It often happens that we start off to make a recipe that we had planned for the entire week, and in the middle of the cooking you realize one ingredient is missing. It may be needed in a very small quantity, but the fact that you don’t have it can be quite annoying. So can be buying a packet of a certain ingredient only to use it once for a recipe and not again. Or sometimes what you need is simply not available.
So to make life easier especially at times like these we have compiled for you a list of ingredient substitution tips after thorough research and testing.

Hope you will find them helpful and if you have any similar tip to share with us then do mail to us at contactus@soyasupreme.com.pk

Lemon Grass
Lemon zest with small amounts of fresh ginger. Approximately 1/2 Tbsp. combination total for 1 lemon grass stalk.

Fish Sauce: Closest substitute is soya sauce.
Buttermilk
Amount: 1 cup
Substitute: 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough regular milk to make 1 cup (allow to stand 5 minutes).

Chili Sauce
Amount: 1 cup
Substitute: 1 cup tomato sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, dash of ground cloves and dash of allspice.

Chocolate, Unsweetened
Amount: 1 ounce
Substitute: 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 1 tablespoon butter or regular margarine or vegetable oil.

Cornstarch (for thickening)
Amount: 1 tablespoon
Substitute: 2 tablespoons flour.

TIP:
Liquids thickened with cornstarch will be somewhat translucent while flour gives a more opaque appearance. Cornstarch will thicken a liquid almost immediately. A flour-based sauce or gravy must be cooked longer to thicken and will have a floury taste if undercooked. Joy of Cooking cookbook (Scribner, 1997) advises when using flour as a substitution for cornstarch in sauces and gravies, that you simmer it for about 3 minutes AFTER it has thickened to help avoid a raw taste of flour. Cornstarch-thickened liquids are more likely to thin if overheated or cooked too long. Regardless of whether you use cornstarch or flour, mix it with a little cold water or other cold liquid, about two parts liquid to one part thickener, before adding it to the rest of the liquid . (Note: when you mix flour with fat to make a roux for use as a thickener, you would not dissolve it in liquid first).

Cream, Whipping
Amount:1 cup unwhipped
Substitute: If you wish to use a commercial pre-whipped whipped cream or whipped cream substitute rather than whip your own cream, use the guideline that 1 cup UNWHIPPED whipping cream expands to 2 cups when WHIPPED. For example, if your recipe called for 1 cup of cream to make whipped cream, you could substitute 2 cups of an already whipped product.

Egg
Amount: 1 whole egg
Substitute:
- 1/4 cup egg substitute (examples include: Egg Beaters, Second Nature, Scramblers); check label for specific directions
- Reconstituted powdered eggs; follow package directions
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (suitable for use in cake batter). NOTE: If you type "mayonnaise cake recipe" into your favorite Internet search engine, you'll find several recipes for cakes made with mayonnaise and NO eggs. This may help you decide if this substitution will work for your cake.
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder plus 1 tablespoon vinegar plus 1 tablespoon liquid (for baking use only) .

TIP:
If you don't use eggs very often, you may find it helpful to keep some powdered eggs on hand.

Flour, All-Purpose White Flour
Amount: 1 cup
Substitute: 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour.

TIP:
It's generally recommended that you replace no more than half the all-purpose white flour with whole wheat flour. Too much whole wheat flour in a recipe calling for all-purpose flour might result in a reduced volume and a heavier product.