Shopping at the asian market...help me make a plan.

[Graphix]

Last night i had an interesting experience...i shopped at my first real asian market. This was no joke. My only other interaction with an asian market had been at a slightly dingy market with a limited selection of asian produce. Even before entering i knew this was going to be special. Outside durian fruits and Pommelo were stacked high. Inside there was a case of beautiful roast duck next to a steamer full of Bao of all types. Huge and brightly lit aisles of fresh produce. Jack fruits, chinese broccoli, bitter asian melon, tubs of fresh seaweed. An amazing fish monger with rows of whole gleaming fish. Shark, grouper, snapper, skate, head on prawns. Below the iced counter top there were six or eight tanks of live fish and in buckets in front of the tanks were eels, turtle, frogs and blue crab. Seemingly endless choices of soy, ramen, condiments and rice. Then came the fear that in this great market with endless possibilities I had absolutely no idea what to get. It wasn't a planned trip and i didnt have as long as i would have liked to look around but i still felt guilty that i only left with a handful of snacks and items i had wanted to try.

Given that this is a decent trek from home, how should i approach this next time? Im an asian food newbie when it comes to cooking but with a resource like that not too far away i would love to do some more asian cooking at home. I would like to stock up on some pantry staples but with so many choices i unsure of what to get and what was better quality.

I think next time i want to go with 1-3 recipes to shop for, then on top of that a list of pantry ingredients to stock up on. Help me come up with a plan!

thanks

Brendan

[PopsicleToze]

It is so exciting to get there to shop and then not know what to buy. Definitely plan a few recipes to try and then shop for the ingredients you need.

Be spontaneous, too. The produce can be especially fun. If you see some really interesting fruits or vegetables that you have no idea how to cook, buy it anyway and then go home and google it. That's how I found jackfruit and some little fruit (can't remember the name) raspberry red with hair all over it (they were good--tasted somewhat like lychees).

Buy prepared foods to taste and sample. If they have the Vietnamese poboys, definitely get one. If you don't know what you want on it, go with the house special.

Ask for help. Cooks are like-hearted everywhere, and if you ask for advice, most of the time someone will gladly help you. You can almost always begin a conversation with, "What are you going to make with that?" They'll most likely rattle off a recipe for you to try.

Rhonda

[Chris Amirault]

There are lots of resources around here, most notably the Pictorial Guide to Chinese Ingredients topic, to which many here will gladly contribute their expertise. There's also The Asian Grocery Store Demystified, which is a decent introduction to some basic categories.

To build your pantry, why not choose 10-20 recipes and see what's in there? "Asia" is more of a Western concept collecting a gazillion cuisines than a specific one, so it's best to drive your shopping based on what you're interested in, I'd say.

[nakji]

Where to start? How about:

Sauces:

Basics:

a decent soy sauce - light/dark

sesame oil

rice vinegar

Expansion Set:

mirin

oyster sauce

cooking wine - sake and shaoxing

peanut oil for frying

fish sauce

Specifics:

doubanjiang (chili bean paste)

Thai curry paste (red or green)

gochujang (Korean chili paste)

miso/doejang

Black bean

Taiwanese brands are generally good for Chinese products, Mae Ploy seems consistent for Thai paste, and Squid brand Thai fish sauce seems ubiquitous and non-offensive to most. There are lots of specific brand listed in those topics Chris has linked to. Play around and find what you like.

[snowangel]

I think it's also important to remember that your local Asian market can fill more needs than just Asian cooking. Fish? Meat? Produce? They all apply to more than just Asian cooking, and I use my Asian market for both types of cuisine.

[Shalmanese]

How much room do you have in your kitchen & how often do you plan on cooking asian food? Asian cooking seems to demand a disproportionately large amount of pantry space as it relies so heavily on the dried, fermented & preserved. I estimate I cook maybe 10/1 non-asian to asian but my pantry is evenly divided between asian ingredients & everything else.

[Graphix]

thanks Erin that is a good list to get started with. I was worried that 'Asian' was too broad a term. I think the market is predominately Chinese but there was definitely other cuisines represented. Im going to head down again this week so maybe i can grab a few photos when i go next time.

To build your pantry, why not choose 10-20 recipes and see what's in there? "Asia" is more of a Western concept collecting a gazillion cuisines than a specific one, so it's best to drive your shopping based on what you're interested in, I'd say.

I like that idea Chris, have any good sources for beginner friendly chinese recipes, or even just some names and ill google recipes?

I think it's also important to remember that your local Asian market can fill more needs than just Asian cooking. Fish? Meat? Produce? They all apply to more than just Asian cooking, and I use my Asian market for both types of cuisine.

Its a long trek for weekly proteins, but i might get a few things from the butcher and freeze them. I am also going to try some of the fish selections for sure.

How much room do you have in your kitchen & how often do you plan on cooking asian food? Asian cooking seems to demand a disproportionately large amount of pantry space as it relies so heavily on the dried, fermented & preserved. I estimate I cook maybe 10/1 non-asian to asian but my pantry is evenly divided between asian ingredients & everything else.

I dont have a ton of space but enough that i could stash some pantry items. If i had the right pantry items i could cook chinese a few times a week.

[nakji]

Check out this topic on favourite Chinese cookbooks....the best one for you really depends on how you like to cook. A lot of people recommend Barbara Tropp's Modern Chinese cooking, but my eyes glaze over halfway through the recipes, they're so detailed. I haven't cooked anything from it yet. It does have excellent methodology for cutting and wok preparation and maintenance, though. I cook regularly from The Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, since the recipes reflect the sort of ingredients I have regular access to. The more you become familiar with Asian ingredients, the more you'll be able to discern between Chinese/Korean/Japanese/Thai/Vietnamese and so on. Check out some books from your local library to see what you might like to cook, and check out our regional forums too - there's tons of great information here.

I think it's also important to remember that your local Asian market can fill more needs than just Asian cooking. Fish? Meat? Produce? They all apply to more than just Asian cooking, and I use my Asian market for both types of cuisine.

So true! Do you find the prices cheaper there by much?

[Beanie]

Have you seen the Chinese Food Pictorials by eG poster hzrt8w? Many of the dishes are suitable for a beginner and the ingredients are clearly shown. The link is here:

[ojisan]

I always have these in the pantry:

- Pearl River Bridge brand: Mushroom flavored soy, and Golden Label Superior Light soy - you'll want both.

- Mori-nu brand: Firm tofu (for Mapo Dofu and Hot&Sour soup)

- Huy Fong brand: Tuong Ot Toi Viet-nam chili-garlic sauce. Rooster logo, green top. (Refrigerate after opening)

- Mae Ploy brand: curry pastes (Refrigerate after opening)

- Pearl River brand: salted black beans - comes in a round cardboard box.

- dried shiitake mushrooms

- dried lily buds

- Kadoya brand: sesame oil (Refrigerate after opening)

- Szechwan peppercorns

- Szechuan Preserved Vegetable - comes in a can w/ a picture of a rabbit. (Refrigerate after opening)

- Tianjin (Tientsin) Preserved Vegetable - comes in a squat red/brown crock

[OliverB]

The new book, Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fey Lo has a chapter on the pantry items you'd most likely want to have. We just got two very big new Asian supermarkets here and I made my shopping list from that book.

These markets are amazing, there are so many things I've never seen or heard of, great fresh and cheap fish, all the pork pieces you can't find anywhere else, from ears to tubs of blood, simply amazing.

I'd set up a basic pantry from the above post or if you get the book, from the book - or both. Then select a couple recipes, get what you need and have fun with it!

And don't forget to have some lunch from the hot food counters too!

Oh, and walk down the kitchen equipment lane too, great prices on all kinds of things, from little gas burners to mortars, knives, and so on.

[liuzhou]

A quick survey of my kitchen in southern China reveals the following:

Soy Sauces: Both light and dark varieties plus a bottle of Mushroom Soy Sauce which only tends to get used in non-Asian dishes.

Oyster Sauce: I usually go for the most expensive brand - not sure if this is sensible. Not the most used ingredient - a bottle lasts for ages. Luckily, it keeps.

Oils: Rice bran oil for every day use. It is nearly as basic as rice. Employers frequently give large bottles of oil as a half-yearly bonus to staff.  Sesame oil is an essential but only as a condiment; never for cooking. Chilli oil and Sichuan Peppercorn oil for adding to hot pots. The fridge also contains a large pan of home rendered lard (pig fat) which is used mainly for stir-frying green vegetables.

Vinegars: White rice vinegar, red vinegar, black vinegar. I love those mild Chinese vinegars (even using them in "French" vinaigrettes). The black vinegar is mainly used as a dip for jiaozi; the red with seafood.

Shaoxing Wine: This comes in varying qualities from the ridiculously cheap to the staggeringly expensive. I tend to go somewhere in the middle. And anyone who suggests that sherry is an acceptable substitute should have their taste buds tested. No. No. No.

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms: These are an annual gift from a dear friend who is a member of the Dong ethnic minority and lives in a tiny village in Guangxi. The mushrooms are wild and the name in her language translates as "mountain mushrooms". When she visits, I can almost smell her coming! The earthy pungent fungi smell lingers all year.

Chillis, Chillies, Chiles: Spell it how you like. My first few years in China were spent in western Hunan and the food was awesome. Later I visited Sichuan and loved that too. Today, in the kitchen there are five varieties of dried chillies and there is a chilli plant on the balcony (see pic). Who could resists something called "Facing Heaven Chillies"?

Sichuan Peppercorns: Wonderful little taste bombs. I buy these in very small, often re-ordered packs. Freshness is essential.

Salted Black Beans: I'm addicted to these.

Herbs and Spices: Despite living within spitting distance of Vietnam, few of SE Asia's flavourings are available here. No fish sauce, lemongrass, basil, lime etc. Chinese cuisine isn't herb filled. The only fresh herb in the local market is coriander (cilantro). Nor is it particularly spiced. Cloves, start anise, fennel and cumin. That's about the lot. And they are rarely used.

But every supermarket sells little bags of medicinal herbs and spices, most of which don't have English names. These are added to hot pot broths. I've no idea what they are but I'm healthy!

Edited March 20, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Graphix]

Thanks for the great info everyone. I picked up the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook from the library i think ill try a few recipes from there first. Im excited to go back, i think i have a decent idea of where to start. I will update with pics after my first shopping trip.