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Stock Up! 15 Pantry Ingredients That Make Weeknight Meals Easy

Katie Workman, author of The Mom 100 Cookbook, creator of themom100.com blog shares her top 15 pantry ingredients (16 Photos)

Katie Workman on Apr 24, 2013 at 12:45AM

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Stock Up! 15 Pantry Ingredients That Make Weeknight Meals Easy

Paul Poplis/Stock Food Creative/Paul Poplis

Soy Sauce

Soy sauce is indispensable in all things Asian, but is also interesting as an ingredient in recipes that aren’t particularly Asian in tone. It can be used in cooking, and as a condiment. It’s is a traditional ingredient in East and Southeast Asian cuisines, and the base of teriyaki sauce, but it can add a pop of flavor and a rich saltiness to all kinds of dishes if used sparingly.

I use lower sodium soy sauce on a regular basis, because you still get the rich flavor, but with less salt. Or you can dilute regular soy sauce to cut back on the salt, using a 2/3 soy sauce to 1/3 water ratio.