Food I Made

Will Chiong

Mild-mannered engineer by day, ambitious home cook by night

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My Kitchen Kit

This is the gear I use and recommend to other chefs to recreate the recipes on my blog. Click on any of the recommendations to get my tips on caring for these items, and the various recipes that I use them for.

Basics

These are the products that I would recommend to anyone, including a beginner chef. For everything else like knives you should use the options you have readily available cheaply until you can afford one of the advanced or upgrade picks.

Stock Pot

Calphalon Stainless Steel 8 quart Stock Pot

This is the largest pot I own- you’re going to need a large pot to boil large volumes of water for various pastas and soups. They don’t vary…

Sauté Pan

Calphalon Classic Stainless Steel Cookware, Saute Pan, 3-quart

Living in a New York apartment, you have to optimize the number of pans and pots you have. This is one of only two pots I have that is non…

Food Storage Containers

Snapware 18PC Total Solution Pyrex Glass Food Keeper Set

If you’re going to be cooking a lot, you’re going to have leftovers. I don’t like storing my food in plastic, so I think these pyrex ones…

Baking Sheet

Kitchenatics Half Sheet with Cooling Rack

Baking sheets vary a lot- they are made of various materials and have different height rims. I prefer an aluminum baking sheet with a…

Frying Pan

Tramontina Professional Aluminum Nonstick Restaurant Fry Pan

A good nonstick frying pan should have a smooth finish- the mark of a great pan is the ability to make a perfectly unburnt french omelettes…

Oven Mitt

San Jamar Cool Touch Conventional Oven Mitt

Obviously any time you’re dealing with hot dishes coming out of an oven, or touching the handle of a metal pot or skillet on the stove, you…

Cutting Board

Progressive Prep Solutions Cutting Board, Juice Grooves

This is a simple polyethylene cutting board that is easy to use, won’t dull your knife, and is easy to clean. The grooves make it so you can…

Locking Tongs

OXO Good Grips 9-Inch Tongs with Silicone Heads

Tongs are the most versatile tool you can use- you can declump pasta with it, flip bacon or burgers with it, or even do some fancy plating…

Advanced

These are the products that I recommend to people tring to get more involved in a home cooking practice, but might be too extravagant or might require a very specific type of upkeep that might be a lot for someone just getting started.

Heavy Spatula

Winco Stainless Steel Spatula

This heavy spatula is a great addition to the kitchen. This one is heavy and good for flattening burgers on a griddle. It also has a sharp…

Dutch Oven

Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Enameled Cast Iron is a little tricky to recommend because it is a very expensive item, and it requires very specific care. You can’t use…

Chef's Knife

Global GF-33 21-cm Chef's Knife

Global is a Japanese forged steel knife brand that has a distinctive look. In the GF line, the blade and handle are forged from a single…

Hand Mixer

Breville Control Grip Immersion Blender

An immersion blender like the Breville can serve a number of purposes and doesn’t take a lot of counter top space so it can fit a lot of…

Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot DUO60

Pressure cookers have long been staples in South and East Asian kitchens- by cooking at a higher pressure you can reduce cooking time on…

Slow Cooker

Instant Pot DUO60

You’ll notice this is the same recommendation as my pressure cooker recommendation. The real value of a multipurpose device like the Instant…

Food Thermometer

ThermoPop

The best food thermometer is one that can take a reading super fast. The Thermopop is really great for taking quick, accurate temperatures…

Kitchen Scale

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

One of the best ways to improve your cooking and baking is to start measuring everything when you start cooking. Then you can improve your…

Cast Iron Skillet

Lodge 12" Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet

A properly seasoned cast iron pan will have a dark shiny black surface that provides a naturally nonstick surface. The seasoning of a cast…

Pepper Mill

Unicorn Magnum Pepper Mill

This is one of those purchases that may feel unnecessary- if you like you can get by with the grinders that come with the peppercorns…

Cheese Cloth

Cotton Farm Grade Cheese Cloths

Cheese Cloth is a fine mesh cloth that can be used to strain liquids like stock, fine custards, or cheese.

Specialty

These are the products that I love to use that may only apply to cooks for specific niche dishes.

Donabe

Kotobuki Japanese Donabe

The donabe is an earthenware pot in the Japanese tradition. It is usually glazed on the inside and porous on the outside. It is my preferred…

Cocktail Beaker

Catamount Glassware 2-Cup Measuring Glass

A scientific beaker like this is a functional, durable, and stylish container, and can serve double duty as a measuring cup in a space…

Loaf Pan

USA Pan Pullman Loaf Pan With Cover

I got into baking bread recently, and upgraded my loaf pan to this covered pullman loaf pan. I think for a small kitchen it’s great because…

Slicer

Westmark Germany Stainless Steel Multipurpose Slicer

Burmese dishes frequently use sliced eggs as a garnish. I had the wire egg slicers, but they break so easily and are impossible to clean…

Ice Cube Tray

Tovolo King Cube Silicone Ice Tray

Larger ice cubes melt slower and are easier to stir cocktails with.

Musubi Press

Kitchen Helper K5SPS Spam Musubi Sushi Rice Press

This is a uni-tasker which I’m normally not a fan of, but this is a much better way of making spam musubi than using the cut out can.