Starting a new home? Just got keys to your HDB BTO or new condo, and wondering what essentials you need in your kitchen? This article is our list of recommendations for essential equipment and tools you should have in your kitchen.
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What are the best kitchen essentials?
Our recommendations are based on personal experience over the past 7 years of HDB living in Singapore. We need kitchen tools and appliances that don’t take up too much space, work efficiently, and can stand up to our tropical weather and Asian style of cooking. The list is split up into categories, feel free to jump around using the navigation links below!
Kitchen sink
We believe that stainless steel is the way to go, with its durability and ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures. Zuhne’s sinks also have proprietary insulation technology that insulates sound, meaning that the sink absorbs the loud clanging you’d otherwise have when putting items into a stainless steel sink. We also like that ours came with a whole suite of extras – a sink grate, colander, sponge holder, and drain strainer. Check out their models on Amazon SG or Shopee!
Best kitchen essentials for prep work
Kitchen knife
This 8 inch workhorse of a knife has lasted us the past 7 years and continues to be the knife we reach for for everyday kitchen work. Keep it sharp with regular sharpening, and you can wash it in the dishwasher if you’re in a pinch (though for longevity, I’d recommend hand-washing whenever possible). You really only need one knife for most kitchen tasks, and this knife is it.
Small knives / paring knife set
If you want to add smaller knives to your arsenal for quick small tasks, this set is great (with lovely colours to boot)! We use this for small tasks like peeling or preparing small fruit, cutting small bread loaves or preparing kids meals.
Bread knife
If you are a sourdough baker (or simply a sourdough lover!) and frequently slice into crusty bread, a good bread knife is a worthy investment. This is our choice bread knife, which at 10 inches is perfect for slicing into rectangular sandwich loaves as well as round country loaf boules.
Wood chopping board
A wooden chopping board is sustainable, plastic free, and great for your knives. It does take some work to maintain, and it is not dishwasher safe, but it’s well worth the extra effort. Choose a large one, and you can use it to serve your meats or grazing platters too!
Dishwasher safe chopping board
A dishwasher safe alternative, these wood fibre chopping boards are what we use for everyday kitchen tasks. A soft board prevents your knives from dulling too quickly, and these are plastic free.
Liquid measuring cups
These glass measuring cups are essential for measuring liquids when following recipes. They also double up as microwave safe vessels for melting butter or heating milk in, and can even be used as a mixing bowl for pancakes and other batters – just pour straight into the pan!
Kitchen scissors / shears
A good pair of kitchen shears are essential for cutting everything from meats to herbs and even packaging! Kitchen shears should be detachable for easy washing, and have strong blades that can cut through tough meats and even separate chicken joints. We have two pairs of these, because of how often we reach for the shears!
Peeler
We found this Y peeler to be the best one we’ve used so far, though we’ve heard good things about the OXO swivel peeler as well. A good peeler will not only make the job of peeling faster and easier, but also safer as the peeler will glide through smoothly and is less likely to require much force to use.
Can opener
Likewise, a good can opener is necessary if you’re ever going to have to open a can. This one has an integrated bottle opener, perfect for popping open some drinks when friends are over.
Measuring cups and spoons
With measuring cups and spoons, you’ll want clear markings that won’t wear off with time, and easy to hold cups and spoons that you can manoeuvre to scoop up ingredients. The magnetic snaps on these sets of cups and spoons make them super easy to store and keep together in your kitchen drawers.
Salad spinner
You might have heard about the hype over the OXO salad spinner. Well, there’s a reason why it’s so well loved. It spins brilliantly, and dries fresh vegetables quickly and efficiently. The basket can be used to store the greens in the fridge, or use the bowl as a salad bowl to serve salads. It’s an investment, but if your family eats leafy veggies, this is one that will be well used and last a long while.
Best kitchen essentials for food storage
Reusable silicone bags
A sustainable and plastic free swap for disposable ziplock bags, these reusable silicone bags can be used for all kinds of storage needs including ingredients, leftovers, liquids, and even to pop popcorn in the microwave! We bring a few along with us whenever we travel, they are always handy to store snacks, cereals for breakfast, or anything else that needs a bag!
Check out other unusual things we pack for travel, or download our free family trip packing guide as you plan for your next trip!
Water pot
We use these lightweight glass pots to keep a jug of cold water in the fridge, and another at room temperature on the counter. They fit easily into the side pocket of a fridge door, and are so aesthetically pleasing!
Hanging mesh bag
A hanging mesh bag in the store room keeps our potatoes well ventilated in the cool dark environment, helping them keep for longer.
Snack / leftover boxes
These lock and lock containers are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and a breeze to clean! We have them in a few sizes for storing homemade granola, leftovers, as well as to use as snack boxes for each of the kids.
Best kitchen essentials for cooking and baking
All-in-one kitchen appliance
A Ninja Foodi (Amazon SG / Shopee) is an essential in any small kitchen. It can cook soups, stews, rice, air fry, grill, and dehydrate. We use ours as a pressure cooker, as an airfryer, as a small oven, and even to dehydrate oranges at Christmas for decorations. With one of these, you could do without a pressure cooker, air fryer, toaster, small oven and grill.
Cast iron skillet
It may seem intimidating at first because of the maintenance required, but there is no equal to a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. It is non-stick, and once you get the hang of how to wash and dry it at the end of each day, you’ll find it convenient, perhaps even more so than a regular fry pan.
Dutch oven
If you’re looking to cook stews on the stovetop and/or oven, or bake sourdough, a dutch oven (Amazon SG / Shopee) can be a good investment and with proper care it’ll last a lifetime. We have a 24cm one, which is a perfect size for a medium sized chicken or stew for our family plus another family of guests. It also looks great on the dining table, and you can serve dinner guests with your cooking straight from the pot.
Stainless steel pan
A stainless steel pan is durable, versatile, and easy to clean (dishwasher safe!). Perfect for everyday cooking. Although there is a steep learning curve at the start, once you get a feel of how to use the pan properly, it is a true workhorse that should last a lifetime.
Chinese style wok
If you cook Asian food at home, you’ll probably want a deep wok for stir fries, steaming and getting all that wok hei into your dishes. As with the other pans I’ve recommended, there is a learning curve and you’ll need to learn to maintain it well, but once you’re familiar with this, the wok will likewise last a lifetime.
Rice cooker
Every Asian household needs a rice cooker. What better way is there to cook rice? Even if your family is currently small, do consider getting a larger sized rice cooker so that you can make enough rice for when you have guests over. It also makes a lot of sense to batch cook rice at the start of each week, freezing the extras to be steamed later in the week.
13 x 9 baking tray
A 13 x 9 inch baking tray or pan is the perfect size for sheet pan meals, brownies, granola (check out my recipe on Instagram) or focaccia bread. This pan has a non-stick coating and corrugated surface which makes it easy to use and lift food off of, and is sturdy to hold its shape when heated.
Best kitchen essentials for serving
Starter dinnerware set
A plain white set of dishes are essential in any kitchen. They can be used for everyday meals or dressed up to match any other serveware for special occasions. Corelle in particular makes extremely light and durable dinnerware, which is also dishwasher safe.
Baking dish set
A glass baking dish set is a total busy mom hack. Make a simple oven meal in one of these dishes, serve it directly on the dining table, family style, and once everyone’s eaten their fill, pop the lid on and put it into the fridge as leftovers for the next day’s lunch.
Best kitchen essentials for cleaning
Dishwashing detergent
While we use a dishwasher for most of our washing, we do have to hand wash some items each day and for those items, we use a dish soap bar. It’s been life changing! This cleans well and lasts forever, and doesn’t require a bottle to contain it!
Sponge / brush alternative
Together with the dish soap bar, we use this dish scrubbing mesh. Simply wet the mesh, and rub it against the bar soap to pick up a bit of soap. Then rub the mesh together to lather it up, and use it to wash your dishes. I like how I can clean the mesh fully after each use, and hang it up to dry. It dries quickly unlike a traditional dish sponge.
Scrub brush
For items that require some physical scrubbing without soap (such as the cast iron skillet and wok), we use a scrub brush. It’s also great for scrubbing down the sink itself at the end of the day.
Detergent for dishwasher
We’ve tried many brands of dishwasher detergents, but none cut it like Finish’s. Unfortunately, the more “natural” detergents tended to leave residue or not clean as well. Even with Finish, we only get consistently good results with the “quantum” range. If you know of any effective natural detergents, do drop me a note!
All-purpose cleaning powder
For stubborn stains such as coffee cup stains and on stainless steel pans, this all-purpose cleaning powder works like magic. Simply sprinkle on and add boiling water, and 15 minutes later, stains are easy to dislodge and remove. It’s also all natural!
Surface cleaner
This surface cleaner concentrate is our favourite all purpose cleaner which we use to wipe down tables and countertops with every day. The instructions are to dilute ¼ cup per 1 gallon of water, which translates to 15 ml per 1 litre. It truly lasts forever!
