A LIFESTYLE BLOG
When creating delicious creations in your kitchen, you will undoubtedly regularly come across ingredients you may not be familiar with. On this page, I have tried to capture some of these ingredients which we use regularly in our kitchen, but may not be commonly used in many households. When sourcing ingredients, you may find the images of each ingredient shown below, helpful to show the shop assistant when seeking these products, as sometimes they may be known by another name in different regions.
Unique Ingredients
Nduja
An Italy spreadable spicy pork salami in a jar or can be brought from a deli - cut to order.
Bonito Flakes
Dried thinly shaved tuna. You can use it as a topping or use it for making a Dashi stock.
Burrata
Burratta cheese has a mozzarella skin filled with soft and gooey cheese, oozing out of the skin when it’s cut. It can be used as a spread with vine ripened Italian tomatoes on a ciabatta or used in a salad.
Tamarind Concentrate
In lieu of fresh tamarinds, I use tamarind concentrate and it can be stored in the fridge after open.
Truffle
These fungus brings an extra layer of depth and earthiness to a dish.
Bottarga
In Italy, they called this delicacy of salted cured fish roe Bottarga. In Japan, they called it karasumi. Perfect for pasta dishes or you can simply slice thinly and devour with a glass of Pinot Gris or Pet-Nat.
Shrimp Paste
The very pungent smelly paste yet gives an umami flavour to a dish.
Wakkame (Seaweed)
Wakame is a type of seaweed, you use it by adding hot water to re-hydrating it to bring it to live.
Dehydrated Asian Anchovies
These anchovies can be used as part of a sauce or as an ingredient or a snack.