Chinese cuisine is said to have originated as far back as the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BC), so it is no surprise that the country has some of the most diverse and complex cooking traditions in the world. The complexity of the techniques and layering of ingredients can make Chinese cooking daunting for the average home cook, who hasn’t grown up being schooled in flavour and technique.
Having the right ingredients on hand in the pantry can make cooking your own Chinese dishes feel more familiar and accessible. So many Chinese staples are irreplaceable in mastering an authentic flavour. Here’s a rundown of the top ten to have ready to go on the shelf or in the fridge, making it easy to cook your way through your favourites from your local Chinese takeaway menu.
Chinese cuisine is said to have originated as far back as the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BC), so it is no surprise that the country has some of the most diverse and complex cooking traditions in the world.
Soy sauce – light and dark
Most soy sauces can be categorised as either light or dark. Light soy is the standard, used in everything from stir-fries and dipping sauces to marinades and pickles. Dark soy is mixed with molasses and aged for longer than light, so it has a sweeter, more intense flavour and a rich caramel colour. Dark soy is like an and great in marinades and stocks. It’s perfect for slow-cooked dishes like in this , a , or in hot oil noodles (yo po mian), which uses both light and dark soy sauces.
This hot oil noodles (yo po mian) recipe takes just 20 minutes to prepare. Source: Sharyn Cairns
Sesame oil
This fragrant oil gives many Chinese dishes their distinctive aroma. The oil adds a rich, nutty flavour to recipes as diverse as , , and . You can give a little kick to a simple salad dressing by adding a few drops of sesame oil, and simply wouldn’t be the same without it.
Hainanese chicken rice is a perfect amalgamation of many Chinese pantry staples. Source: Alan Benson
Sugar – brown and white
If you can get your hands on some yellow rock sugar (also known as golden crystal rock sugar, most Asian grocers will stock it), you’ll add an authentic depth of flavour and subtle sheen to dishes. Otherwise, palm, brown or white sugar will add the necessary sweet to balance other salty, bitter or sour Chinese flavours. Brown sugar, including , is particularly useful for achieving caramelisation on dishes like and . White sugar, like caster sugar, is essential for and use in lighter fish dishes, like .
Salt and pepper crab uses a traditional Hong Kong-Chinese-style of cooking. Source: Luke Nguyen
Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
Dry sherry can be substituted for Shaoxing, but it’s worth seeking out the real thing if you can get a good quality bottle (Pagoda is the brand most recommended and available in many Asian food stores and some supermarkets). Use it in marinades, sauces and stir-fries to bring a sweet layer of depth to your cooking. Shaoxing stars in and .
Kung pao chicken is first marinated in a mix of shaoxing, sesame oil, and soy. Source: Feast / Brett Stephens
Vinegar – white, rice wine, malt
A wide variety of vinegars are used across Chinese cooking – vinegar provides the sour acidic element to many dishes. Try a rice vinegar in your or homemade hoisin, or black vinegar in a or plate of .
Black vinegar is mixed with soy, white sugar, sesame oil and birdseye chillis to make the dipping sauce for these tuna potstickers. Source: Benito Martin
Five-spice
All five Chinese flavours – sour, bitter, sweet, spicy and salty – are found in five-spice. You can certainly – this one balances cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, and Sichuan peppercorns – or buy a quality version from an Asian food store. Five-spice turns up in countless dishes from every corner of China. Use it in salt and pepper dishes, like this or a .
This salt and pepper squid dish starts with a five-spice mix using ginger, celery powder, chicken stock powder and five-spice. Source: SBS Food
Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce brings a satisfying umami flavour to dishes and is especially used in stir-fries. Steamed vegetables and rice dishes come to life with a dollop of oyster sauce added while cooking. Try it to flavour , or add punch to . It’s also an essential ingredient when making .
Oyster sauce adds umami flavour to delicate vegetables like these snake beans. Source: Alan Benson
Hoisin sauce
Hoisin is a complex sauce with a distinctive flavour: richly savoury with a touch of spicy sweetness. It was traditionally used in Cantonese seafood cooking – the word hoisin is derived from the word for seafood – but today it is used in a wide variety of dishes from the Cantonese region. It’s not difficult to to use in dishes like and .
A favourite with families, san choy bow is super-easy to make when you have the ingredients on hand. Source: Sharyn Cairns
Douban jiang (fermented bean paste)
Douban jiang is widely used in various Chinese cuisines, though it is most well-known in Sichuan cuisine. The complex flavour is similar to a very spicy soy sauce, with clear notes of fermentation. The dark, reddish-brown paste is savoury, spicy and salty all at once. It’s an essential ingredient in dishes like , , and spicy .
Use strongly-flavoured douban jiang sparingly in a dish like this spicy Sichuan pepper and chilli poached fish. Source: Sharyn Cairns
Star anise
Though rarely found in food from other regions, star anise is a common spice in Chinese and other Asian cuisines. It’s one of the five spices in a five-spice mix (see above), but is often used alone in dishes like and . The pretty pods have a strong aniseed flavour and should be used carefully this aromatic seasoning can quickly overpower a dish.
Tea-smoked duck with tamarind and plum sauce sent The Chefs’ Line judges to heaven in season 1. Source: China Squirrel
Other Chinese pantry ingredients to stock
The above staples will make cooking Chinese cuisine feel like second nature, but these inclusions will round things out nicely: dried chilli, dried mushrooms (shiitake), cassia bark, Sichuan peppercorns, dried scallops or prawns, fermented black beans, water chestnuts, and black sesame seeds.
