Know your ingredients.
Seventeen pantry staples behind the pan-Asian cooking on Herb & Lime — what each one tastes like, how to buy it, how to store it, and what to grab when you’re out. Every passport links back to the recipes that use it.
Fish Sauce
The fermented backbone of Southeast Asian cooking — salt, funk, and deep umami in a bottle.
Jasmine Rice
Fragrant long-grain rice — the quiet base under curries, stir-fries, and clay-pot braises.
Rice Noodles
From pho to pad see ew — the silky strands behind the region’s great noodle bowls.
Thai Basil
Peppery, anise-scented leaves that finish Thai and Vietnamese dishes with a flourish.
Lemongrass
Citrusy stalks that perfume soups, curries, and marinades from the inside out.
Garlic
The aromatic starting point of countless stir-fries, soups, and dipping sauces.
Ginger
Warm, peppery rhizome — essential in clear broths, quick stir-fries, and soothing teas.
Lime
Bright acidity that wakes up dressings, salads, and grilled meats at the last second.
Chili Peppers
Heat with flavor — from a gentle background warmth to serious, eye-watering fire.
Cilantro
Fresh, citrusy leaves for finishing just about everything — soups, salads, and rolls.
Soy Sauce
Fermented soybean seasoning — the salty, savory backbone of stir-fries and dipping sauces.
Toasted Sesame Oil
Nutty, aromatic finishing oil — a few drops perfume noodles, soups, and marinades.
Black Pepper
Warm, biting spice that sharpens marinades, stir-fries, and Vietnam’s beloved pepper dips.
Sugar
The quiet balancer — rounds out sour, salty, and heat in dressings, braises, and dipping sauces.
Scallions (Green Onions)
Fresh alliums for finishing — sliced greens over soups, noodles, and everything sizzling.
Neutral Oil
The high-heat workhorse for stir-frying, searing, and crisping without adding flavor.
Kosher Salt
Clean, easy-to-pinch salt for seasoning layer by layer, from brines to finishing.
How the Atlas grows
We started with the ten ingredients our recipes reach for most, and added seven more pantry workhorses — soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, sugar, scallions, neutral oil, and kosher salt — as the recipe collection grew. Each passport covers flavor, buying, storage, and substitutes — the practical stuff, no fluff.
Missing an ingredient you cook with often? The Atlas is a living project, and requests shape what gets written next.