The kitchen is one of the busiest areas of a house. Everyone has to eat, and when it comes to food, this is where a lot of the magic happens. A lot of the preparation happens on a granite countertop. Its hardness makes it a good place to chop meats on, and its smooth surface makes cleanups a breeze. Working here should be a seamless experience. You should be able to move around freely while you are cooking a dish or two. Important items should be within easy reach. Otherwise, you may spend too much time searching, and that could lead to lapses like overcooking.
If you want your kitchen to be a place where you can churn out dishes from international cuisine, you better make sure that it armed to the teeth with the right equipment and tools. Here are some of the most important ones you have to keep in mind.
Ingredients
Making dishes from all around the world requires that you have a wide variety of ingredients on hand. For example, when it comes to Japanese food, they focus more on the quality of the main ingredients. They source their meats and seafood very meticulously, only choosing the ones that pass their high standards. That said, their staples mostly involve a special type of rice that had the right amount of stickiness. You may want to include this in your storage if you plan to serve sushi or just serve it together with popular dishes like tempura or teriyaki.
Your spice rack should have a bevy of choices including dried rosemary and oregano if you are cooking up something Italian. But if you want to add Indian dishes to your repertoire, you have to add turmeric and curry mixes in there too.
Cooking Equipment
Your kitchen cabinets better have a lot of space because you may need to add a lot of chunky stuff to them. If you are into Chinese cuisine, you should be familiar with their stir-fry dishes. These are made on very high heat, and you need to be quick or else your food will get burnt. Only a wok can give them justice. Its wide area allows you to do quick strokes without you worrying about things spilling over. You also should add stacks of steaming trays for the many types of dim sum out there.
If you want to make your own pasta, put the rolling pin away and save yourself some trouble by getting a pasta maker. Just take a bit of your dough and flatten it a little, and then have it run through it. As you turn the crank, you will see the dough come out of the other end as a thin sheet. It also switches to a cutting mode if you want to create noodles.
Cooking steaks or burgers is also possible in the kitchen if you have grill plates. These can go over your stove burners, and these will achieve a similar effect to your outdoor grilling equipment. For many Asian cuisines, rice cookers are a must.
Must-have Utensils
Utensils are not just for eating, but also for preparing food too. The first thing that will come to mind when you think of Asian cuisine is a pair of chopsticks. There is a learning curve if you want to eat with them, but did you know that they are also used in checking for the oil’s temperature? Just dip one wooden stick and if you see some bubbles around it, it means it is hot enough for frying.
Spoons, forks, and knives are expected to be present in any household. But if you are having a seafood feast with crabs and lobsters, they would not be useful in cracking their shells. Make sure that you use dedicated utensils for that purpose and not the barbaric way of hammering on the crustacean’s shell with a small mallet.
If you have a diverse taste in food, you also want your kitchen to be the same. Getting it ready for international cuisine is just a matter of sourcing the right equipment and ingredients. Once you have all of those, you should be ready to go making those varied dishes. Just be wary of your neighbors getting curious and wanting to get a taste of your cooking.
