Part of cooking is learning new things to expand the cookbook, which definitely helps cut down on the monotony and repetitiveness that cooking can become. So every once in a while, I'll pick up a new ingredient from the Asian grocery store and give it a shot, often with mixed results (as expected).
My latest epic failure was cooking with Thai chilies. I'm a huge fan of Thai food, and I though it would be interesting to substitute a chili paste I use with some Thai chilies. However, I greatly underestimated their spiciness the first around, and ended up dicing six of them for a single serving, seeds and all. Naturally that did not end well, and it took me almost an hour to finish my dinner. Since then I've cut down the amount of chilies I use in a single serving (one or two now supplemented with a little chili paste) to add another flavor profile to my dishes.
Lately I've been greatly expanding my mushroom library when it comes to cooking. Before I consciously began exploring new ingredients my primary mushrooms and fungi of choice were white mushroom, shiitake mushroom, and wood ear fungus. Recently I've began cooking with enoki, oyster, and chanterelle (at the right price) mushrooms. However, I'd have to say that my favorite has been the shimeji mushrooms, particularly hon shimeji (which should NOT be eaten raw). The particular variety seems to absorb flavors pretty well without wilting too much; maintaining enough crunch without being bland. I've tried it with several different preparations, and it seems to hold up as a pretty versatile to the point where it seems to have become my mushroom of preference. Shimeji mushrooms also seem to keep much better than other varieties of fresh mushrooms, which also makes it an attractive option since I only go grocery shopping once a week.
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