Food in the time of a pandemic

[Katie Meadow]

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Lee Kum Kee is the Heinz of Chinese cuisine. Bog standard sauces. There are much better brands. Guilin (an hour from here) people laugh at LKK's Guilin Chili Sauce. The centre one I don't know so well, but both companies are Hong Kong based (Koon Chun was founded in 1928; LKK in 1888), although I know LKK make their sauces in mainland China where the company started.

I'm fond of Lao Gan Ma chile crisp, but my go-to for all around chile garlic sauce is made by Huy Fong, the people in Irwindale CA who bring you Sriracha, the bottles with the rooster. It has a much better bite and flavor than sriracha, which seems mild to me. The company has had a battle with neighbors, however, as the factory leaks chile fumes, presenting some serious eye and throat issues for people in the area, depending on which way the wind is blowing. No idea if they have solved this problem at this point.

[KennethT]

I also use the Huy Fong chili garlic or sambal oelek, neither of which is Chinese.  @weinooFor a much better Viet hot sauce, I like the one made by Hanoi House / Hanoi Soup Shop which they sell by the small container or jar.

[Toliver]

3 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

...The company has had a battle with neighbors, however, as the factory leaks chile fumes, presenting some serious eye and throat issues for people in the area, depending on which way the wind is blowing. No idea if they have solved this problem at this point.

It's like people who move next door to an airport and then complain about the noise of the jets taking off.  Uhm, you knew what you were moving next to...and now you're upset about the noise?

I recall the issue and I think (not sure) the company had to install some sort of filter on their factory exhaust to help eliminate the complaints. 

 

[heidih]

3 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I'm fond of Lao Gan Ma chile crisp, but my go-to for all around chile garlic sauce is made by Huy Fong, the people in Irwindale CA who bring you Sriracha, the bottles with the rooster. It has a much better bite and flavor than sriracha, which seems mild to me. The company has had a battle with neighbors, however, as the factory leaks chile fumes, presenting some serious eye and throat issues for people in the area, depending on which way the wind is blowing. No idea if they have solved this problem at this point.

 

2 minutes ago, Toliver said:

It's like people who move next door to an airport and then complain about the noise of the jets taking off.  Uhm, you knew what you were moving next to...and now you're upset about the noise?

I recall the issue and I think (not sure) the company had to install some sort of filter on their factory exhaust to help eliminate the complaints. 

 

They are good now. Heck they can deal with the car racetrack noise but not the chili?! That is a very fresh tasting fermented chili sauce and always in my pantry. There are so many interesting chili sauce styles to play with.

[haresfur]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

It's like people who move next door to an airport and then complain about the noise of the jets taking off.  Uhm, you knew what you were moving next to...and now you're upset about the noise?

I recall the issue and I think (not sure) the company had to install some sort of filter on their factory exhaust to help eliminate the complaints. 

 

 

I liken it more to other industries like oil refineries spewing out (apparently the scientific term for releasing 😉) air pollution, in which case filters are totally appropriate.

[Katie Meadow]

Yes, before you buy or rent it's always good to do your research, but not all problems are disclosed or discovered until it is too late. A good neighbor cleans up his/her act or factory if others are being adversely affected, whenever humanly possible. If only.

[weinoo]

19 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

The sandwiches are pretty boring but I'm ok w their soups and the baguette on it's own (dipped in the soup) is awight. 

 

@weinooMy big box Acme carries Lee Kum Kee prods so you really are 'Heinzing'.  Isn't chinatown like 2 blocks from you?  C'mon, we expect more from you.  

 

I do go to Chinatown, but I'm still waiting to head into any of the bigger markets.

 

18 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I'm fond of Lao Gan Ma chile crisp, but my go-to for all around chile garlic sauce is made by Huy Fong, the people in Irwindale CA who bring you Sriracha, the bottles with the rooster. It has a much better bite and flavor than sriracha, which seems mild to me. The company has had a battle with neighbors, however, as the factory leaks chile fumes, presenting some serious eye and throat issues for people in the area, depending on which way the wind is blowing. No idea if they have solved this problem at this point.

 

Now, as far as the Huy Fong Sriracha, I believe Thai people have the same response to that stuff as @liuzhou mentioned his Chinese friends have to the Lee Kum Kee brand.

 

At one time (published in 1988), this book was a pretty good reference for Asian ingredients available here in the US...

 

 

 

And I'd used the brand pictured on the left as my go to chili paste for Szechuan cooking...

 

 

It was actually the brand I was hoping to find, to replace the jar in my fridge that was on its last legs, but I couldn't find it...hence, the LKK.

 

[rotuts]

Lan chi is good stuff.  as is Kool Chun

 

LKK is invariably mediocre .

 

Lan Chi used to be readily available in BOS Chinatown markets

 

I friend , who love close to BOS -CTown told me the two largest major

 

Chinese Supermarket in CTown have gone out of business 

 

Yikes !

[gfweb]

On 3/17/2021 at 1:25 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Worse, the Panera sandwiches were not even all that good.  Not up to Wawa quality.

 

I agree. And Wawa has slipped in recent years.

[gfweb]

20 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

20 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

 

 

@weinooMy big box Acme carries Lee Kum Kee prods so you really are 'Heinzing'.  Isn't chinatown like 2 blocks from you?  C'mon, we expect more from you.  

 

You have an Acme in NY?

I thought NYC had different shitty supermarkets

Edited March 19, 2021 by gfweb (log)

[dtremit]

On 3/18/2021 at 7:19 AM, liuzhou said:

There are literally thousands. I don't know which ones are exported. Most probably few.

 

I have never ordered from this site but I have found it to be a really good reference for what's available in a good Chinese grocery in at least the northeastern US. In particular, you can switch the language on any page between Chinese and English, so you can switch to Chinese to search and then switch to English for the product info.

(The site has the same address as a large Chinese grocery in the Boston suburbs, and the stock usually matches what's in that store, so I suspect they are just fulfilling orders from there. I have heard very mixed things about their mail order service.)

[dtremit]

36 minutes ago, rotuts said:

I friend , who love close to BOS -CTown told me the two largest major

 

Chinese Supermarket in CTown have gone out of business 

 

Yikes !

 

I can't speak to the other one, but the building that housed "G-Mart" and the Hei La Moon dim sum restaurant is being razed and redeveloped with some monstrosity. The same people operate "C-Mart" (across I-90) so I think they just decided to shutter the "G-Mart" location.

These days I prefer to go to Quincy when I have time — you have Kam Man, the one across the street (New York Market, maybe?) and our very first Ranch 99 make for a very efficient trip. (Of course the last time I was there was February 2020.)

 

The 99 Supermarket in Malden is not as good as Kam Man, but it's pretty good, and much more convenient to us. (And about to become even moreso when we move next month.)

[Eatmywords]

6 minutes ago, gfweb said:

You have an Acme in NY?

I thought NYC had different shitty supermarkets

I'm in Westchester (~45mins from NYC).  But Acme is shit too, just a bigger one.

[weinoo]

 

It quite appears as if this stuff is not available any more.

[Eatmywords]

Luckily we have an H-Mart about 25mins away.  Credit to Acme and the other's who've ramped up last cpl years though.  The Asian, Indian, Eastern Euro foods and condi aisles have expanded.  I think it's more a result of internet/Youtube then demographic shifts (at least by me).

[rotuts]

@dtremit 

 

I used to work a block from Chinatown

 

in the ' main ' Chinatown , the market I was thinking about was

 

' underground '

 

the same chain had a similar if not larger market

 

across the expressway / freeway.

 

I havn't nbeen to chinatown for years , no parking  etc

 

there was a decent market in Alston

 

I used to go their sunday mornings when it opened.  easy to get to

 

and parking right there

 

along time ago they had a concussion in the market

 

( there were many food court stalls in the same large building , closed Sun AM )

 

that at 10: AM got fresh ' bakery' goods from Chinatown

 

buns etc.   delicious they were.

Edited March 19, 2021 by rotuts (log)

[liamsaunt]

Here is this week's CSA box.  Clockwise from lower left--macomber turnips, apples, onions, mesculin mix, francese loaf, green cabbage, fava sprouts, dried cranberries, raspberry jam, potatoes, carrots, and beets

 

[dtremit]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

there was a decent market in Alston

I used to go their sunday mornings when it opened.  easy to get to

and parking right there

along time ago they had a concussion in the market

( there were many food court stalls in the same large building , closed Sun AM )

that at 10: AM got fresh ' bakery' goods from Chinatown

buns etc.   delicious they were.

 

That would be Super 88 (or at least, it used to be called that?) — the market itself has gone through a couple of owners and seems to have come out a bit worse for wear.

The food court in front is still excellent, though — though the vendors have changed a bit over time. There is a good place doing sichuan dry pot (though I like the one in Central Square better).

Weirdly my favorite lamb samosas in all of Boston are from the Indian stall at that food court. I think (hope!) they are still there.

[dtremit]

1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

Here is this week's CSA box.  Clockwise from lower left--macomber turnips, apples, onions, mesculin mix, francese loaf, green cabbage, fava sprouts, dried cranberries, raspberry jam, potatoes, carrots, and beets

 

We've started getting this share this week as well -- thanks again for the heads up on the sale last fall. (We got a daikon instead of the macomber turnip, and blackberry jam.)

 

I suspect we will try Siena's winter box next winter — the Winter Moon Roots box through Clover was a little too repetitive for us.

Edited March 19, 2021 by dtremit (log)

[liamsaunt]

20 hours ago, dtremit said:

 

We've started getting this share this week as well -- thanks again for the heads up on the sale last fall. (We got a daikon instead of the macomber turnip, and blackberry jam.)

 

I suspect we will try Siena's winter box next winter — the Winter Moon Roots box through Clover was a little too repetitive for us.

 

Did you get an email on Wednesday with the contents of the box?  This is the first week we did not get one. The box was a mystery on arrival haha!  I am glad I got turnips and not daikon.  I have a glut of daikons and carrots in the house right now.

 

I hope you like the CSA.  We have been very pleased with it.  In addition to the normal share, my husband added flex shares for tomatoes, corn and fruit, and sunflowers for this summer.  

[blue_dolphin]

Yesterday, on the way back from my haircut, I stopped by the fancy food shop and picked up a few necessities:

Since I was famished, I immediately opened the seaweed butter to put on some crusty bread. 

 

 

[Shelby]

14 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Yesterday, on the way back from my haircut, I stopped by the fancy food shop and picked up a few necessities:

Since I was famished, I immediately opened the seaweed butter to put on some crusty bread. 

 

 

RED BOAT SALT????

 

Do I need this in my life?  I'm thinking yes.

[lemniscate]

17 minutes ago, Shelby said:

RED BOAT SALT????

 

Do I need this in my life?  I'm thinking yes.

I have a large jar of it.  A little goes a loooooonnnnnngggg way.  It'll take me years to use up.   I bought it directly off Red Boat's website.

At the time I bought, they had chocolate cashew bars made with the salt.  Very interesting, good, but very interesting.  Looks like now they are selling caramels.

[ElsieD]

@blue_dolphin  I envy your access to French butter.  I bet it's tasty!

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

RED BOAT SALT????

 

Do I need this in my life?  I'm thinking yes.

Probably yes, but it does have that fish sauce smell so maybe don't let Ronnie stick his nose in the bag. 

 

1 hour ago, lemniscate said:

I have a large jar of it.  A little goes a loooooonnnnnngggg way.  It'll take me years to use up.   

Indeed.  Andrea Nguyen recommends cutting it with regular salt if you want to use it as a seasoning salt. See here on her blog. 

Her recipe for Red Boat Umami Mayo is on the Red Boat site. 

 

25 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

@blue_dolphin  I envy your access to French butter.  I bet it's tasty!

Yes, it's really excellent. I have to restrain myself from buying all the flavors as it's rather expensive, too!  I save it for putting on bread or toast where I can really taste the difference.  I'm not making chocolate chip cookies with this stuff!