Must Haves in Your Kitchen (Part 2)

In my previous post on Must Haves in your Kitchen Part 1, you may notice that they are tools that at the very least you must have in your kitchen.  In this entry, I'll discuss about the ingredients, spices, herbs or condiments you must , usually if not all the time, have in your cupboard or refrigerator.

I always replenish my kitchen with these ' coz any one or two ingredients from the list below is almost always needed when I cook. 

1. Garlic and onion - a lot of Filipino dishes starts with these two.  Better have them ready at all times.
2. Ginger - fresh ginger bought in the market can stay up to two weeks in room temperature

3. Kalamansi - for sauces or sawsawan (we know that we Filipinos almost always have this when we eat)

4. Dried basil - good for tomato based pastas
5. Cooking oil - sautéing, frying
6. Extra Virgin Olive oil - for pasta and oven baked meats
7. UHT packed Milk - for drinks, sauces and even scrambled eggs!
8. Butter - for stir frying, bread, pancakes and whenever you feel like baking
9. Cheese - cheddar and parmesan. Edam cheese can be grated and stored in a tight container as replacement for parmesan cheese, more salty though than parmesan
10. Egg - I recommend buying eggs from your local market than in groceries.  Eggs bought in the market are usually fresh for they don’t stack many of these unlike in groceries.
11. All purpose flour - for coating  meats and fish...and more!

12. Cassava flour - for thickening sauces. I prefer using this type of flour than all purpose flour for sauces stays thick even if becomes cold.

13. Salt - how can I forget!

14. Sugar - instead of using MSG, use a teaspoon of sugar to enhance flavor of your dish
15. Soy sauce - too many uses for this condiment
16. Pepper - black or white, ground and whole.  White pepper has milder flavor and is often used for light-colored foods/recipes
17. Mayonnaise - for sandwiches and dips
18. Rice - we know we want this...big time!
19. Pasta - spaghetti, fettuccini, spiral, linguini...whatever! Just have them handy.
20. Canned goods - you'll never know when you would be lazy to cook a complicated meal :)