Cooking without proper equipment and supplies is one my worse nightmares in the kitchen. It can drastically affect your performance in the kitchen, your speed, cleanliness and most importantly, your safety. You don’t know how many times I injured myself because of crappy equipment. Here are a list of equipment you will need in your everyday cooking. I will be referring to the picture on the side (or above, if you’re using a tablet or phone) so that you will have a clear understanding of what you need. Please note that  I’m missing a few items because some equipment I don’t have (because my family won’t bother to buy any new cooking equipment).

• Knives- I’m not going to talk about this too much because I already have a separate blog that talks about it (go check it out). Basically, you need a chef’s knife and a paring knife, and make sure you sharpen it every time when it gets dull to maintain and prevent any injuries.
• Cutting  board- This is one of the most underrated but crucial item in your kitchen arsenal. I can’t stand working with small, cheap cutting boards because it slips and slides, and it creates a mess, and attract family of mice. The picture I have is a round, wooden cutting board that is 11 inch diameter; not your best size because it is tiny. I would prefer a 15 by 21 inch cutting board that is dishwasher safe. I personally like large cutting boards because when you cut vegetables, instead of tossing them into a bowl, you can shove them and move them to the other side of the cutting board so you can continue cutting. Larger size means maximizing effectiveness and minimizing a mess. This can be the least expensive but major life upgrade you can do in the kitchen.
• Stainless steel saute pan- this is a tool that strikes fear to many home cooks because it is the pan that food sticks onto but sometimes you want that to happen because it is the fastest way to produce beautifully browned food (no color, no flavor of course). It is very durable with no chemical coatings. However it can be pricey. But if you invest in a stainless steel set or even a few pans, it will be well worth it.
• non-stick frying pan- My family loves non-stick pans because it prevents foods from sticking which leads to easier cleaning. It is so slippery you can cook eggs with practically no oil! Just make you carefully maintain them because they do have chemical coatings if you don’t clean them properly.
• Food thermometer- helps you read temperatures from different meats. I typically like getting two. One for meats and another one for other uses like tempering chocolate.
• Stockpot- Use for soups and stocks (kinda self-explanatory)
• Saucepan- Use for sauces (also self-explanatory). You can buy non-stick (if you’re a scaredy-cat like my family) stainless steel is the way to go.
• Scale- Used for precise measurements (mainly for baking)
• Mixing bowl- It’s not in the picture but you know what it is. Dish washing safe is recommended.