Fried Garlic
adds pops of savory flavor and satisfying crunch—with no harsh allium bite.
Garlic That Adds Crunch and Punch
In hong kong, Oi Man Sang Kitchen restaurant tops many dishes—including their wonderful lightly battered deep-fried eggplant—with a finishing sprinkle of fried garlic, which adds a punch of savory flavor, as well as a satisfying crunch. The garlic bits are roughly chopped, sometimes dusted in flour, then deep-fried until lightly browned and crisped. The frying tames much of the garlic’s pungent notes, leaving it tasting rich and savory. Most restaurants buy them, and we found numerous options available online. Use them sprinkled on noodle dishes, as well as steamed vegetables. We also like them in place of croutons on salads. Available for around $10 per 10-ounce package on Amazon.
Clearly a Great Soy Sauce
Salty, rich soy sauce that’s completely colorless? Fundodai’s clear shoyu has as much complex flavor as a typical dark soy sauce, making it ideal for incorporating into dishes without altering their color. Its salinity is matched with sweet, boozy notes, a touch of tanginess and tons of umami. Use it anywhere you would traditional soy sauce but don’t want the usual color. We especially like it for seasoning light-colored soups, raw or cooked fish, or a fresh pot of rice. Available for $15.95 at 177milkstreet.com/so24-soy.
Clear winner
Shoyu that’s deep, not dark.
Fresh chili flakes, fast!
This clever grinder quickly shreds dried peppers.
Adding Fresh Chili Flakes with Style
For pops of fruity heat, Italians love to finish a dish with peperoncino, or flakes of dried small chilies. But like all dried spices, freshly ground always is better. It’s one reason we love the German-designed AdHoc Pepe Chili Cutter. Stylish and shaped like a small chili pepper, the grinder smoothly shreds them into delicate flakes on demand. Available for $40 on Amazon.
Rice Storage from Japan
Masuda Kiribako’s wooden rice container is our new favorite way to store rice. It controls moisture and helps circulate air to keep rice fresh, all in a beautifully designed box. Capable of holding up to 6.6 pounds of rice, each container is crafted from paulownia, a sustainable hardwood resistant to shrinkage or swelling. The airtight lid is made of transparent acrylic for easy viewing, while a magnetic scoop tucked under is handy for quick measuring. Sleek and understated, these boxes are ideal for all kinds of pantry essentials—not just grains, but also beans, cereals, pasta, coffee, nuts and seeds. Available for $175 at 177milkstreet.com/so24-box.
Keep rice fresh
with this finely crafted Japanese storage container
Our paring knife
combines utility and scalpel precision.
Introducing the Kitchin-Ki
Most paring knives are poorly designed, with blades that are too long to be precise or too flimsy to inspire confidence. So we overhauled the everyday paring knife. The result is the Milk Street Kitchin-Ki, a svelte 2¾-inch fine-tipped blade paired with an oversized ergonomic handle that provides complete control over small tasks. It excels at peeling garlic and shallots, halving avocados, seeding chilies, coring tomatoes and strawberries, stemming and peeling mushrooms, prepping shrimp, trimming chicken and meat, and much more. Available for $59.95 at 177milkstreet.com/so24-knife.
“Happiness” Pot for Cozy, Communal Meals
Designed to evoke grandmotherly home-style cooking, this Taiwanese “Happiness” concentric pot from The Shu’s Pottery was created with communal meals in mind. Ideal for soups and stews, the clay pot goes on the stovetop for simmering. When you’re ready to serve, simply place the pot on the included wooden trivet, then let diners help themselves. Its ring-shaped platter fits snugly over the vessel to hold ingredients for hot pot-style cooking. And its 9.5-cup capacity easily feeds a crowd. Available for around $130 at pinkoi.com.
Hot pot
cooking for any table.
Change the way you bake with our newest cookbook, Milk Street Bakes. With more than 200 delicious recipes gathered from bakers around the world, the book shares the lessons we’ve learned for everything from everyday flatbreads and focaccia to elaborate cakes and stunning pies.
Our finds include loaf cakes that balance sweetness with the complexity of rye flour, a super-creamy Basque cheesecake that requires no water bath, a Mexican sweet corn cake made in a blender, a sticky Swedish chocolate cake, and crispy borek from Türkiye. And we go beyond sweets to include yeasted breads, savory tarts, pizzas and simple skillet flatbreads.
For a preview, check our website for a sampling of recipes, including:
■Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: A classic gets a simple yet sophisticated update with a few easy tricks. We toast both the oats and pecans to coax out their nuttiness, then grind the oats in a food processor for better texture. And by browning the butter, we add deep butterscotch notes.
■Marbled Chocolate-Tahini Cake: This loaf cake boasts one of our favorite flavor combinations: nutty, savory tahini and rich, dark chocolate. We’ll teach you the secret to achieving its striking marbled effect—it’s simpler than you think.
■Fresh Peach and Raspberry Crostata: Easier than pie, this rustic freeform tart showcases seasonal produce beautifully. Or try our chocolate-hazelnut version.
■Slab Pizza with Sausage, Chard and Onion: Novice bakers and seasoned pizzaioli alike can easily turn out beautiful slices with this slab-style pizza. Our simple pour-in-the-pan dough can take on a wide range of toppings, including this combination of garlicky tomato sauce, crisp sausage and silky sautéed greens.
To get the full recipes and more, head to 177milkstreet.com/so24-bakes.
