u/Educational-Slip-578

I see a lot of delicious recipes, like salsa verde chicken, green enchiladas, guacamole, and pico de gallo. However, many of them call for ingredients such as:

1. Tomatillos
2. Fresh peppers like jalapeno, serrano, Anaheim, or poblano
3. Dried chiles like ancho, guajillo, and pasilla
4. Chipotle in adobo or chipotle powder
5. Hot sauces like Frank's RedHot or Cholula
6. Sazon seasoning and Knorr caldo de pollo
7. Lard
8. Limes

In Central or Eastern Europe, some of these ingredients are very hard (or nearly impossible) to find.

How do people usually substitute them? For example, what can you use instead of tomatillos or jalapenos?

I'm trying to find the best sharp, aged, crumbly cheddar that you can buy in regular US grocery stores (i.e., without ordering from specialty shops).

Some brands I've tried or am considering:

1. Tillamook
2. Cabot
3. Cracker Barrel
4. Kerrygold
5. Beecher's
6. Murray's Cheese
7. Boar's Head
8. Organic Valley
9. Kirkland Signature Coastal
10. Cougar Gold

What's your go-to cheddar (brand and name) if you're looking for something sharp, aged, and crumbly?

Lately, Sichuan pepper has become really popular. I feel like every food youTuber mentions it. Personally, though, I've never cooked with it (and as far as I know, I haven't even tasted it).

I wonder, do you use Sichuan pepper? If so, what dishes do you use it in (to cook, or as finishing pepper)? Do you keep it in a pepper mill? Do you use it instead of black pepper, or combine the two for a different flavor?

I recently discovered a new flavor (five-spice powder) through a random snack (five-spice peanuts), and I really enjoyed it. Now I want to buy Five-spice powder and cook something with it.

What are some good recipes to try? I have almost no experience with Asian (or Chinese) cuisine, so I'd prefer something simple, not requiring 25 ingredients, if possible.

I was thinking about something like braised chicken thighs using this spice blend. What other ingredients would go well with that? Maybe fresh garlic and ginger, MSG, soy sauce, and rice vinegar?