Teresa, lucky you! I'd go nuts if I had a store like that. You are going to have fun.

Nancy

The Asian stores around here all have fish tanks with live swimming fish,lobsters, crabs, shrimps,---etc.

Are there fish tanks in that store?

dcarch

Yep, live tilapia in the one I saw up close and personal.

There were many things there that made me wonder "how would you fix that???" Lots of beef shank - what would one do with beef shank....make soup? And some packages labeled just "beef." Lots of livers and kidneys, dried shrimp, tons of tofu, and......chicken feet, of course! I was pretty much on sensory overload.

My favorite? All the darling, tiny Asian/Indian/Thai children. Their tiny jeans and shoes just made my heart melt.

The meat section in an Asian market is a real resource.

Lots of stuff that has a ton of flavor and collagen, add to soups, stews and stocks then fish it out before serving. Beef tendons, knuckles, pigs feet, necks, etc.

Lots of tasty parts that the average grocery store won't have because the average Joe won't buy it. The pork belly we earlier talked about, all sorts of organ meats, oxtails, small spareribs, etc.

Duck and sometimes lamb, a lot cheaper than the gourmet grocer where you'd usually go for the stuff. Sometimes goose or rabbit.

Chicken carcasses, a bag of 10 for $2.50, perfect for stock. Similarly, cheap bags of pig and beef bones.

Plus all the usual meats.

Stuff like beef shanks can be slow cooked, or pressure cooked. Like you'd do a lamb shank.

I love Asian supermarkets, every time you go you'll discover something new. Be sure you look at the housewares section, they can be a treasure trove. You may find packages of thin, perfectly sliced frozen steak and other beef cuts, along with lamb slices and pork slices, great for any quickly stir fried dish or for hot pot cooking. Probably hundreds of different cooking and serving sauces and condiments and an endless selection of fresh (refrigerated) and dried noodles. Does your market have a section of freshly prepared food? You can usually find wonderful dumplings, steamed or fried, Chinese scallion pancakes, roast duck and pork. A trip to our market always results in something good for dinner that just needs heating and serving.

What did you buy in addition to the boatload of broccoli?

Your photos are great. I can't wait to hear about your next adventure there and thanks for sharing this one.

Lee

Lee,
I got sauces - hoisin, oyster, and bigger bottles of soy sauce and vinegar. Dried and fresh noodles and cellophane noodles plus a bag of brown rice; two kinds of dumpling wraps, a stick of Chinese sausage, fresh bottle of sesame oil, some Madras curry powder, and a jar of chutney. From the produce aisle I got some baby bok choy and a small bag of bean sprouts. I also took a look at the housewares area, but didn't see anything I needed/didn't already have. I did pick up a dollar package of pot scrubbers. They did have the very thin sliced up packages of beef and pork belly. There was one lone, small package of ground beef.

While I was looking for the "malt" vinegar for our dumplings at the office, I asked for help from a young 20-something Oriental woman who spoke English with no trace of a foreign accent. She very kindly helped me to find a vinegar that would be used in Souzhou where we have our plant. Evidently different areas of China use different kinds of vinegar....who knew? Employees and shoppers alike were very helpful, thank goodness!

The restaurant had "crispy ducks" hanging up and all manner of soups, dishes stir fried to order and those good pot stickers. There was an interesting leaf wrapped rice dish that I should have tried, but didn't know how you were to untie the string around it.

I can't wait to go back to this market - with a cooler! Maybe I can go on a Sunday and see if it is less crowded.

Teresa

Get one of this, very useful:

http://zenreich.com/ZenWeb/images/garlicribs6.jpg

Get bamboo spatulas, they last forever.

dcarch

Teresa, first Southern Seasons, then Replacements, Ltd, Trader Joe's, now Grand Asia Market. Sounds like I need to make another visit!

Thanks for sharing.

Oh good Teresa, you did us all proud. Darch is right about the bamboo, I have bamboo paddles that I got 40 years ago. They go into the dishwasher every time they are used and except for one that got burned, they all pretty much look new. They are wonderful with non-stick cookware. They are indestructible. If the shape is appropriate for what I need to do, I will always reach for bamboo before other wooden utensils. I have rice paddles in several sizes and some spoons and spatulas that were probably made for more Western cooking.

The rice you are describing is sticky rice mixed with pork and a few little veggie pieces, then wrapped in bamboo or banana leaves, tied and steamed. Both the Thai and Chinese
make delicious versions. The string is easy to slip off, unwrap the leaves and set aside and eat the seasoned rice/meat/veggie ball inside. Banana leaves add a distinct and pleasant flavor.

I have always found that other customers are happy to tell you about a food item and how they would use it. I have learned how to select a variety of plum just by holding one up with a quizzical look to a quite old shopper, she took it out of my hand and picked up another one and handed it to me. That fact that she didn't speak English was not a barrier to our gesturing and smiling at each other. Almost everyone will speak some or very good English and I have learned a lot about cooking from customers. The staff may be more cautious if uncomfortable with English, but will always go and find someone who can help.

It's a lot of fun.

Lee

Lee, Was it the H Mart in Aurora that you took me to? I love the gadgetthrough> housewares department too.

Here is an interesting one:

For those of you who have rubber gaskets for your pressure cooker, you may be able to find silicone rubber replacement gaskets in an Asian store.

Rubber doesn't last long. Silicone rubber lasts forever. Rubber replacement gaskets are not cheap.

dcarch

Teresa, that looks like great fun. I went to the Asian Market in Ann Arbor last weekend and posted a couple of pictures on the "What's For Dinner" thread, but I didn't take pictures inside the store, I forgot my camera.

I got Hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce, some sweet potato noodles. I passed up the live turtles, having actually trapped and cleaned turtle before, those little ones aren't anywhere worth the time and effort to clean them! They had both duck feet and chicken feet, too, and lots of woks and tea sets and bowls and spoons and chopsticks and squeaky shoes.

Jessica suggested I make sukiyaki with the noodles, and so now I'm trying to figure out what to do with "dried plum". It doesn't look like prunes, which the the "dried plum" I'm familiar with.

Annie

Teresa,

That is a wonderful photo essay on your shopping adventure. Your photos are beautiful. Thanks for posting them.

Chinese broccoli. Yum! I tried to grow it without much success. I'll try again.

Now I know why they put tangerines on the Chinese New Year commemorative stamp.

"Lee, Was it the H Mart in Aurora that you took me to?"

I also wonder if it was an H Mart. I made a brief visit to the H Mart near Boston last fall and was overwhelmed by the size of it and the huge number of products they carry. I've been to many Asian markets but none approached the size of that one. I had no time to make photos or eat in the food court. Next time.

Jim

I love those kinds of markets, I stock up on rice paper wrappers and Korean seaweed.

Someone gave me one dragon fruit last year. It was like a big kiwi, same flavor, maybe not as tart, and crunchy seeds. Beautiful fruit, I tried to convince DH to grow a cutting if I got one for him.

We had a wonderful Asian market here in Garland, but alas, it closed. It may have not been charging enough for its products, as I never saw such a wonderful selection of dried mushrooms at such a great price. I'd steer clear of the meat and fish area - I'd want to rescue all the live animals!

Lee, I love your story about the customer helping you pick out fruit.

Great photos, Teresa.

Sally

Nice pictures, although I can't see them here.

The closest Asian market to me (which I go to frequently) specializes in Indian and Middle Eastern food and is primarily Lebanese. I would have to go pretty far to find a Chinese market (see link below), but there are very large Japanese markets near me and especially in South Bay.

There are great Korean markets in Korean Town and some good (but smaller) Thai markets in Thai Town, which is right next to Little Armenia, even though Armenia is on the other side if Asia!

I would like to find a good Chinese market, but I would probably have to go to Monterey Park - or maybe Gardena, which is much closer. I think there is a 99 Ranch Market there, but it specializes in Taiwanese food, and I am more partial to Szechuan and Hunan. There us a very good Indonesian market close to me, however, and I go there for tamarind paste, which comes in brick form.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Search for Chinese market in WLA

"I also wonder if it was an H Mart."

Duh. I just looked at the first pic again, which clearly shows the name of the store.

Thanks again, Teresa.

Jim

We have dozens of Asian markets in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. My favorite on is the United Noodle Company. It is huge and has been around for 40 years. But we have many smaller Asian markets because we have such huge Hmong and Vietnamese populations here. We also have great Latino markets because Mexicans have had a very large presence in St. Paul for well over 100 years. And now the Lake Street area of Minneapolis has many Latino markets and restaurants because of our large Latino population in that part of the city.

And we have the largest Liberian population outside of Liberia. I have yet to explore their markets up in the northwestern suburbs.

Yes Cathy, that was at the H Mart in Aurora. I have also had help in picking a variety of guava, that I hadn't seen before, from an Indian couple at that market, and an interesting conversation with a young Korean man and his Grandmother when they asked what I was going to do with a bag of very tiny dried fish that I was holding. I can't remember how they used them but I was buying them on the advise of Gina W to use as training treats for our dog (who absolutely loved them). Some of my favorite utensils, in addition to the bamboo ones, have come from Asian markets. I have a simple and wonderful fish scaler from Marukai, the Hawaiian owned, but multicultural Asian, market chain in Southern California. I also have a three section Chinese steamer from Marukai and I got my first silicone brush there several years before they made a mainstream market presence in the US. I'm still using everything after many years.

Sally, I really think that food brings people together and I have had some really fun grocery store conversations.

Lee

That's a great-looking store, Theresa. Raleigh is such a fabulous area! Sigh!