Glossary

Tomato
Onion

White onion/spanish onion/purple onion, but not shallots or green onion

Garlic
Ginger
Eggplant
Potato
Carrot
Mushroom
Green beans

The whole pod with immature beans inside. I usually use this and flat beans interchangeably

Peas
Snow peas
Lettuce
Bok Choy
Leek

Did you know, in Portuguese this is called french garlic. I think it looks like a giant green onion.

Green Onion

Bigger than chives, smaller than leeks

Spinach
Cucumber
Chilli pepper

Spicy chillies

Bell Pepper

Sweet pepper

Jalapeño

Spicy south american pepper

Lemon
Tomato pulp

Essentially it's blended tomato that comes in a jar

Lime
Fish
Shrimp
Pork
Chicken
Beef
Canned tuna

Canned tuna, unflavoured. In olive oil > regular oil > natural

Tuna
Salmon
Bacon
Egg
Milk
Tofu
Rice

White rice, usually jasmine.

Pasta

Any kind of pasta, I usually use penne, spaghetti or linguini. It should be boiled in very salty water.

Soba

Buckwheat noodles

Shin Ramen

A packet of very spicy and very versatile instant noodles

Quinoa
Couscous

It's kind of like pasta, but actually it's semolina flour chunks.

Beans
Chickpeas
Lentils
Tapioca

Starch from the cassava plant

Sesame seeds
Matcha
Cilantro

Fresh coriander leaves

Parsley
Basil
Cheese
Parmesan
Gruyère

A cheese suitable for melty dishes

Cheddar

American cheese

Kimchi

Korean sour spicy cabbage

Nori

Sheets of dry seaweed

Coconut milk

The thick kind that comes in a carton or can

Olives
Avocado
Bread
Bread Crumbs

Store bought is very convenient

Flour
Sugar
Honey
Doubanjiang

(La doubanjiang) A fermented, spicy, red bean paste

Butter
Olive oil
Easy

Easy to make

Medium

Medium difficulty

Hard

Hard and time consuming to make

One pot

Only uses one pot

Leftovers

Good to eat as leftovers

Freezes

Good to freeze

Vegetarian

No meat, but may have eggs or other animal products

4-spice

French style 4-spice, usually pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, sometimes also cinnamon

Bay leaf

It's mysterious ingredient, but I swear it does something

Mirin

Japanese cooking wine

Dashi

Sometimes stock or as a dry extract, a Japanese fish flavour for stews and sauces

Kombu

A kind of seaweed used for its umami flavor

Soy Sauce
Vinegar
Curry cube mix

A premade seasoning cube, found in any asian store. The most popular is "Golden Curry".

Siracha

A ready to eat spicy sauce

Mayo

Mayonnaise

Star anise
Cinnamon
Sichuan pepper

It gives a numbing sensation

Fennel seeds
Nutmeg
al dente

Cooked, but firm when biting. Usually for pasta, cook for 1 minute less than the package instructions