I personally like to keep a well stocked spice cabinet of a wide range so I can throw together whatever on the fly
Yellow curry paste.
Boil up some shrimp, chill, and toss in curry sauce = something that tastes way fancier than it is.
Curry sauce on fried chicken, eggs, fish, potatoes, literally anything.
Salt
Pepper
Another for the Mushroom Umami seasoning. It’s not an overt “mushroom” flavor, so no issues there.
I also cook regularly with Adobo seasoning (onion, garlic, etc) as it is easy to get in my area.
Multiple kinds of bouillon or similar (a ham flavor isn’t super common but very useful)
All the usual ones: granulated garlic & onion, dried parsley, oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary. Sage too but I’m just learning to use that one outside of recipes which call for it. Bay leaves.
Blends: Frontier brand poultry seasoning. Italian seasoning. Curry powder, I’m embarrassed to say I don’t have a preferred brand yet. Garam masala.
Ground turmeric, ginger, coriander, cumin, mustard.
Paprika, smoked paprika, mild chili powder, chipotle powder, red pepper flakes. Black & white pepper. Chili garlic sauce in the fridge.
Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves. Vanilla extract.
Cider vinegar, white & red wine vinegar, balsamic.
Frank’s red hot.
Regular Japanese style soy sauce. Chinese & Thai style dark soy sauce. Oyster sauce. Fish sauce. Worcestershire sauce.
Toasted sesame oil.
Since I mentioned oil, a high temp frying oil such as peanut or grapeseed. Refined & virgin coconut oil and butter flavored Crisco for baking.
Edit: how could I forget nutritional yeast… I live with vegans but I’d have plenty of uses for it even if I didn’t.
I think that about covers the waterfront… after HVAC and running water, the biggest thing I am going to miss after civilization collapses is the ability for even lower middle class Western households to have a king’s ransom in seasonings if they are so inclined.
Oh, somebody else mentioned live herbs. Fresh basil is nice, fresh cilantro on tap is life-changing. As is having a jalapeño plant.
It’s a bit difficult for me at the moment, but I’d really like to refine technique for growing fresh basil & cilantro indoors year round so I’m never without.
Also, rosemary grows wild where I live so I don’t actually have dried rosemary on hand.
for now it is cumin-curcuma-paprika +notes of coriander and muscade +oignons and garlic
In the summer, oregano+olive oil
These, with another drawer of bulk spices for seasoning large pots of curry etc. The Salt Substitute is Black Salt, the hand labeled ones are Daal Masala, Hing, Mushroom Salt
I bet opening this draw brings joy each time, it’s so organized!
The organization was my wife’s effort even though I do 95% of the cooking. Being organized definitely helps the process, since we do every meal from scratch - including sauce making.
Aside from the usual, I go out of my way to get kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves). It adds a certain “pop” to many dishes. I could never get an acceptable palak paneer until I realized that this herb is what was missing. It serves a similar role as cilantro, so super-tasters might try it as a substitute to learn why other people might actually like it.
Trader Joe’s Mushroom Umami seasoning, usually buy two at a time to make sure there’s always some on hand. I am actually looking into possibly growing and drying my own mushrooms because of how much I love this stuff.
Besides that, I love having a basil plant to pluck fresh greens from as a finisher. I should probably expand my fresh herb garden… Just basil and mint (for drinks) at the moment.
Oooo that looks nice, I’ll have to pickup some next time I’m in the city that has a trader Joe’s lol
Does it have a strong mushroomy taste? Or can it slip by for people who don’t like mushrooms? I love mushrooms but I can hardly cook with it because my kids hate them 😭
Only if you add quite a lot, otherwise it’s subtle. I put it on literally almost everything savory, like an all purpose flavor enhancer. Could use it to slow roll over time an appreciation for wonderful mushroom flavors :D
Could use it to slow roll over time an appreciation for wonderful mushroom flavors :D
Good lol that’s what I’m hoping for, I’m not entirely sure if it’s the taste they hate or the texture, but this sounds like it’ll be a good way to both tell which ones it is and if it is the taste something to get them used to it overtime lmao
Chili crisp has been life changing for us. We’re in Seattle and live by soup and congee during the cold months. Chili crisp goes in damn near everything.
Essential: refined salt, white sugar, some tasty fat (see notes), garlic, black and red peppers, limes, smoked paprika, cinnamon, vanilla extract
Important: ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro seeds, MSG, cloves, EVOO, lard, butter, some chicken stock
Nice to have: allspice, juniper, coarse salt, sage, rosemary, cumin, sesame oil, fish stock, nutmeg, dill, aniseed, bay leaves, curry powder (I think it’s garam masala?)
Typically not bothering with: onion and garlic powder (I like them, but they clump too much), store-bought spice mixes (I like making those at home).
Notes:
- by “refined” and “coarse” salt I mean solely the texture. Both are typically sea salt where I live.
- the white sugar in question is cane sugar.
- what I call “tasty fat” means EVOO, a yellower lard, or butter. I want at least one, in addition to the soy oil I use as an ingredient (not as seasoning — stuff has no taste, that’s the point).
- I’m fairly specific on red wine vinegar. I’m not really a fan of apple vinegar, and what’s locally sold as “alcohol vinegar” (it’s 4% acetic acid, 96% water, and nothing else) is for me a cleaning agent, I almost never use it for cooking.
- “chicken stock” usually means bouillons for practical reasons, but I do prefer homemade stock. Same deal with fish stock, I usually buy Japanese dried dashi.
onion and garlic powder (I like them, but they clump too much),
Wait what, I use them all the time and have never seen them clump before, I didn’t even think they could lol
Dunno if this has to do with the local weather, but for me it’s every time I buy them — a week later and they become soft rocks. Even if I use dry spoons and avoid steam from the pots.
Eventually I simply gave up: if a recipe requests either I swap it with the fresh stuff. Except for my fried chicken mix, but then I try to use the whole package ASAP.
I’m this way too. I could break down the whole spice rack I have, but I quit with the onion/garlic powders. I don’t have garlic powder in the house, but the onion powder is a rock. For onion, I use fresh. For garlic I use fresh or I do have dried minced garlic I get in small batches from the co op. Just something about starting a meal with sauteed onions idk . I feel you here
Smoked paprika is a requirement, closely followed by black pepper and garlic powder - theres a lot of seasonings i can go without, but I’ll do many unsavory things before i go without those three
Fennel is great in a lot of sauces and I love it in sausage.
Lemon pepper is great as a dry rub for breaded chicken, or added to buffalo sauce for lemon pepper wings.
I will keep old bay on hand exclusively for fries in the air fryer
