Asian Cooking Utensils

Carrying on from my Asian cuisine research, I thought of taking a look at some of the many traditional tools used in Asian cooking for inspiration towards my project. They could be used as a base for logo designs or other means of design for my Asian event.

The Bamboo Steamer
Has been used for centuries for steaming all kinds of foods from vegetables, right through to fish. by steaming the ingredients, the food retains more of it's minerals and is a healthier way to cook.

A Traditional Chinese Wok
A symbol to Chinese cooking the woks design manages to give out an even heat throughout

A Indian Chapati Press
A Chapati Press is for flattening Indian flat breads to avoid burning their hands.

A Bamboo Skimmer
Is typically used for draining fat from dishes that are being fried.

An Indonesian Pestle & Mortar
Described as the backbone in an Indonesian kitchen because the main element of the cooking is spice paste which is ground down using the pestle and mortar which is typically made of stone.

A Traditional Wasabi Grater
A traditional grater is made out of wood for the base and handle and sharkskin for the face. As you would imagine these types are hard to come by. The skin acts as an abrasive to grind the wasabi down to a smooth paste.

A Traditional Tandoor Oven
A Tandoor oven is made out of clay and is used across South West Asia. A fire is lit at the bottom  to heat up the oven, then the flames are extinguished to leave hot coals. Its used cook meats and Naan breads and has an advantage of keeping hot long after the flames have gone, which is good for areas that have limited fuel.

The Humble Chop Stick
Used across many areas in Asia but first used by the Chinese. Over the years, the  Chinese used to use twigs to grab food out when they where cooked and over time the chop stick was born. when poor families had to ration out food they used chopsticks as a means to get the most out of a meal and be fair around the dinner table because a fork would enable you to grab larger, varied sized portions.

This was a great bit of visual research which has given me an idea for some visual experiments. I like the idea of using these utensils as a base for some graphic logos. Thinking out of the box I could use a cop stick as a way finder sign around the event, or a traditional looking wok design for a disposable plate! I'm going to print these off and start sketching out some ideas.

www.gourmetsleuth.com (information)

www.google.com (images)