Asian ingredient substitution list?
December 31, 2022 3:21 AM Subscribe
I made plum cakes today and wonder now what fresh tropical fruit could replace my bleh air-flown plums. There must be a handy substitution list I can refer to at that will swap $20 kale for a $2 bag of local asian greens - by flavour and cooking methods, but google is giving me only individual substitutes or very generic short lists!
Response by poster: That's close, cobaltnine, and I'll keep it as a back-up but it's not a cook's ref, like the idea of swapping bok choy for broccoli is a completely different dish, even if they are nutritionally/cooking time equivalents.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:08 AM on December 31, 2022
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:08 AM on December 31, 2022
So, for plum kuchen you can use any firm, juicy fruit like pineapple, persimmon (excellent this time of year), Asian pear, etc. I'll do some digging within my local RD chapter ... One of the challenges you might be running into is that "Asian" ingredients as a category is so broad that if you searched more specifically (eg: Korean, Cambodian) you might find a specific reference list. Other challenges are with terms getting lost in translation: for example, "peas" in Kenyan recipes are more likely to refer to pigeon peas vs sweet peas, and chili powder in North Indian recipes refer to Lal mirch/ Kashmiri chili vs American chili powder and is better replaced with a combo of paprika and cayenne.
When I'm doing these subs at home or at work, I think through the textures and flavors in my head and generally trust my instincts. Like, is the kale more or less bitter, will I need to modify cooking times or cuts, etc.
I know cookbooks also have these types of lists (eg: my old old copy of Rhoda Yee's Chinese Village Cookbook), so it may be beneficial to photocopy some pages from your local library.
Your local Ag Extension and immigrant communities will have also likely done some of this work already and can specialize the list to your area.
Are you looking for a general comprehensive reference list for both savory and sweet recipes?
I'll do some more digging when I have two free hands!
posted by OhHaieThere at 9:17 AM on December 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
When I'm doing these subs at home or at work, I think through the textures and flavors in my head and generally trust my instincts. Like, is the kale more or less bitter, will I need to modify cooking times or cuts, etc.
I know cookbooks also have these types of lists (eg: my old old copy of Rhoda Yee's Chinese Village Cookbook), so it may be beneficial to photocopy some pages from your local library.
Your local Ag Extension and immigrant communities will have also likely done some of this work already and can specialize the list to your area.
Are you looking for a general comprehensive reference list for both savory and sweet recipes?
I'll do some more digging when I have two free hands!
posted by OhHaieThere at 9:17 AM on December 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
unfortunately, i don't have the exact reference guide that might be what you're looking for, but I have some ideas on the fruits side:
how about fresh lychees? (or rambutan, but you need to find the ones that can come unstuck from the pit easy, so I feel it's too labour intensive) i think it's got similar enough texture and sugar level across the board, that you can just buy a bunch of lychees, with not too much adaptation.
if not, mangoes might work, but you need to find the right type of mangoes, the ones not too fibrous, imo, though you'll have to reduce the overall liquid ratio elsewhere .
ciku is actually closest in texture (though a little drier/crunchier, but juicier than the asian pear), and the taste is definitely tropical, and it's possibly not as labour intensive as lychees.
but, other than mangoes, i think soursop is popular enough to come in puree form, and this also might work. otherwise, you could do a combination of grated winter melon (a bit of that taiwanese method for their pineapple tarts) and the powdered (freeze dried) fruits you can find at the baking supply shops too.
posted by cendawanita at 9:22 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
how about fresh lychees? (or rambutan, but you need to find the ones that can come unstuck from the pit easy, so I feel it's too labour intensive) i think it's got similar enough texture and sugar level across the board, that you can just buy a bunch of lychees, with not too much adaptation.
if not, mangoes might work, but you need to find the right type of mangoes, the ones not too fibrous, imo, though you'll have to reduce the overall liquid ratio elsewhere .
ciku is actually closest in texture (though a little drier/crunchier, but juicier than the asian pear), and the taste is definitely tropical, and it's possibly not as labour intensive as lychees.
but, other than mangoes, i think soursop is popular enough to come in puree form, and this also might work. otherwise, you could do a combination of grated winter melon (a bit of that taiwanese method for their pineapple tarts) and the powdered (freeze dried) fruits you can find at the baking supply shops too.
posted by cendawanita at 9:22 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've seen sliced star fruit/carambola used as a sub for sliced stone fruits like plums.
Wrt subbing greens--as a rough guide I think of the related families they are in (here are various brassicas). For me, all mild greens can function as spinach. Depending on the preparation, I might try gai lan as a sub for kale. I tend to sub broccoli or cabbage leaves for kale if I am cooking (as opposed to doing a raw prep).
This is all w/ the caveat that I wildly substitute greens when cooking and not strictly following a recipe. I've made saag with amaranth leaves and it worked. My only mistake is sometimes using greens that are too mustardy and needing to adjust the bitterness.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 12:44 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wrt subbing greens--as a rough guide I think of the related families they are in (here are various brassicas). For me, all mild greens can function as spinach. Depending on the preparation, I might try gai lan as a sub for kale. I tend to sub broccoli or cabbage leaves for kale if I am cooking (as opposed to doing a raw prep).
This is all w/ the caveat that I wildly substitute greens when cooking and not strictly following a recipe. I've made saag with amaranth leaves and it worked. My only mistake is sometimes using greens that are too mustardy and needing to adjust the bitterness.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 12:44 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I don't know of a substitution guide but the fruit you're looking for to replace your plums is the mighty loquat.
posted by saladin at 6:13 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by saladin at 6:13 PM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by cobaltnine at 5:50 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]