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Dried Mandarin and orange peels are used in making soups.
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A tropical fruit, there are many different varieties and the flesh color ranges from creamy white to yellow. Shown here is a mango from Mali, Africa. Most Asian Mangoes have an intense fragrance, unripe mangoes is not sweet and often used in pickles and salads.
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A speciality of Xiamen, Fujian. It is a fine soft noodle with a smooth texture used mainly in soup. Sometimes comes salted. More about noodles
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Used fresh either in tea or as a garnish, it is popular especially in Indochina. (dried mint is used only in Chinese herbal medicine, probably because fresh mint is not always available)
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Dark brown seed with a sharp flavour used mainly in fish curries and pickles. Odourless but become very pungent when ground or moistened. When planted they produce mustard spinach. Different from the larger yellow mustard seeds from Europe. Fry in oil to release the fragrant.
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Usually available dried though fresh ones are available these days, use dried mushrooms unless otherwise stated. Rinse briefly in water and soak in warm water for about 10 minutes before use, keep the water for use in the cooking. Do no discard the stalks. If you do not like the texture of the stalks, remove them before soaking and keep them for stocks.
The type with white crack lines is known as "fa ku"(flower mushroom) and is treasured by the Chinese and is very expensive.
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