If you're becoming more and more into Asian foods, or are new to Asian foods, then I've just come across a cool site that serves as a decent resource, www.asiafood.org. The site has recipes, links to other Asian food resources, feature articles as well as restaurant reviews (though they seem to focus only on a few sleect places like NYC). However, the greatest information is AsiaFood's glossary. It doesn't have pictures, and the definitions are brief, but for quick information, it seems to do the drink. For example, maybe you need to find out what gamboge is. Well, it's an acidic fruit from southern India and Sri Lanka! 

AsiaFood's glossary helped me out a little today when I was trying to figure out what the heck grass jelly is.

Almost everything for the base of this dish comes from the pantry - spaghetti noodles, peanut butter, soy sauce (though some are supposed to be kept in the refrigerator). I do add fresh raw veggies like cucumbers, green onions, snow peas and bell peppers, and sometimes add chicken that I've either grilled or sauteed with a little bit of sesame oil and soy sauce, but who keeps chicken in the pantry, right?!?

Cook 16 oz. spaghetti or other long, thin noodles as the package directs. Drain, rinse (yes! rinse the pasta!) then toss with 1-2 Tbsp. sesame oil.

In a food processor, pulse about 5 cloves of garlic (sometimes I use more) until they are small pieces, then add 1/2 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 2 T. either honey or sugar, 2 T. rice vinegar, 2 T. chili oil,  and 1 chopped chili (like fresh jalapeno or Serrano, but if you don't have these on hand, the chilioil will still make it spicy). Puree until smooth.

Toss the noodles with the sauce. Topping with cooked chicken, julienned cucumber, green onions, peas, or bell peppers is optional, of course.

With the Chinese New Year goings on around the world this weekend, it's no better time to stock your kitchen with commonly used Asian ingredients both in the pantry and in the refrigerator (right after you've purged it of all those useless gadgets). A lot of Asian foods are healthy and delicious, so if you haven't done much Asian cooking at home, let the new Year of the Dog be the year you try it.

I do a lot of Asian cooking at home, so these are a few things I like to have on hand:

• Soy sauce - I actually have a giant 1-gallon container in my refrigerator. Yes, keep soy sauce in the refrigerator. Also, if you are wary of gluten or carbs, there is wheat in soy sauce (who knew?)
• Sesame seeds - I have both regular and black sesame seeds. They taste the same to me, but the black ones add some contrast for presentation. However, there is a difference in taste between regular and toasted sesame seeds. If you buy regular sesame seeds, toast them yourself in a dry pan over medium high heat.
• Sesame oil - It's rarely used as a cooking oil, but rather, as a seasoning in marinades or added to a dish like a condiment just before serving for its fragrance.
• Rice - Short grain rice that is "sticky" when it is steamed.

Before I discovered a decent Asian market in my area, I toyed with the idea of making udon noodles at home. The first thing I did, of course, was ask those internets. What did I find? Well, plenty of recipes for making udon, but this one, in particular, is a keeper. To be clear, I never made any noodles at home. Really, the animated .gifs on this page are the main reason it still has a home in my bookmarks. I like the idea of kneading the dough with your feet almost as much as I like the little animation of some feet dancing on dough. The dozing ball of dough is equally charming.