Gideon's marinades and sauces pantry guide

Step 1

BANANA KETCHUP: A quintessential Filipino ingredient, banana ketchup brings a distinct sweetness, body, and color to sauces and marinades, making it imperative for dishes like Filipino spaghetti and BBQ. Its unique, hard-to-describe flavor is particularly complementary with hearty fried meats.

Step 2

SPRITE: Lemon-lime sodas, like Sprite, align with the flavor profile of Filipino cuisine and play an essential role, particularly in Filipino BBQ marinades. They sweeten, add body, and tenderize meat and can be substituted for pineapple juice anytime.

Step 3

SOY SAUCE: Soy sauce, specifically the popular Filipino brand Silver Swan, is a pantry essential. It adds color, a fermented nuance, and, most significantly, saltiness to various dishes. Its versatility is exemplified in a staple Filipino sauce, a simple yet flavorful blend of soy sauce and calamansi juice enjoyed widely with fried food.

Step 4

SUGAR: A pantry without sugar is incomplete — adding sweetness and balance to various dishes is indispensable in cooking. Sugar is a counterbalance, particularly in spicy dishes, and adds different levels of sweetness depending on the type: white sugar provides pure and subtle sweetness, while brown sugar brings complex, caramel, toasty sweetness.

Step 5

GARLIC: A versatile ingredient, garlic allows a range of control in how heavy its flavor features in a dish: a rough chop for a subtler presence or pureed for a pronounced garlic profile. While fresh garlic is always a winner, garlic powder is your convenient alternative for those lazy days when you're desperate to evade 'garlic fingers.' As for peeling, a simple smash with a knife or cleaver does the trick.

Step 6

CANOLA OIL: A staple in my kitchen, canola oil keeps it neutral, allowing other flavors to shine. Its high smoke point makes it perfect for searing and a solid alternative to olive oil in vinaigrettes.

Step 7

CALAMANSI JUICE or EXTRACT: Calamansi juice is an essential ingredient in Filipino cuisine. It lends a unique, rounded citrus flavor to dishes without the sharp acidity often associated with lemon juice. Whether for marinades like Filipino barbecue or to brighten and balance oily and fatty flavors in noodles or sauces, calamansi juice is akin to lemon juice, offering a rich and nuanced flavor profile to delight your taste buds.

Step 8

MAYO: Don't underestimate mayo — it's more than a simple sandwich filler. It brings creaminess and emulsifying power to sauces and is a surprisingly fantastic egg wash substitute for truly juicy fried fish.

Step 9

SWEET THAI CHILI SAUCE: Sweet Thai chili sauce is the perfect sweet, spicy, and tangy concoction. It's ideal for dipping lumpia or whipping up a quick, flavorful bang bang sauce.

Step 10

BLENDER: To create velvety smooth sauces, perfect marinades, or creamy soups, turn to a blender. Its versatility and power result in an impeccable texture and well-integrated mix of ingredients, making it a vital tool in your culinary endeavors.

Step 11

PASTRY BRUSH: A pastry brush is my secret to ensuring a beautiful, even coating on foods, especially ones with a crispy coating like fried chicken or barbecue — while keeping their crunch intact.

Step 12

STRAINER: A good set of strainers is a must for refining your dishes. Straining is imperative for achieving smooth textures and evenly dispersed flavors — it's how a good dish turns into a masterful creation.