Last weekend, Cooking Channel joined the LUCKYRICE Festival to celebrate the very best of Asian cooking. With a Culinary Council featuring some of the most respected chefs in the industry, each event covered a different aspect of Asian food and culture.

At Friday evening's chef-studded Grand Feast, fabulous bites were served and paired with signature cocktails. We tasted them all, and picked up a few tips along the way.

Here's a sampling of some of our favorite bites.

Red Roast Duck with Puffed Rice from Clebrity Chef Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger:

Indian salmon recipe to try at home: Bal's East Meets West Grilled Salmon

• 2 ounces Gin
• 3/4 ounce Cointreau
• 2 ounces Pineapple juice
• 1/2 ounce  Apricot brandy
• 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
• 1 teaspoon Yuzu juice (substitute fresh lemon juice if yuzu is unavailable)

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with 1 cup of ice.

Cover and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and serve immediately.

If you're interested in cooking authentic Asian cuisines at home, start with the basics: a well-stocked pantry. These Asian shopping lists will get you started.

• Cardamom Pods - armoatic and sweet, best used in small quantites
• Dried Chiles - fiery, slender, red dried chilies can be simmered whole or ground and combined with other spices
• Coconut Milk - used in various Indian regions for its richness, creaminess and sweetness
• Coriander Seeds - the seed of the cilantro plant adds a bright flavor to curries, pickles, and chutneys
• Cumin - buy pale or black whole seeds: both have distinctive warm, musky flavor
• Ghee - clarified butter adds rich nuttiness to Indian dishes
• Mustard Seeds - throw into hot oil for nutty flavor
• Tamarind Paste - leds fruity tartness to any dish
• Turmeric - responsible for the warm yellow color in many Indian dishes
• Nutmeg - best grated fresh on a kitchen rasp to impart its warm, tingly flavor

Chef Tip: Buy spices in small quantities and keep them in airtight containers in a cool, dark space. While spices will stay fresh from 3 months to a year, but use ground spices within 3 to 4 months. 

• Dried Anchovy - salty and crunchy, these add intense flavor to soups, stocks, and side dishes
• Dwaen Jang - this pungent Korean miso paste is best is sauces, stews, and soups
• Fish Sauce - this potent liquid provides savory saltiness
• Gochu Garu - Korean chili flakes
• Gochu Jang - feemented red chili pepper paste used to add sweet, spice heat to meats, kimchi and bibimbap
• Rice Vinegar - weaker and sweeter than other Western vinegars
• Salted Shrimp - adds a fermented, salty and sour flavor to soups, stir-fries and condiments.
• Toasted Sesame Oil - this nutty oil keeps best in the refrigerator
• Sesame Seeds - darker than their Japanese counterparts, these don't needed to be re-toasted
• Soy Sauce - use light soy for seasoning and darker soy for stews and marinades

• Black Chinese Vinegar - this dark, aged vinegar has a complex flavor
• Dried Chiles - hot, fried chiles are used with abundance; deseed them to adjust heat level
• Five-Spice Powder - spice blend of cassia bark, star anise, Szachuan pepper, ginger, and clove
• Rice Vinegar - can be substituted with half as much cider vinegar
• Toasted Sesame Oil - use this nutty oil sparingly, as its flavor can easily overwhelm
• Shaoxing - fermented Chinese rice wine
• Soy Sauce -  use light soy for seasoning and darker soy for stews and marinades
• Star Anise - licorice-flavored spice
• Szechuan Chili Bean Paste - used as a secondary source of salt and lends a rich fermented flavor
• Sczchuan Peppercorns - this variety of peppercorn lends sharpness and mild numbing quality to many dishes

Hungry for more? Get More Asian Inspiration from Cooking Channel:

• Best Chinese Recipes
• Spice Goddess: Indian Recipes
• WATCH: Lee Anne Wong's Korean BBQ Beef Summer Rolls
• More Chinese Pantry Essentials
• How to Cook with a Wok