Tway's 10 Pantry Staples

what I have in my kitchen at all times

May 13, 2021

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bruh.. coming up with this list was so hard because I keep so many “just in case” items on me, but here are 10 items that I would have to take with me if I was stranded on an island by myself.

1. Rice

I grew up eating rice with almost every single meal so I have to keep that thang on me but it’s not just that, rice has a super long shelf life (2 years to be exact) so it's great to have on hand and it's also great to stretch out meals with. There are so many meals that I can make with rice, for example, a simple rice bowl, porridge, pudding, crackers and the list just goes on and on. It's such a simple ingredient, but I definitely cannot live without it. My favorite type of rice is jasmine rice (the good kind!), I’ve bought jasmine rice from the 99 cent store in my days of stretching out $20 a week for groceries and it was okay, but buying good quality jasmine rice really makes a big difference

Jasmine Rice Recommendations

Sunlee a.k.a Bhudda brand jasmine rice
Three Ladies Jasmine Rice

2. All Purpose Flour

Like the name suggest, this flour is all purpose, meaning multi functional and I love that. It's essential for baking but it is also a great ingredient to have in cooking because it can act as a thickening agent to sauces and soups. All purpose flour has a long shelf life as well (8 months) so I keep it in a big container like my rice and it’s just so convenient.

3. Fish Sauce

There was no way that fish sauce wouldn’t make the list. If you’re new here… Hi my name is Tway and I fucking love fish sauce!!!! If you have seen my recipe videos there's a good chance that you've seen me use this sauce. This is a staple sauce in my pantry because I use it in majority of my cooking and honestly, this sauce keeps me grounded and connected to my Vietnamese roots. It’s a intricate alternative to salt and it really does elevate the dishes that I make.

Fish sauce recommendations

4. Soy Sauce

Much like fish sauce, I also use soy sauce in a lot of my cooking since my cooking is mostly asian recipes so it's always handy to have 1 or 2 bottles in my pantry. I like to use soy sauce to make dipping sauces, in marinades, to bring depth to my soups (especially the clear soups). I also have seasoning sauce in my pantry and it’s very similar to soy sauce but it’s just a bit more salty and a subtle difference in taste and aroma, both are great, it just depends on what you’re in the mood for.

5. Oyster Sauce

This sauce completes the Holy Trinity of Vietnamese cooking. Oyster sauce goes so well with the soy sauce & fish sauce combination so it's hard to keep them separated. I like to use oyster sauce in my cooking to not only add a beautiful sheen to my dishes but to also add a little extra umami to it as well.

6. Cooking Oil

There are so many delicious oils to choose from and my top cooking oils are avocado, olive oil and vegetable oil. There’s a purpose for each oil, avocado for my everyday use like to quickly sauté vegetables or fry some eggs, vegetable for deep frying because avocado oil is too expensive to use for deep frying, and olive oil for dressings and sauces. If I had to pick from the three that I have, I would pick avocado oil. It’s neutral with a high smoke point and it’s not as sus as vegetable oil. It gets the job done lol.

7. Garlic

This list would not have been a true Tway’s staple list without GARLIC! It’s in literally almost all of my recipe and because it’s just so damn delicious. If garlic is not a staple in your pantry, I don’t think I can trust you cooking for me LOL. Everything about garlic is awesome, from the fragrance it release when it touches a hot pan to the healing properties, it’s a must.

8. Eggs

I. LOVE. EGGS! They're so easy, versatile and packed with protein. If you’re a frequent IG story viewer of mine, you’d know all about my breakfast eggs, so mf bomb! If I was stranded on an island though, I would bring a hen instead of just having eggs though, but as far as my pantry goes.. I always have eggs on deck. YES I said pantry, did you know that fresh eggs straight from a chicken’s bottom does not have to be refrigerated? In Vietnam and other parts of the world, eggs do not have to be refrigerated because it hasn’t been washed, once the egg is washed it is more easy for bacteria to seep in and when you’ve already put your eggs in the fridge you cannot leave them out because that can cause the eggs to “sweat”, making it porous and easy to penetrate. A quick fun fact on eggs (:

9. Vinegar

This was a tough one to decide because it was between vinegar and limes, but the versatility of vinegar was what made me choose vinegar over limes. They both add a great acidic element to food but I can also use vinegar to clean with so that was the added bonus. I also picked vinegar over limes to be on this list because vinegar has a longer shelf life than limes so that means I might not always have limes.

10. Dry Pasta

Just like rice, I think keeping dry pasta in the pantry is great because it has a long shelf life & I can whip up a super easy pasta dish anytime I’m not in the mood for rice. Dry rice noodles also fall under this category so that opens me up to so many options of dishes to make.

Again, this list was hard to put together because I keep a lot of “just in case” items in my pantry, but like I said, if I was to be stranded on an island with these 10 items, I would be content.

What are your pantry staples? Please share, I’d love to have some new ideas

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