Food Ingredients

When cooking Chinese food, one of the first things you'll need to know is whether you can find all the ingredients you need at the local supermarket, or need to make a trip to the Chinese/Asian grocery. This handy list shows which commonly used Chinese ingredient are available at most local supermarkets.

Which Ingredients do you need to buy at a Chinese grocery?

Chinese celery has a different flavor and appearance than regular celery. Learn more about choosing and storing Chinese celery, and when to use it.

Find out about the history and types of Chinese noodles, and how to use them in cooking.

Chinese dishes like Hot and Sour Soup wouldn't be the same without these two fungi. Learn more about cloud ears and wood ears, including storage tips and how to use them in recipes.

A handy chart showing preparation and cooking times for different types of Asian noodles, including fresh and dried egg noodles, cellophane noodles and more.

Five-Spice Powder Information about five-spice powder and its relation to the five elements theory. Recipes, storage and use, and an online source

Boiling rice is harder than it sounds. Here are easy step by step photo instructions to cook rice that's light and fluffy.

A more indepth look at Asian ingredients, including sea cucumbers and sweet and sour sauce.

Running out of a specific ingredient doesn't mean you can't cook Chinese food. This article includes substitutions for everything from hoisin sauce to water chestnuts.

how to lower the salt in Chinese cooking

Ten easy tips for cooking rice that is light and fluffy.

Here you'll find several different recipes using sesame seeds, including dumplings, sesame seed balls, and basic instructions on how to toast sesame seeds.

Sesame - Learn a little history about this popular ingredient, and how sesame is used in Chinese cooking. Learn more about sesame seeds, sesame oil and sesame paste, and try some recipes.

Here is an easy way to tell the difference between light and dark soy sauce.

A staple in Chinese and Japanese cuisine, and widely used throughout East Asia as well, soy sauce was invented by the Chinese over 2,000 years ago. Here are the top five types of Chinese soy sauce.

Soy sauce is indispensable to Chinese cooking. What type of soy sauce do you use?

Why is there cornstarch in the marinade? Many Chinese recipes call for adding cornstarch to the marinade. Find out why and try several recipes

Water chestnuts - where would Chinese food be without them? Here is information about water chestnuts including selection, storage and cooking tips, health benefits, substitutions and recipes.