The 7 ingredients you need to create any great Chinese meal

With Lunar New Year celebrations already in full swing, we asked one of Australia’s leading Chinese chefs for his top tips on what ingredients you must have in your kitchen.

Going into an Asian supermarket can seem like either a treasure trove of wondrous culinary delights, or a complete mind melter of too many options.

But when it comes to creating delicious Asian food at home, you only really need seven ingredients to make your dishes shine, says chef Tony Ching.

Food tour operator Tony Ching at Sunnybank. Picture: Lachie Millard

The professional cook runs food tours of Brisbane’s bustling Asian mecca Sunnybank, advising shoppers on the key ingredients to buy to create the best dishes at home.

Now with Lunar New Year celebration in full swing, and Mr Ching hosting a number of foodie discovery sessions at Sunnybank Plaza, he reveals what you should be stocking up your kitchen with.

FERMENTED BLACK BEANS

Beef and black bean.

These are the ultimate flavour bomb, according to Mr Ching, adding a salty, umami hit to any dish.

They can be bought either in jars or semi-dried in vacuum packs, with the latter his favourite when rehydrated at home in rice wine.

Mr Ching says they are perhaps best in the classic dish of beef and black bean, which can be livened up further by adding either chilli, garlic or shallots. He also loves them with steamed pork ribs or steamed chicken, or mixed with soy sauce for a topping or marinade.

“You can fry them and keep some of them hole in a dish, so then you get these little pops of flavour like little surprises,” he says.

SESAME OIL

Sesame oil.

Sesame oil is the ultimate way to add a little nuttiness to a dish, and can be used for everything from cooking stir-fries to dipping sauces – especially when mixed with soy sauce or sriracha.

But Mr Ching says sesame oil is often stale when you buy it from the shops so offers this hot tip to ensure you’re enjoying it fresh.

“The first thing I would do when I buy a bottle is I would open up that bottle and heat it and get it on the verge of smokey and then cool it down and then put it in back in the bottle [to use],” he says.

RICE WINE

When you’re creating Asian marinades, rice wine is a must, says Mr Ching.

“Because of the salt content, it’s almost salty-sweet so therefore you get this almost unique, addictive flavour,” he says.

He says it has the perfect amount of alcohol in it, ensuring it lets the true flavour of whatever you’re marinating shine through and isn’t overpowering or too sweet like sherry.

His favourite is the Double Phoenix Shao Zing Cooking Wine, which he likes to use in any wet marinade.

BLACK OR RED VINEGAR

Prawn dumplings with a black vinegar and chilli dressing.

Whether it’s for a salad dressing, dipping sauce for dumplings, or even to add to your roast’s gravy, black and red vinegars are a pantry must, says Mr Ching.

“The black ones in particular have a resemblance to balsamic [vinegar],” he says.

“I use it instead of balsamic all the time because it’s cheaper, and it’s really good in your roast meat gravy. You just add a tablespoon to the pan juices and it cuts through the fattiness and rounds out the flavour.”

He says red vinegar is best for fish and white meats, or white-meat dumplings, while the black variety is good for anything else that needs a tangy vinegar hit.

GINGER

When it comes to ginger, Mr Ching insists you need to use old ginger, not young ginger for cooking.

“We think young is good and anything that’s youthful is great, but young ginger is what you should put in your tea, it doesn’t have the heat of the older ginger,” he says.

He also says you shouldn’t peel ginger as it takes away much of its flavour, instead just give it a good clean.

But his biggest tip is to never grate or microplane it, but simply slice it.

“If you grate it, the whole meal tastes like ginger, but when you slice it, you might get one mouthful with it and one without, and that leads to every mouthful being different,” he says.

He recommends using it for everything from stir-fries to Asian-style casseroles.

GARLIC

Freshly picked garlic. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Garlic is the star ingredient in so many Asian dishes from vegetable sides to meat mains.

Mr Ching recommends, like with ginger, that is its never crushed or smooshed, but cut into thin slices

“That way all of a sudden you get bursts of garlic in your mouth,” he says.

CHILLI PASTE OR OIL

“You want to have a bottle of some form of chilli – one with an oil base and one that’s water based,” Mr Ching says.

The oil-based versions are perfect for frying with, whether it be a casserole, noodle dish or even fried eggs.

“I like using the oil-based ones in soup dishes or where you can fry the noodles in the chilli oil,” he says.

While the water-based ones are great for dipping sauces.

“Water-based ones will be sharper and hotter but the affect [from the heat] won’t last as long as the oil-based ones, which coat your tongue.”