting for the main course while chatting with you), or when I am slicing with a mandoline, filleting a giant catfish (very tough meat) or boning a chicken.

Garlic Press

WMF Garlic Press

I “stole” my mom’s WMF Garlic Presswhen moving to the US. This is a big time-saver when you need to mince a whole head of garlic to make chili garlic sauce. I use it all the time for stir-frying, too. Instead of cutting the garlic with a knife, I use the garlic press to squeeze the garlic directly into the skillet.

Garlic grater

Ceramic Grater Plate

I use a Ceramic Grater Plate to grate garlic and ginger when I want them really fine. For example, I choose the grater plate over the garlic press if I’m adding ginger into wonton filling or dumpling filling, because it can be unpleasant to bite into a piece of ginger that wasn’t ground finely enough.

Need a shopping guide for Chinese ingredients too? Click the image below to check out: