Interchangeable Kitchen #1

If trying times didn’t happen, you’d be boring. While you wallow, cook. Eating tastes great. The following is a cheat sheet and methods I’ve gathered and use on a daily basis. Don’t want to use them? I don’t care. This was an ADD whim and now we're both here.

Lucky’s Master Spice (Bait)

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon coriander 

1 tablespoon onion powder 

½ tablespoon garlic powder

½ tablespoon caraway seed 

1 tablespoon thyme 

Salt & Pepper 

I’m pissed at myself for breaking the rhythm there but maybe it’ll piss you off enough too that you’ll remember it. That mix is good for anything. I use it in everything.

Regional/Country Cheat Sheet 

These are the ingredients you can add to give the illusion that your dish comes from a specific country. They are found dominantly in the dishes that represent that country; i.e. most of the recipes I’ve cooked or have eaten dominantly included three or four similar spices that made the dish what it was. 

Chinese	Ginger	Potato Starch	Red Chili	Garlic
Japanese	Dashi	Soy Sauce	Tofu	Noodle
Thai	Coconut Cream	Sour Paste	Rice Paper	Chicken
Indian	Ghee	Turmeric	Tomato	Cream
Slavic	Cabbage	Potato	Sour Cream	Dill
German	Sausage	Cabbage	Wheat	Onion
English	Mutton	Berries	Pie Dough	Nutmeg
American	Beef	Bass	Cheese	Corn
Spanish	Pork	Rice	Squid	Tomato
Mexican	Avocado	Masa	Onion	Cilantro
Caribbean	Rice	Red Beans	Plantains	Salt Fish
Korean	Crab	Gochujang	Buckwheat Noodle	Rice Cake
African	Okra	Curry	Goat	Porridge
French	Duck	Wine	Truffle	Tarte
Vietnamese	Cilantro	Vermicelli Noodles	Chili Paste	Blood Sausage
Mediterranean	Feta	Olive Oil	Garlic	Lemon

A bit winded but generally speaking if you are looking for a recipe to immerse yourself in a different flavor, do not select recipes that are labeled “the best” or “most popular” because those recipes contain blog-level shock value and no one gives a shit. They can over complicate simple methods and the only people allowed to do that are coincidentally the only ones that have the time, which are the French. The French can take 4 weeks to make a grilled cheese but it would be the best one you’ve ever had in your life. No one has time for that. 

The recipes you want are the ones made by really old people or the grandchildren of the old people that are still living in the country of where you’re trying to cook from/or visit said country frequently. You want to be as close to home as possible. Ideally, a recipe that isn’t well translated. Although, there are a few people that are the exception to this, which I will list in a later post. 

General Supplies 

All kitchens should have these ingredients in them. If you can’t make it, buy it. Keep it for a special occasion. It doesn’t matter. It makes approaching all recipes much easier. Most of my recipes pull from this list. This list doesn’t include “common” items like onions or potatoes. 

Dashi	Sake	Mirin	Soy Sauce	Ginger
Dill	Cilantro	Cream Cheese	Unsalted Butter	Gochujang
Black Bean Paste	Sesame Oil	Olive Oil	Potato/Corn Starch	Corn Meal
Beans	Rice	Chili Peppers	Old Bay	Worcestershire Sauce
Honey	Balsamic Vinegar	Cardamom	Vegetable Oil	Coconut Milk
Kimchi Spice	Masa Flour	MSG	Garlic Powder	Onion Powder

If it seems Asian-heavy it's because I cook as cheap as possible. I have a few expensive recipes but generally speaking those are reserved for paying customers. These are just things for at-home or if there’s someone you’re trying to impress. Two of the cheapest shopping lists come from South America and Asia. 

Interchangeable Kitchen is going to be entries centered around how to cook great tasting food that’s easy as shit, doesn’t take a bunch of your time and will use your leftovers.