I finally was able to find leeks at the grocery store for a reasonable price, since nearly every store near me has them in the “organic super food” section at $5 a stalk.
I turned it into some incredibly delicious Leek and Potato (And onion, I didn’t read the recipe closely) soup.
I think I cursed myself, because now I’m going to be wanting leeks even more
Spanish smoked paprika. Saffron. Ramps. One day I’m going to find a recipe that uses all of them and then I’ll eat nothing else.
Sounds like its paella time
May give that a try next may. I put down ramp seeds last year in the patch of forest behind my house, but no luck yet.
Lemon. Just love it so much.
Msg
Edit: and real peanut butter (crushed peanuts w/ peanut oil)
My local grocery store has a cool section where you can make your own nut butters from their bulk nuts. Haven’t had a chance to try it yet but could be cool to try some different combos
Avocado! As a kid I hated the slimy texture and practically bland taste, but now I love how creamy it makes many dishes and how it can mellow out very bold flavors
Black vinegar and dark soy sauce. I started fiddling around preparing more chinese/asian foods and these Sauces just have SUCH depth and strong flavor, I love it
I love dark soy sauce!
Been experimenting with different kinds of fungus the past few months, mostly because they take less time to work their magic (like the one in tempeh), but I will definitely try fermenting my own soy sauce at some point. Everything else I tried to make myself so far has been way better than store bought products. If that’s true for soy sauce too…
Commenting just to drop a link of the process in case you are interested.
Tsuru Bishio Kioke Shoyu is life-changing.
Rice vinegar, if it counts. Gives a tangy zip to lots of things.
There are so much delicious recipes with leeks : leek and potato soup, leek chowder, leek pie (with or without salmon), leek fondue (works great with smoked sausages), cold leeks and vinaigrette. It can also be used in couscous…
If you have the chance to get a whole plant, use the green part for the soup/chowder for a stronget vegetal flavor and the white part for other recipes.
Galangal. It actually does completely change the flavor, more so than makrut lime leaves.
Cacio e Pepe. Simplest dish, can be tricky to get right, but so good when it all comes together.
Asafoetida. When uncooked, the smell fits the hype of the various names from around the world: stinking gum, devil’s dirt, devil shit, satan’s shit, etc. Cooked, it tastes and smells like a very umami cross between garlic & leeks. Common in Indian cuisine, particularly vegetarian dishes.
Oh yeah! I have a tiny jar in my pantry. It’s great!
Salivating uncontrollably while reading the comments…
So, since it’s not mentioned yet, I 'll go with mushroom powders. Flavor and properties depend on which kinds of dried mushrooms are used, but they are just an incredible ingredient to add!
Parsley.
And oregano.
Oh I went to a fancy Japanese restaurant once and spent waaay too much money to try tuna belly sushi. Somehow it was worth the price.
Georgian green beans is awesome
Dashi powder. It’s the missing ingredient that made my homecooked japanese dishes taste just not good enough.
Kimchi on my second time. I realized I just had bad kimchi when I tried it years ago. Now I can afford authentic and fresh kimchi, I put it on lots of stuff.
You’ll have a second kimchi awakening when you switch to home made :)
I’ve never seen store bought that can compare, barring actually being in Korea.
Don’t know about “hype” but recently cabbage has become something i always have in the fridge. It stays fresh for very long (at least compared to lettuce), in almost every place where lettuce is normally used i prefer cabbage, cheap, nutritious and versatile, easy to throw in soups, stews or whatever you are cooking.
Kimchi!
streamed cabbage with a little salt over it for a veg side, is my new superpower in my dieting regimen
