Stocking one's kitchen....

Sometimes I wonder how variations of dishes get started, and I think maybe one reason is just that the chef/cook doesn't have the ingredients called for on hand, and decides either to omit or substitute. The other day I made another Chinese dish called Ma Po Tofu. It's one of my favourite dishes. But it's not always easy to lay one's hands on Szechuan peppercorns, or fermented black beans. I like spicy stuff, but normally the Szechuan kind is almost more than I can handle. It's a different kind of spiciness, something the Chinese called ma-la.. A kind of numbing spiciness. I tend to use sriracha... and in my version I also use ketchup so it's a bit tangy sweet too, as well as red. I've just thought of some other dishes that use fermented black beans too, so it'll be worth it to have a jar.

That's my basic philosophy to stocking my kitchen. I generally won't buy ingredients that I don't have multiple uses for, unless if it's going to be completely used up in a particular dish, or if I know it's going to be in a dish I make often. I have a can or two of coconut milk around, for example, because I do make Thai curries, and the entire can is used up.. Oddly enough, I also always have capers around, since they are used in sauces and can dress up a tuna salad nicely, among other things. I am adventurous in my cooking, but I do try not to waste money.

So here's my version of the tofu dish.