this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2025
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[QUESTION] What are your favorite spices to use in soups?

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Basically the title. I want to learn more about some ingredients or food items that you use frequently in your cooking and that aren't super common where you live.

Example: Roasted sesame oil. Didn't know there was such a thing until a year ago, and I never want to miss it again.

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[–] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Dehydrated mushrooms.

They're shelf stable, delicious, and healthy. They can be the focus of a meal like a stir-fry, or you can add them into anything savory (rehydrated or ground up) to give it more flavor depth— spaghetti sauce or chili are great examples. Throw some in ramen for an easy fancy-up.

They're amazing.

[–] Heikki2@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

This. I also pulverizer them into a powder to sprinkle into dishes.

My mother. Is on a very reduced salt diet. I introduced her to mushroom powder and she really likes the flavor it brings to everything.

[–] towamo7603@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
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[–] toomanypancakes@piefed.world 13 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Fresh mint, not ridiculously uncommon or anything but I never see people buying it and its rarely called for in recipes I encounter. I use it in a ton of soups, salads, and dressings. Also its like my favorite flavor ever.

[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago

Maybe not very uncommon but very underrated!

[–] chillpanzee@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 weeks ago

I don't love mint as a food ingredient, but it's good to have on-hand because you never know when you're gonna need an emergency mojito.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I hope you're fencing that shit in, because every time I tried to grow mint, it took over the entire pot and the ones next to it.

I have an old wood box that overflows with mint.
Anything outside the box gets the weed wacker.
Works well enough.
Then again oregano made of easy in there and it's like the Blood War in there now.
Sometimes the mint starts taking over, sometimes it's the oregano.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I have a deep, torrid addiction to Sriracha ('rooster') sauce.

It's awesome.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

I use it instead of ketchup.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

Hoisin Sauce - Umami bomb!

So here's what you do...

Marinate chicken breast in soy sauce a good couple hours or overnight.

Chop it into cubes, put them on skewers and grill until done.

Take an onion bun, paint one side with peanut sauce, the other with hoisin sauce. Stack up the chicken, top off with a slaw mixture, green and purple cabbage, shredded carrots.

Top all that off with sweet chili sauce. Put the top bun on and enjoy!

[–] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

A good rice cooker.

I use my zojirushi all the time and it makes perfect or near perfect rice every time.

For some easy umami, dried porcini mushrooms are great

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

For some easy umami, dried porcini mushrooms are great

Why not just

[–] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Sometimes you want heavy mushroom flavor. The ajinomoto package is in the pantry also

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Fuyioo, Nephew Tolookah know how to cook as well!

I didn't even know the name of the brand but sounded familiar, so had to run to check.

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[–] Zier@fedia.io 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Gochujang and Miso. They are very versatile ingredients.

[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 weeks ago

Oh, I love Gochujang. Goes very well with the sesame oil, too!

[–] cheers_queers@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

So amazing! Apparently there's a lady at the grocery store that will literally buy out the entire stock when it comes in sometimes.

That lady is not me, because I'm a sad lady when it happens and I can't buy any lol

[–] ladytaters@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Penzey's has outstanding smoked paprika if you're in the US! I'm not sure they ship elsewhere though.

[–] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Indeedy they do! They're pricey though so I don't order from them often. Mother will probably get me a gift card to them for the holidays so it's just a matter of time!

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Capers are more useful than one might think.

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Lemon pepper. It's surprising what a little sweet kick can do for food. My personal favorite is to put lemon pepper on cream cheese on a bagel.

[–] BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Bradj, an Algerian delicacy

[–] watson387@sopuli.xyz 5 points 3 weeks ago

Not really unusual, but I'll put Marmite on anything. Also, no matter what it is you're cooking, it'll taste better with a little garam masala added.

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 5 points 3 weeks ago

Leche de tigre.

I make a veggie version which is just fresh lime juice, thinly sliced red onions, thinly sliced habaneros, and fresh cilantro. It can be used to make ceviche, which is a delicious cold-cooked fish dish (and Latino counterpart to sashimi), or just use it as a zesty side that can be added to just about anything non-sweet.

Simple to make, stores for weeks, low cal and super-healthy.

[–] Sophocles@infosec.pub 5 points 3 weeks ago

Canned chipotles in adobo are really good additions to anything savory. Add it to mayo or mac n cheese for a smoky & tangy depth of flavor. Plus where I live it's like 70¢ a can, which is a great price for how much it upgrades the dish.

[–] ICCrawler@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I can get dried california reaper peppers at the grocery store near my place. I either stir in or top most my food with slivers of the pepper. Literally almost every meal. I use scissors to cut them. As someone who likes their spicy food, well, spicy, the amount of basic red pepper that I'd need to get to the heat level I want means I'm basically drowning the food in the flavor of red pepper. By using a super hot pepper instead, I can get a lot of heat without much actual change in the flavor of the food because it doesn't take that much.

[–] Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

We found some carolina reaper powder. It's like cayenne pepper but for calorina reapers. Also ran into hatch green chili pepper for the first time. That's cool you can get dried whole reapers though, little jealous

[–] RoquetteQueen@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I love sumac. The spice. I put it on everything. Amazing lemony taste with a beautiful red colour.

[–] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Also a big sumac fan. And zaatar, which contains lots.

[–] RoquetteQueen@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago

Oh yes zaatar is so good

[–] NegentropicBoy@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Olive oil. On toast with soup. On crackers with cheese.

[–] tuban_muzuru@ohai.social 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] zabadoh@ani.social 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm surprised by how much I use this stuff, and the competitor Slap Ya Mama. I started buying a can for red beans and rice, but it's just perfect for seasoning eggs, marinating chicken, etc.

[–] tuban_muzuru@ohai.social 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

@zabadoh

For about seven years, I lived as a traveling software guy. Extended Stays were my preferred hotels: with a full sized fridge, and an okay stove - it's not a bad life. I would make up big batches of land gumbo and freeze most of it.

Celery, bell pepper, onion, beef sausage, dark meat chicken thighs, all chopped fine, in the roasting pan. Butter roux, four hours browning. A butter roux will never get as dark as those NOLA roux. Don't want to scorch the butter. The chicken skins, bones and drippings, boiling in hot water. Run through a sieve into the roasting pan And here's the Tony's , in the back, my clothes all over the bed.

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[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Speaking of roasted sesame oil, ever since moving to Japan I have fallen in love with roasted sesame dressing and now I won’t eat salads with anything else.

For me I really like minced dried onion when cooking ground beef.

I also make my own cinnamon sugar, which gets used in a lot of stuff. 😋

[–] DarkShaggy@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Mushroom bouillon for sure. Toss it into any rice and get an amazing flavor.

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Maggi seasoning:

The flavor is a little bit like soy sauce, but it has 'umami' taste too.

It's pretty unique, but fucking delicious in things like banh mi sandwiches or stir fry.

A tiny little bit goes a long way - don't overdo it!

[–] scytale@piefed.zip 3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Check out the similar Knorr Seasoning. I like the flavor much more than Maggi.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

Brit.

HP Sauce. Marmite. Worcestershire Sauce.

[–] BreadOven@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

A classic home-made/canned chili sauce. It goes into any hearty sauce that's tomato based (some that aren't), tacos, eggs, and a bunch more in probably forgetting.

Just adds a nice sweetness and complexity from the peppers etc.

[–] renrenPDX@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 weeks ago

Bonito flakes.

Aside from normal use in Asian cuisine, I like to grind it to a fine powder to add extra flavor to foods. Add to ramen, rice, soup, whatever. Grind it as is, or flavor it with soy sauce and/or sugar and bake till dry then grind. Make your own furikake (soy sauce, sugar, nori, sesame seeds, etc). Both cats and dogs love eating it too (as is, not ground).

Just remember its price to volume ratio when using in ground form :D

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