Stocking My Expat Kitchen
When preparing to move our little family to South Asia, I knew that one of the most important spaces in our luggage was going to be food. Knowing that I could provide a little bit of comfort and home to loved ones through food as we settled into a new routine and location was incredibly important to me. I had lived in South Asia before our marriage, so I knew a lot of the things that we wouldn’t be able to get (or at least what we wouldn’t be able to get easily). Our city is a little bit more remote than the large, major cities, so even less was going to be available. Even so, I knew that instead of bringing a bunch of packets (that often times have unwanted fillers in my opinion), I wanted to bring my own bulk spices to have endless opportunities for flavors (much like I ran my Stateside kitchen). I have put together a list of my most used spices and where I got them. From these spices, I make things like copycat Montreal Chicken Seasoning, Ranch, taco seasoning, and chili seasoning.
Our country is super blessed to have Amazon — and while they do have some of those spices listed as available for purchase, I found that the few that I’ve bought on there tasted rancid — like they had sat too long in their plastic container. These spices in bulk have carried me through a year at least (minus the garlic and onion powder). In our South Asian land, we can freely get turmeric, cumin, coriander powder, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and tons of whole spices (like cardamom, cinnamon, mustard seeds, black cardamom, bay leaves, saffron, and lots more).
Spices I brought from the States:
Paprika — our country has an abundance of spicy red pepper (similar to cayenne pepper) but not paprika. Paprika is dried red bell pepper that’s been pulverized, so it gives a sweet flavor. Essential for Mexican flavors and delicious Chili.
Chili Powder — This spice is also used in many Mexican flavored dishes as well as chili (Like my Refreshing Mexican Cucumber & Corn Salad). Again, we have an abundance of spicy red pepper, but no chili powder.
Thyme — Widely used in cajun cooking as well as lots of chicken marinades.
Parsley — Ranch seasoning and Italian cooking use this herb a lot!
Basil — Also a huge herb used in Italian cooking.
Rosemary — Rosemary is super flavorful and delicious with chicken, potatoes, or meatballs. So good!
Dried Dill — used in not just pickles, but Tzatziki sauce and ranch. We can find fresh dill about 30% of the year here, so this is super helpful for the rest of the year.
Oregano — Mexican food, Italian, and ranch seasonings!
Sage — a must have spice for Thanksgiving and Christmas
Garlic Powder — literally goes in EVERYTHING.
Onion Powder — see my above note :)
Everything But the Bagel Seasoning — perfect for my 4 ingredient bagel recipe!
Beef & Chicken broth concentrate — i love making Swedish meatballs and my own non beef hamburger helper. In our country, we can’t get beef, so this beef broth flavoring is perfect for both of those recipes (plus adding in a tablespoon to ground chicken for some delicious burgers).
Chipotle peppers in adobo — These are essential for my Copycat Taco Bell Quesadilla Sauce! I never need to use them all at once, so I freeze the leftover in a ziploc bag.
Trader Joe’s Mushroom Powder — This seasoning isn’t necessarily in any recipe you find online (except maybe mine, ha). However, it’s my favorite add in seasoning that adds a delicious umami flavor that really bumps the flavor to the next level.
Vanilla Extract — you can find Vanilla flavoring in most major cities in our country, but in our specific city, we can’t find it. We have to order it on amazon, and I find the flavor to be different and slightly syrupy. Another option is vanilla bean powder which we have also bought and used!
Important Questions to Ask:
What spices will not available in my new host country? The answer to this question will vary even from city to city (especially in South Asia). It’s always best to ask the expatriates that already live in your city! In South Asia, the land of spices, we can abundantly find turmeric, coriander, cumin, and lots of aromatics (cloves, cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, cardamom, bay leaves, garlic & ginger). However, herbs aren’t super common — such as thyme, basil, rosemary or sage.
What have you found to be significantly difficult when cooking/baking in your host country? Each city and country brings about their own each individual struggles when trying to make recipes of comfort from your home country. For example, in South Asia, baking isn’t super common, so finding the right stove option has been a struggle.
How important is cooking and baking to me as far as luggage space goes? The only one who can answer this question is you. You alone know how important food is to you and your family, and whether or not you want to dedicate a significant portion of your suitcase spaces to it. And there’s no wrong answer! Baking and cooking are a huge creative outlet for me, so it was important to me to be able to have the freedom to make whatever we are craving.
Essential Appliances I Brought from America:
Cast Iron Frying Pan: I opted to bring my Staub cast iron pan for a couple reasons, even though it’s an investment on multiple levels (both in price and luggage weight). It’s also coated, so you can wash it with soap and water (thus not having to reseason it each time you wash it). I use it for eggs, pies, and quiches.
9x13 baking pan: I tried to find one on Amazon in our host country, but they were all super expensive. I chose to bring some back from America that had lids that went with them. I use these pans for brownies, casseroles, cakes, and even bringing other people food. You can’t go wrong with a 9x13. Bringing a new family who has moved to your city a meal is an easy way to show love and kindness and a practical “welcome!”
Essential Appliances I got in South Asia:
Immersion Blender: If your family is a condiment family (as in they love sauces and condiments) then this appliance will be a game changer. I regularly use it to make mayonnaise, ranch, taco bell quesadilla sauce, buffalo sauce, and I also use it to blend my greek yogurt to make it super creamy.
Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker: We were blessed with a family who was leaving our city giving us their instant pot brand electric pressure cooker. I love it for several reasons: it is a little bit higher quality so I don’t have to stress about electrical issues like I’ve read about others, it’s rated for South Asian electricity, and it’s incredibly versatile. I use it to cook all our beans and dals, yogurt, and meals like my Instant Pot Chicken Chili. It’s definitely an investment piece, and there are lots of other South Asian brands to choose from.
Dutch Oven: soups, chili, and even sourdough bread. I love dutch ovens because they are cast iron but also ceramic coated (so they’re easy to clean with soap and water!). I also use it as a bowl since large bowls for things like salads are hard to come by!
Small Saucepan: Trust me, you’re going to need this for chai, syrups, and pizza sauce. So handy and helpful.
Bread pan: One of the quickest recipes that I make for my national friends is banana bread — they always love it! I have found these sized pans to be super common, so no need to take up luggage space.
High Speed Blender: For all South Asian cooking, aside from a pressure cooker, I’d say this appliance is one of our most used. We also use it for hummus, smoothies, cashew queso, salsa, and honestly, the possibilities are endless. I don’t personally own the brand of mixie that I linked here, but it was a higher quality brand. Things tend to break fairly easily over here, so we have found that a higher up front investment oftentimes leads to a longer shelf life.
Salad Spinner - I was given a salad spinner and honestly wasn’t sure I would use it a lot. However, as we get lettuce, spinach, fresh herbs — you HAVE to soak them and clean them before consuming raw. Being able to get every bit of water off of the leaves before storing in the fridge is CRUCIAL to their longevity and shelf-life.
Random Add-Ins I Brought
Ziploc Bags - Make sure you get freezer grade bags! They are higher quality and thicker so in case you want to freeze fruit for smoothies. You’ll want both quart and gallon sized ziploc bags.
Reusable Ziploc Bags - these are great because they are are thicker quality. We reuse and wash each ziploc bag instead of throwing them away, so I like having a better quality option too.
Donut Tray - These are a fun way to serve your kids muffins, pancakes, or fun treats. I use them to make my Healthy Dark Chocolate Donuts.
Smoothie Straws - Our kids LOVE smoothies, especially in the summer. These straws make it easy
Mini Muffin Tin - I’ve actually used this more than I thought I would — especially with my Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites Recipe
Mapleine - Not many people know about this stuff, but it’s maple flavoring. I love using it not just for cooking, but you can make maple flavored syrup super easily. This is especially nice because real maple syrup here is super expensive.
edited to add:
Blocks of Parmesean Cheese - we brought 2 of these back this last trip, and it was one of the best decisions!
Pepperoni
Summer Sausage
I hope you find this article helpful if you’re setting up a new to you kitchen! This list is certainly not exhaustive, but my goal is that it will give you some direction and a little bit more guidance in what questions to ask, things you maybe haven’t thought of, or quite possibly it helped to build some excitement along the way.
If you’re an expat in another country, I’d love to hear from you in the comments! What are some things you brought that you’re glad you did? What are some things you wish you hadn’t brought? What are some special challenges in your host country?
