Growing up eating Chinese cuisine on nearly a daily basis, for me, seeing Asian cooking tools in our kitchen cabinets was as common as seeing a saucepan.
When I was little, people didn’t know much about Asian cuisine. But over the course of my life, I’ve seen the popularity of Asian cuisine just explode. However, as more and more home cooks explore their adventurous side in the kitchen, it does leave some scratching their heads as to what certain Asian tools are and why they’re actually necessary to give your dish that authentic touch.
Don’t know where to start? Look no further – here’s 5 Essential Kitchen Tools that every aspiring Asian cook needs to have in their kitchen!
- Woks
One of the cornerstones of Chinese stir-fries is that it requires quick, intense heat. The reason for this is so the vegetables can be cooked quickly before they lose their delicious crunch & freshness. Woks are rounded on the bottom instead of flat like frying pans, and the unique shape helps keep the center of the pan and your ingredients as well. Since stir-fry requires a lot of mixing and tossing to ensure that all the ingredients are quickly and througly cooked, it’s easy to toss the food in a wok without it flying all over the place.
- Wok Spatulas
Just because you have the wok, that doesn’t mean you can use just any old spatula you have lying around in your kitchen. Special ‘Wok Spatulas’ are designed to fit the rounded bottom of to wok, and are intended to be the balance between control and length – long enough to keep you away from splattering oil & grease but not so far that becomes cumbersome to toss and turn the food.
- Chinese Cleavers
Chinese people have long been using giant scary cleavers ages before the era of the horror film. An all-purpose knife, Chinese cleavers are a bit on the heavy side, but are excellent for cutting, dicing, slicing, and shredding anything from vegetables and the additional weight makes it perfect for meat. Bonus: The wide blade is also helpful when you need to transfer the ingredients from the chopping board to the wok or cooking pot.
- Spider
I’m sure it’s no surprise to anybody that Chinese people also like their fair share of fried foods. This wire-netted frying skimmer with a long bamboo handle is perfect for scooping out delicious deep fried items out of your wok. But don’t pidgeonhole this handy kitchen item to only deep fried items – this tool will seriously make you wonder why you ever even entertained the thought of using a slotted spoon for digging anything out of a boiling pot.
- Bamboo Steamer
For most Westerners, vegetables are typically steamed but in Chinese cooking, vegetables are usually stir-fried or blanched and it’s meat, fish, and seafood that gets the sauna treatment. Some very popular steamed dishes include steamed fish, steamed crabs and of course, Xiǎolóngbāo (小笼包) aka soup dumplings!
Of course, there’s even more asian cooking tools that I end up using on an almost daily basis, but these are my top 5 must-haves. What’s your favorite? Comment below!
The Accidental Foodie 