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When Jing Gao founded Fly By Jing in 2018, she had one goal: help people bring their favorite Asian flavors home. Prior to starting her company, she ran an underground supper club with a similar intention, and after developing a handful of sauce bases for recipes, she started bottling them to sell. One of those sauces might be in your refrigerator or pantry right now — I practically add Fly By Jing’s Sichuan Chili Crisp to anything savory I eat, and use its Sichuan Gold chili oil when I really want to amp up a dish.
Of course, Fly By Jing’s products are staples in her kitchen, but Gao relies on many others when hosting or cooking dinner for her family. I talked to her about the kitchen essentials she can’t live without, plus the food item she used to stuff her suitcase with before flying home from Singapore.
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Zojirushi Micom 3-Cup Rice Cooker
“Zojirushi is the Rolls Royce of rice cookers,” says Gao. “I use it pretty much every day in my kitchen, and I have a small one because it’s just me, my partner and my baby. You just press a button and it makes perfect rice every single time.” Beyond using it for rice, Gao also cooks congee in it.
Yosukata Long Wooden Cooking Chopsticks
When she’s using a wok to boil, steam, stir fry or braise ingredients, Gao’s utensil of choice is long wood or bamboo cooking chopsticks. “They give you more precision when you want to pick things up, and they’re really good for separate noodles,” she says. “Since they’re so long, it prevents you from getting your hand all up in the steam and oil that might be splattering.”
Iwatani 35FW Single-Burner Butane Portable Cooktop
“I have a lot of hot pot at home, and whenever I host, I love making it because it’s the most simple yet impressive food that just looks beautiful,” says Gao. “It’s such a communal, wonderful experience where you’re cooking and eating with friends, and it goes on for hours. It’s a huge spread, but all you really did was wash some vegetables, chop some tofu and lay out pre-sliced meats from H-Mart or 99 Ranch.”
“With hot pot, you basically need some kind of a stove on your table,” says Gao. “I love the Iwatani because you don’t need to mess with cords since it runs off gas. You can put it in the middle of your table with your hot pot over it, and it’s great for camping, too.”
Diaspora Co. Aranya Black Pepper
“I swear by and only use Dispora’s black pepper,” says Gao. “It’s the best black pepper and it will make you feel like every black pepper you’ve had in the past is awful. It’s that good.” She also uses the brand’s other single-origin, ethically-sourced spices, all of which are “beautifully packaged” so Gao recommends gifting them to the home cook in your life.
Toiro Donabe Steamer Mushi Nabe
“You can make hot pot in any type of pot, but I prefer a donabe, which is a Japanese clay vessel,” she says. “They’ve been using it for thousands of years in China and Japan, and there’s something about the clay that really holds the heat when you’re cooking and amplifies the flavor.”
Gao’s favorite donabe is from Toiro, a Los Angeles-based brand. “Toiro’s artisan-crafted clay pots are just incredible and their donabe is such a versatile vessel. I cook hot pot in it, but I also use it to cook rice, steam vegetables and make Japanese curries.” Gao has this large donabe from Toiro that comes with a steamer attachment. She often makes soup or rice on the bottom, and salmon and vegetables on top in the steamer. “It’s all about convenience,” says Gao.
Lundberg Family Farms Jasmine 90 Second Rice
“I love making fresh rice, but sometimes, I just do not have the time,” says Gao. “Having ready-to-eat rice in a bag that you just microwave for a minute is so easy.” She often uses Lundberg’s 90-second rice to make fried rice, and adds vegetables and eggs to it.
Irvins Salted Egg Salmon Skin Chip Crisps
“The most popular snack brand from Asia is Irvins, which is based in Singapore. I would literally go to Singapore and stop at the airport just to grab these chips,” says Gao. “They’re most famous for their salmon skin chips. Somehow, the way they fry it makes it super crispy and delicious, and they coat it in all kinds of flavors, like salted duck egg.”
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I’m a reporter at NBC Select who covers topics like health, fitness, home and kitchen. I interviewed Jing Gao, founder of Fly By Jing and cookbook author, about her favorite products to cook with at home.
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