Chinese imperial food dates back to slave society ... craftsmen who made the kitchen utensils, the cooking staff who provided the service, civil officials who named the dishes, and protocol ...

I could never aspire to that, but I do try to cook Chinese when I can—eking out ... which I never got around to stocking in my kitchen. I make it in this stainless steel wok from All-Clad ...

Of course, it depends on the type of Chinese cooking you do. If you make a lot of Sichuan food, you’ll need a few more ingredients in addition to the Sichuan peppercorns listed here.

I also had a small box containing light and dark soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar (for tea, and to satisfy the Chinese belief that a pinch accentuates the sweetness of everything we cook) and eggs.