Creating a Chinese Pantry

The first day of shopping is complete, though there will be others as our lessons progress. As I have led my class from shop to store to market to maker through Chinatown’s main streets and twisting alleys, I have repeatedly impressed on them the need to exercise care as they shop. I have demonstrated that food labels on Chinese products can be confounding adventures. Although it is true that more and more products from the vast Chinese table have become familiar, and that many foods once deemed exotic and unapproachable are now commonplace, there has also been a proliferation of brands and exercises in fanciful packaging. Which soy? Which sesame oil? Why? Which rice, Texas or Thai jasmine? Why? The inventories often seem endless. However, I test them all, and when I find a particular product to be superior, to be closest to the taste of tradition, I recommend it by name.