From the all-purpose wok and earthenware pots, to the modern day rice-cooker and air fryer, Asian cookware are uniquely designed to simplify your cooking process; so you can whip up any authentic Asian recipe to your fancy, with ease.
Bamboo Steamer
You might've seen bamboo steamers at yum cha, but they're a useful utensil for your kitchen. Steaming is a great way to cook dishes without losing nutrients and flavour like you would by boiling. To use a bamboo steamer, simply stack them in a pot over simmering water, with the food that takes longest to cook at the bottom, and wait until your food is ready.
Bamboo Sushi Rice Paddle
An essential tool for making sushi. It's made from natural bamboo and has the same look and feel to a traditional mixing spoon. Bamboo sushi rice paddle is ideal for mixing sticky rice that combines with the sushi vinegar and other seasonings together with it. It's also best to wet the rice paddle with water before using to avoid the rice sticking.
Banana Leaf
Banana leaf is used for cooking, food wrapping, and food serving in many Asian countries since it is large, waterproof, and flexible. Using banana leaf as food wrapper enhance the sweet scent to the food. It also prevent the food from burning and loss juice or water. It is inedible unlike most parts of banana tree.
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Recipes that use Banana Leaf
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Chinese Spider / Strainer
This utensil gets its name from the pattern of its wire mesh basket, which looks like a spider web. With a much wider surface area than a slotted spoon, the spider is perfect for picking up blanched vegetables, cooked noodles or deep fried food from hot oil or boiling water. It can also be used to skim impurities from the surface of stocks and broths.
Claypot
Claypot is a traditional looking pot that is usually used to make Chinese and Southeast Asian Cuisine. It has sandy texture outside and is glazed inside. Claypots need to be soaked in water and seasoned before using.
Cleaver
Used for more heavy duty work than regular knives, cleavers are an essential kitchen utensil. They can be used to cut through small bones and sinew or hard vegetables. The side of the blade is also useful for crushing ingredients like garlic. It should noted that they're different from the similarly-shaped Chinese chef's knife, which is used to prepare boneless meat and vegetables.
Dolsot
Dolsot translates to 'stone pot' in Korean. More like a bowl, this contraption is used to cook and serve hot rice dishes, most notably Bibimbap. Place directly onto the stove, the rice cooks against the sides of the Dolsot and becomes crispy. Just be careful handling a Dolsot because they can get really hot.
Jeotgarak
Jeotgarak is the name for chopsticks in Korea. Unlike in other Asian countries, Korean chopsticks are actually made of metal. Historically, chopsticks were made of silver to prevent royals from being poisoned and others adopted this trend. Although they're heavier, Jeotgarak are more hygienic.
Lotus Leaf
Lotus leaf is inedible. It is used to wrap food, especially for steamed rice menu. Using lotus leaf to wrap food prevents the food from losing juice or water. Hence, the food will not be too dry when eating.
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Recipes that use Lotus Leaf
Makisu
Sushi rolling mats are made from bamboo sticks, which are woven together with cotton string. Called 'Makisu' in Japanese, they are used to create Makizushi - more or less the type of the sushi we find here in Australia. After using and cleaning one, ensure that it has thoroughly dried to prevent mould or bacteria, or cover in plastic wrap to reduce the cleaning effort.
Makiyakinabe
Also known as Tamagoyakinabe, this specialty tool is endemic to Japanese cuisine. A Makiyakinabe is a square or rectangular pan used to cook Tamagoyaki, a Japanese omelette made from several layers of egg rolled together. The shape of the pan allows each omelette layer to be cooked at a consistent thickness. The size and shape of the Makiyakinabe differs from region to region.
Mooncake Mould
Mooncake are a sweet pastry eaten to celebrate the Moon Festival. Known for their intricate patterns on the outside, mooncakes are shaped in a mould. Traditionally, these mooncake moulds were wooden blocks with the pattern carved into them. Nowadays, most mooncake moulds are a plastic spring device that's used to stamp on the pattern, resulting in a cleaner design.
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Recipes that use Mooncake Mould
Nabe
Nabe or nabemono. Literally means as Nabe "cooking pot" + mono "thing". It is a variety of Japanese hot pot dishes. Nabe is either a soup or stew dish cooked with vegetables, fish or meats in a pot. It's a common Japanese food especially during winter and is best to be eaten together with your family or group of friends.
Onggi
Onggi (or Korean earthenware crocks) are traditionally used to make and preserve fermented products used in Korean cuisine, such as Kimchi, Doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and Gochujang (fermented chilli paste). Although these clay crocks have been replaced in many Korean households with glass and plastic containers, many still use them, claiming they produce greater fermented products due to the microscopic holes in the clay.
Oroshigane (Condiment grater)
It's a traditional Japanese grater that comes with different shapes and sizes. Originally made from copper or steel. Nowadays, it's usually made from stainless steel or aluminium. This is used in grating wasabi, ginger, turmeric or any vegetables that can be made for sauces and or condiments for your Asian inspired dishes.
Rice Cooker
For those who regularly eat rice, a rice cooker is a great investment. It can be tricky to cook rice on the stove, especially when you're feeding a family or large group. Rice cookers allow you to cook rice perfectly and consistently without burning the bottom layer. Cooking times and method will vary based on your rice cooker, and what rice and how much of it you're cooking.
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Recipes that use Rice Cooker
Sukiyaki Pan
A Japanese dish that is used to serve in a Japanese hot pot style that consists of thinly sliced beef which is gradually cooked or stewed at the table together with other popular ingredients like tofu, scallion, green leafy vegetables like Chinese cabbage, shiitake or any mushroom and glass noodle. The iron pot is usually also mixed with soy sauce, sugar and mirin.
Suribachi and Surikogi (Mortar and Pestle)
A Japanese mortar and pestle. These pair are used in Japanese cooking to crush various ingredients. The Suribachi is made of a pottery bowl with a glazed exterior and unglazed interior. The unglazed interior has a diagonal spiral ridge or a comb pattern that helps grind the seeds or nuts and also helps extract moisture. The Surikogi is made of a hardwood. Metal or stone is never used as it'll damage the Suribachi's ridges.
Takoyaki Pan
It's a specially made moulded non-stick pan that is used for cooking a ball-shaped Japanese snack or appetizer, takoyaki which is made of a wheat flour-based batter filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. Using a moulded non-stick pan is important so it'll be easier to turn-over to make it into that takoyaki ball-shape.
Ttukbaegi
Small, black to brown earthenware vessel used for various jjigae (stew), gukbap (soup with rice), or other boiled dishes in Korean cuisine. As a ttukbaegi retains heat and does not cool off as soon as removed from the stove, stews and soups cooked and served in the ttukbaegi arrives bubbling hot on the table and stays warm longer.
Wasabi Grater (Sharkskin Oroshigane)
Is a grating material also known as oroshiki. This is used in Japanese cooking especially for making wasabi. It's made with tiny coated copper plates with many small spikes gouged out of the metal and the surface is made with a wooden board and covered with sharkskin that gives a similar feel to sandpaper.
Wok
It is shaped in a round-bottomed cooking pot that originated in China. It is commonly used in China and other parts in Asia but it has already been widely used in other parts of the world. It is usually made from carbon steel, cast iron, non-stick and aluminium. Can be used to almost any type of cooking techniques like stir-frying, boiling, braising, deep-frying, pan-frying, roasting, searing, smoking, steaming or stewing.
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Recipes that use Wok
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Yanagiba (Sashimi knife)
A Yanagiba is a long and thin Japanese type of knife that is commonly used in the preparation of sashimi and nigiri sushi. It is designed to allow for the ease of cutting, with an emphasis on cutting through the meat in a single stroke to avoid the occurrence of zigzags forming on the surface of the meat.