Healthy Pantry Staples: A Practical Starter List for Singapore Kitchens

You do not need a huge pantry to cook well most nights. A small set of reliable staples can take you surprisingly far.. Think in five jobs: a carbohydrate base, a protein option, a cooking fat, plenty of flavor, and a few easy breakfast or snack staples.

1. Carbs: rice, and oats

Rice and oats are two of the most useful pantry staples to keep on hand. Rice is an easy base for quick bowls, curries, stir-fries and simple family meals. If you want to make it work a little differently for blood sugar, try cooking it, cooling it completely, then reheating it. Riyana explains the resistant starch behind this in Hack Your Rice..

Oats are just as versatile. Keep rolled oats on hand for porridge, overnight oats, baking and simple snacks. For busier mornings, our Overnight Oats] make an easy grab-and-go breakfast, while our Granola works well with yogurt, fruit or milk when you need something quick.

2. Protein: dried lentils and canned fish

Dried lentils and chickpeas are cheap, filling, and last well if stored properly. In her guide to legumes and lentils, Riyana suggests airtight storage and using dried beans within about six months, since older beans can stay stubbornly hard when cooked. Try them in our Coconut Masoor Dal.

For canned fish, her tuna checklist covers mercury and sustainability: What To Look For When Buying Tuna.

Other useful pantry proteins include tinned sardines or salmon, nut and seed butters, and dried meat sticks or jerkey/biltong.

3. Fats: choose one or two you will actually use

Different fats have different flavor profiles and levels of heat stability, so it helps to choose based on how you cook.. Riyana's guide to cooking fats and oils matches fats to heat levels: more heat-stable fats for frying and baking, others for gentle sautéing and dressings. Two bottles are enough to start. Our own take on seed oils is in Why You Should Stay Away From Vegetable Oils.

4. Flavour: where a small spend goes a long way

Flavour is what makes simple food worth eating again tomorrow. Our favourites:

• Organic Coconut Aminos, a soy sauce alternative. Riyana covers why she uses it in My go-to replacement for soy sauce.
• Everything Seasoning for eggs, avocado and salads.
• Sambal and Garlic Chili Oil, which make a simple bowl of rice, vegetables or eggs feel like a real meal. Try the Sambal Zucchini.          

5. Breakfast and snacks: low-effort wins

Keep two or three things that need no cooking. Organic Chia Seeds are easy to stir into yoghurt or soak overnight. House Granola snack packs are pre-portioned for bags and desk drawers.

Keeping a pantry organised in a humid kitchen

Singapore's humidity is hard on dry goods, so a few habits help:

• Move opened packs into airtight containers
• Keep them somewhere cool and dry, away from the stove
• Write the date you opened each pack on the lid
• Put new packs behind older ones, so the oldest gets used first

A 12-item starter list

Rice, rolled oats, a bread or wraps you like, dried lentils, canned fish, two cooking fats, coconut aminos, a seasoning blend, one chilli sauce, honey (optional), chia seeds, and a ready-to-eat snack.

Want us to do some of the picking? Our Build Your Box lets you choose a regular selection.

FAQ

• How many staples do I really need? About a dozen covers most weeknight cooking. Add as your habits show what you use.
• How should I store dried beans? Riyana recommends an airtight container, and using them within roughly six months.
• Is it worth buying everything at once? No. Build it over a few shops and replace only what you finish.