Water. Check. Beans check. Tomatoes check. Flour check. Rice check.
Do NOT forget the spices or you might as well be eating cardboard.
Salt
I think Whole Foods has gone downhill and now only shop there for their 365 brand Fine Sea Salt as it comes in a surprisingly good disposable shaker with two sizes of openings. This is my day-to-day as it’s handy and cheap at $0.09 per ounce.
I also have tubs of Maldon Sea Salt flakes but that’s not practical at more than 5x the price of the 365 salt.
Salt can be kept indefinitely as long as it is stored in a dry area.
Pepper
I buy whole peppercorns at Costco and grind them on demand using the Rolls Royce of pepper grinders. Well, more like the Peugeot of pepper grinders. Peugeot’s Paris pepper grinder one of the best kitchen tools I’ve purchased. It’s very smooth to grind and simple to set pepper coarseness. I betcha didn’t know that grinding could be a pleasure.
Yeah, I didn’t know that Peugeot made more than cars either.
Whole peppercorns can maintain their flavor for 1-3 years if stored in a dry area, but ground pepper begin to lose their flavor after about four months.
Salt and pepper add to any dish. Here are the other should haves.
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
I sprinkle these in ribollita soup, chili con carne, and pizza. They’re an extremely versatile augmentation to any dish.
Like the other spices, red pepper flakes lose their flavor after some time, so get whole red peppers and grind them if you plan to store them for longer.
Paprika
Another ingredient that adds to the flavor of many dishes. Paprika is ground red chili peppers. It’s a subtler heat than chili powder due to the variety of capsicum chili used. This always goes in my bean mix for tacos and burritos and inject a deeper umami into the dish.
Paprika can keep for 2-3 years if kept in a cool, dry and dark area.
Chili Powder
Paprika’s big brother is where the heat is. There are many brands of chili powder and truth be told I haven’t detected much of a difference in these blends. But they’re an essential part of the spice inventory.
Cayenne pepper is a bit different as it’s made from one type of chili, the cayenne pepper, and is particularly used in gumbo and other dishes.
Cinnamon
Great for both savory and sweet dishes from cookies and pastries to bagels and spiced teas.
Ground cinnamon is easiest to use, but cinnamon also comes its less processed rolled form.
A delicious snack is toast, butter, sugar and cinnamon. This is not a health and nutrition blog.
Now for the more esoteric spices I have on hand.
Shichimi
Shichi means “seven” in Japanese, which points to the seven spices used in Shichimi Togarashi: chili, orange peel, shiso, dried seaweed, sesame, hempseed and sansho.
Shiso, or perilla, is a slightly bitter and herbaceous leaf that is also really tasty as tempura.
Sansho is a citrus tasting peppercorn.
You’ve seen shichimi before as many Japanese restaurants will have a little container of shichimi on the table with an appropriately little wooden spoon.
I always sprinkle shichimi in noodles, especially udon and soba.
You can pick up shichimi online or at your local Asian supermarket.
Curry Powder
You can make your own curry powder, as it’s a mixture of cumin, turmeric, ginger, mustard, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, fenugreek (like clover), paprika, and chili but if you want to save hours grinding with a mortar and pestle, it’s far easier to have curry powder ready to use in your spice rack.
In addition to Indian-style curry powder, I also like S&B curry powder, which makes a less spicy Japanese style curry for the times you want to make a chicken katsu curry.
A delicious and easy recipe is to stir-fry onions and garlic until translucent, then add cauliflower, carrot and potato into the pot. Stir in curry powder, salt, pepper, and a little water for a very hearty vegetable curry. It sounds simple and it really is.
Furikake
Another Japanese addition that goes incredibly well on rice. While not a spice, furikake is usually a mixture of seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, sugar and will vary from region to region and brand to brand.
There is something special about seaweed and rice. They go together like Simon and Garfunkle or Earth, Wind and Fire.
Honorable mention spices: turmeric, cumin, mustard seed
