Food What off the beaten path food item do you always have on hand?

[Danica]

Swedish Christmas Mustard from Ikea. So good with Quorn.

 

[MAGs]

Korean red pepper paste (in a medium-sized tub)
Lee Kum Kee Oyster sauce
A jar of Pickled Shrimp
Sheets of dried seaweed

These are staples in my fridge as well.And KIMCHEE, jjangmeun(noodles in black bean sauce) heat and serve meal! I'm not Korean but I have loved eating korean food since watching kdramas! Those scenes where they eat bulgogi or any other grilled meat and wrap it in lettuce with all the yummy trimmings? I also tried making bibimbap I kept telling DH that I might have been Korean in my previous life.

Also, ginger never seems to run out in our household.

 

[wantmore]

refridgerated staples (all needed for sauteeing and making salad):
garlic
onion
tomatoes
bell pepper
lettuce
lots of salad dressing
wine (gotta have them for DH)
beer for guests (mostly for my dad)
peanut butter and jelly (great for quick snack)
2 boxes of cereal (DH's breakfast every morning) - we refridgereate to keep them fresh


pantry staples:
rice (we eat rice everyday, except when I make pasta dish)
pasta of all sorts
cans of Tomato sauces
lots of salad dressings (we always have salad in the fridge)
canned chicken
canned tuna

Ramen Instant noodles (for me only, DH loathe these)
SPAM (okay, I know , but I'm Asian and I grew up on this - Dh is caucasian and will ABSOLUTELY not touch it nonetheless eat it!) It's great cut up and fried and to eat it with bread.

chicken broth
many many many spices
fish sauce
soy sauce
Olive Oil
Canola Oil

I have more, but I'll stop here.

 

[coach4me]

DH and I both like indian food, and in the past few years I've learned how to cook some of the easier things (niether of us is indian, LOL) so we always have indian spices like tumeric, garam masala, cardomum pods and cardomum powder, dried corriander powder, things like that around.

We also grow basil in the back yard... I can't live without fresh basil.
I hoard canned chickpeas... to make fresh hummus or to just eat right out of the can!
We always, always have sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, artichoke hearts and olive oil.

Beer- for DH. I don't drink it at all... makes my tummy upset.

 

[twin53]

chinese sausage -lop cheung
chicken and veggie potstickers
dried seaweed
rice crackers
dried shrimp

 

[priiin]

Tuna...I always have cans of it in my pantry! I know it's bad to eat so much of it because of the high levels of mercury...but I love the stuff!!

I love tuna too! I rarely eat it because my mom never let us eat it because of the mercury too. One of my cousins has autism and ever since my mom learned he had autism we weren't allowed to eat tuna and even get flu shots! I think the level of mercury in those shots is fairly low though..I'm not sure.

 

[ProfNot]

Kam listed lots of my favs (below). A few additions:
Hazelnut oil
Cardamom
Basil pesto - made from scratch and frozen in an ice cube tray. Stored in a baggie in the freezer.
Small batches of several labor-intensive dish in small portions in my freezer. 1 of my favs: rabbit compote with plums, cognac, and pecans.
Low sodium crackers great for most cheeses
Top quality canned soups like those made by Wolfgang Puck and Amy's.
European quality cocoa with no sugar or anything. I get mine from ChocolateNecessities.com
Dijon mustard
Unsalted aka sweet butter in the freezer
Fresh herbs trimmed and washed, in baggies in the freezer
Fresh lemons and limes

*DEMI GLACE- A MUST FOR ANY KITCHEN!!
*Red wine- madeira, marsala etc
*William Sonoma Gravy base
*True Parmigiano Reggiano
*Low fat or fat free ricotta- not part skim
*Frozen chopped spinach
*Fat free and low sodium broth
*Baking nuts
*Mushrooms- I think the whole canned ones are awesome in a pinch!
*Sweet thai chili sauce
*Sesame oil
*Wick Fowler's chili mix
*Taco seasoning
*Wasabi paste
*Lawry's seasoning salt
*Tuna- there was a huge sale so we stocked up (20+ cans!)
*Golden Butter cake mix- we tweak it and it makes the best almond rum cake
*Bisquick- Love impossible pepperoni pies!

 

[claireZk]

Ramen Instant noodles (for me only, DH loathe these)
SPAM (okay, I know , but I'm Asian and I grew up on this - Dh is caucasian and will ABSOLUTELY not touch it nonetheless eat it!) It's great cut up and fried and to eat it with bread.

^ I LOVE Spam too! I don't keep it around all the time, but I buy it when it's on sale. I just made Spam fried rice for dinner tonight!

And I love ramen-- I always have it in my pantry. My mom always tries to get me to eat the "good" kind with stuff like fish flakes and seaweed in it, but I like the Top Ramen 10 cent kind in Oriental flavor :shame:

 

[alanalovechanel]

I always have feta cheese, it's good for putting with salads, chicken, pasta.
Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread, omg, you can put that stuff on dirt and it will taste good, literally anything from english muffins, to saltines!
I also always have nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds..I don't eat a lot of meat, so it goes with everything. Also, Granola..I love those crunchy little oats!

 

[fashionfrenzy]

Fage Greek yogurt
feta
greek olives
minced garlic
laughing cow light cheese wedges--good for snacking, and adding to dishes
frozen shrimp
egg beaters
rotel diced chilies
green chili sauce

 

[MaxHavoc]

Some of the staples that are ALWAYS in my house.....

Miso flavored Ramen
Sambal (sp?) red pepper paste
Basmati rice
Panko bread crumbs

Cheeses - feta, goat, kasaeri

Fresh limes, lemons, garlic, basil

Canned red salmon, smoked salmon, pole caught tuna (less mercury)

At least 5 different types/flavors of each - honey, oils, and salt.

 

[wantmore]

^ I LOVE Spam too! I don't keep it around all the time, but I buy it when it's on sale. I just made Spam fried rice for dinner tonight!

And I love ramen-- I always have it in my pantry. My mom always tries to get me to eat the "good" kind with stuff like fish flakes and seaweed in it, but I like the Top Ramen 10 cent kind in Oriental flavor :shame:

Yum, SPAM in fried rice ......I used to get the big cans of SPAM but half of it goes to waste. Good thing they came out with 1/2 size cans now and those are the ones I buy. I have about 3 cans w/c will last me 1 year or so.

 

[claireZk]

^ Have you seen the single serving pouches they have now???

 

[wantmore]

^^Nope! That's even better for me! I just like to have a couple of slices with bread and the rest is wasted, then I wait another 3 months or so to eat SPAM again. Thanks. I'm going to look it up the next time I buy it.

 

[priiin]

To some of my caucasian friends they think all the Korean food I have is weird. When they eat it they love it though.