As evidenced by the flour shortages at grocery stores and proliferation of Instagram Live cooking classes, one place many are finding solace while under stay-at-home orders is in the kitchen. Quarantine is giving lots of us time to experiment with new recipes we've experienced while traveling or tried at the restaurants we hope to return to soon. It's also been an excuse to stock our kitchens more fully than they ever have been before. It's easy to overdo it though, and buy things to use once then let gather with dust. But there are some kitchen tools from around the world that you'll use again and again, especially once you've caught the cooking bug. Here are eight of them worth investing in for the long term.
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In the knife world, there is a long running debate: German knives or Japanese. There is no "right" answer as to the best knife—German knives tend to be more durable, Japanese ones are often harder and sharper. We lean toward Japanese, like these beautiful Shun knives, for the precise work they let you do. And no matter what you're making, you really only need a chef's knife and a paring knife, so even if these were the only ones in your kitchen, you'd be set.
Buy now: $160, williams-sonoma.com
You probably won't be able to entirely recreate the hawker stalls of Singapore or Hong Kong in your apartment kitchen, but you can certainly try. Unlike other pans that you might braise or sauté things in for a long time, you don't need as heavy duty of a material for a wok that you'll probably use for quick, high-heat recipes (which means you don't need to spend as much money, either). So, open those windows and doors, crank the stove up, and get to stir frying.
Buy now: $30, williams-sonoma.com
Unlike that wok, you want the heaviest dutiest steel you can get to bake the perfect pizza crust. Even if you don't have the wood-fired ovens they use in Naples, a highly conductive baking steel like this one will help you get that blistered crust you're craving.
Buy now: $80, surlatable.com
As one Michelin-starred chef told us, "You can't leave Morocco without a tagine." But if you haven't been to Marrakech yet, your kitchen still shouldn't be without one. Rich stews cooked low and slow with beautifully tender meat and flavors locked in by the conical top are the kind of Sunday supper we dream about.
Buy now: $100, food52.com
One way to get perfect sushi rice is to let a good rice cooker do most of the work for you. The set-it-and-forget-it ease of a Zojirushi cooker is lauded by experienced home cooks and pros alike. And at less than 12 inches long, the cup model (as much as you'd probably need for a family of four) doesn't take up much space on your counter.
Buy now: $150, surlatable.com
You don't need to grind spices for a mole or smash avocados for guacamole using an old school molcajete, but it is more fun if you do. It also pulls double duty as a cool showpiece to serve whatever dip you mash up.
Buy now: $50, williams-sonoma
Apologies to dried pasta, but it will never be able to compete with the fresh stuff. It takes a little elbow grease to crank out a batch (since it actually involves cranking, and a lot of it), but there is not a better weekend cooking project. As Traveler editor Jessica Puckett put it, feeding dough through the machine "instantly transported me back to Rome."
Buy now: $100, surlatable.com
If you've tried making paella in whatever pan you happen to have already, you've probably been disappointed by the results. The rice on the bottom (called the socarrat) is just never as crispy and caramelized, and the flavors are never quite as good as what you can get with a wide, carbon steel pan like this one.
Buy now: $35, surlatable.com
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