Yes, you can!

Back when we were in the grocery business, I made sure to stock up on ingredients that are hard to find locally. You wouldn’t believe how long the list is, or how basic some of the items: rock/kosher salt, butter, peanut and olive oils, red wine vinegar (cider and balsamic, too), saffron, wasabi, Japanese mayo, mustard, maple syrup, anchovies, canned tomato, olives, pimiento, capers, and all sorts of spices (even garlic powder!).

If you’re wondering what far-flung outpost of civilization I live in, I tell you it ain’t as bad as it seems. We get by with the basics — our basic, that is. We eat whatever is in season and have been locavores long before that term was coined, so we go for meat (or bangus, or sardines) during the monsoon or when seas are rough (we only get beef on weekends, though), and stuff ourselves with whatever fruit is currently thick on its tree. When big-city friends visit, I warn them not to expect anything fancy, just fresh seafood and native chicken.

Still, I can’t escape the lure of the fancy, what with TV (even Kris TV, I hate to admit) and the Internet. But what to do when you don’t have a requisite ingredient for that Nigella Lawson recipe you want to try? You improvise, of course. That’s what Pinoys are good at, no? Hereabouts I have featured recipes for homemade kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), Tartar sauce, Cajun seasoning, butter compound (you ought to try bone marrow butter, too!), basil (and parsley) pesto, chocolate shell, sweet chili sauce, even the seasoning that comes with Lucky Me instant pancit Canton.

So I figured: Why not do an occasional feature of hard-to-find ingredients for which there is an easy, at-home fix? That’ll take people off my back (I’m talking to you, Facebook friends) and hopefully drive traffic to these parts as well. It will certainly demystify some stuff, show how they are not that exotic, or hard to make from scratch. If you still have not gotten around to Nigella’s recipe for that crucial component your local supermarket doesn’t carry, I’ll see what I can do. Or if not, maybe I can tell you where to find it. Stay tuned, leave a comment or request or question here, and happy cooking.