/ck/ - Food & Cooking

for deglazing and forming the base of sauces and cooking veges in:
clear chinese rice wine (more versatile)
shaoxiang wine (richer)
(both should only be a couple $ for a litre)
maybe sake

for seasoning:
expensive sesame oil (dressings)
cheap sesame oil (punchy chinese food)
rice wine vinegar (maybe get a cheap and expensive version of this too)
maybe chiankiang vinegar
mirin
hoisin sauce, maybe oyster sauce
kikkoman or yamasa soy
chinese dark soy (sweet, not very salty, and dark colour)
fish sauce (i like tiporas, red boat, 3 crab, or squid are good too)
5 spice powder
palm or rock sugar

for spicy:
grandma sauce
doubanjiang (chilli bean paste)- more funky than above
korean chilli flakes and gochujuang paste if you want to cook korean food

I always get whatever leafy chinese veges are freshest too, make sure to cook them that night though, they don't keep well. Maybe get some fried tofu or rice noodles too.
sesame seeds and peanuts if you don't have a better indian store for that.
maybe some frozen lemongrass and galangal and fresh chillis, fresh turmeric, fresh ginger etc

choi sum looked the freshest