Lost in the Asian market; I cannot yet shop happily.

October 12, 2007 12:42 PM

An Asian supermarket opened up right down the road from me. It's huge with lots of great produce and exotic seafood. Most of the labels are completely inscrutable. What do I buy?

I went there for the first time and was completely overwhelmed. I ended up buying a large jar of fresh Kim Chi, a big bag of super cheap shallots and what I thought was a BBQ pork bun but seems to be some kind of sweet bean paste confection.

What are some cool staples for me to buy? Noodles besides ramen? Neat teas? I have plenty of soy sauce and sriacha. I have black vinegar.

What can I do with some of the more novel (to me) fruits and vegetables? Sour melon, enoki mushrooms, durian etc.

What do I need to try; what are some things I might want to avoid?

Bonus if you can recommend specific brands or provide me with the asian characters, as much of the food has no English label.

posted by Telf to food & drink (45 comments total)

Look for a bottle of Ramune ラムネ just for the cool bottle.
posted by zengargoyle at 12:48 PM on October 12, 2007

Kewpie mayonnaise. Talk about bringing out the best, that shit is the bomb.
posted by padraigin at 12:51 PM on October 12, 2007

Oh, man, red bean paste buns are great. Keep up with those.
posted by boo_radley at 12:51 PM on October 12, 2007

Kecap manis . This is a very sweet soy sauce, excellent for use in a marinade, or to drizzle over grilled stuff and plain white rice. I spent some time in Indonesia as a kid, and this is now one of my favorite sauces/condiments. You can also get much better rice. I prefer the new crop Jasmine rice, but you need to use less water than most other rice or it will get too soggy.
posted by procrastination at 12:52 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Bitter Melon - cut into 1/2" rounds, do not seed it (the membrane around the seed is good, just spit the seed out), sprinkle a litle sugar on each side, pan fry until it becomes a dark golden brown.

In case you don't like it, I just wanted to say it took me until I was 19 years old to like bitter melon.

Asian fruits like Japanese pears and durian are best on their own.
posted by spec80 at 12:54 PM on October 12, 2007

Instant ginger tea is my favorite. Just ground up ginger and sugar. Yum.
posted by sulaine at 1:03 PM on October 12, 2007

POCKY!
posted by R. Mutt at 1:04 PM on October 12, 2007

Does the market have a fresh fish department? Because this is where you will be buying your fish from here on out.
posted by wildeepdotorg at 1:10 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Bacchus D. (Predated Red Bull by a mile, and tastes good to boot). be prepared to have an amazing sugar high followed by a sugar crash.
posted by Debaser626 at 1:10 PM on October 12, 2007

Usually, at least once every ten days or so, we'll grab the following for dinner: A (usually self-serve, sometimes served for you) plastic container of Bulgolgi or spare ribs. Cook this up with some rice, and some lettuce for wrapping. A container of seaweed salad (the self-serve "fresh packed" foods are great for quick buys). Buy some red bean paste/hot pepper paste for flavor, if you're not a wimp like me and can handle the heat. Some dumplings. Quick and delicious.

Also, a pack or two of the tiny little yogurts (I believe they're called Biofeel...) Stick 'em in your freezer, defrost and eat. They're yummy.

My partner goes wild for Barley Tea (Boricha), as well as Mung-bean sprouts but both must be an acquired taste.

I'm learning as well, but this is the stuff we usually grab.
posted by atayah at 1:14 PM on October 12, 2007

cans of coconut water from Thailand or the Philippines.
posted by kanemano at 1:16 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Telf says: much of the food has no English label.

You will find that most all of the packaged food will have a sticker in English that lists the ingredients and nutritional values. This gives you some clues about the food.

One of my favorites from my local market is Shirakiku frozen pork gyoza. 21oz bag for under $5, and the whole package is in english.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 1:17 PM on October 12, 2007

oooh, deok! (i've heard it pronounced "duck", as well).
deok are little korean treats made of glutinous rice dough (chewy, dense dough with very very mild flavour).
sometimes it's just plain dough, or sometimes it comes filled with something sweet like red bean paste. as you can see from that link, there are a zillion kinds.
my favourite are the little white balls filled with sesame & honey. the little balls are under an inch in diameter, and cost maybe $3 for 12. you'll probably find them saran-wrapped to styrofoam trays- most big grocery stores make them themselves (i've never seen them in factory packaging). if you don't eat them right away, keep them in a container with as little air in it as possible or they'll get hard.
so yummy. totally going to koreatown to get some later.
posted by twistofrhyme at 1:23 PM on October 12, 2007

Ye gods and little fishes! Red bean ice cream!
posted by jquinby at 1:27 PM on October 12, 2007

Calbee Shrimp Chimps
posted by spec80 at 1:29 PM on October 12, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

CHIPS... gah
posted by spec80 at 1:29 PM on October 12, 2007

Fish sauce and Szechuan peppercorns.
posted by mckenney at 1:40 PM on October 12, 2007

Calbee wasabi chips, if they have them. I've only seen 'em in Hong Kong, but OMFG they were excellent. Completely outclassed every other wasabi chip I've ever had.
posted by aramaic at 1:41 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

To add to spec80's recommendation, bitter melon (photo here) can be used medicinally. That's the only reason I go near it. (It is, after all, very bitter.) It stimulates the liver to produce bile and lowers blood sugar, which is probably why it helps me recover from feeling catatonic after overindulging in high-fat desserts. I also eat it when I feel like I'm coming down with a cold, to help my body kick the virus out.

Mom used to stuff bitter melon halves with ground pork and fermented black bean sauce. Lots of salt in that recipe helped balance the bitterness.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:03 PM on October 12, 2007

Take bundles of enoki as thick as your thumb, wrap them in slices of ham, skewer them, and brush with soy/teriyaki sauce before/while grilling. So yummy.
posted by eritain at 2:04 PM on October 12, 2007

Hojicha loose tea, very tasty.

Furikake rice seasoning.

Instant miso soup, with some dried seaweed sprinkled in. great for a quick snack.

Milk candy.

Komoboko (fish cake)-- slice and eat or put in ramen

Kakumochi (rice crackers) many varieties

One of my kids loves those shrimp chips.

Nori - eat as snack, add to ramen, eat with rice
posted by jockc at 2:14 PM on October 12, 2007

2nding fish sauce and shrimp chips. i also love the selection of greens at my local asian mart (pea shoots, chinese broccoli, etc.)

it's also a good place to get a rice cooker if you don't own one yet.
posted by gnutron at 2:23 PM on October 12, 2007

I agree with the comment of taking full advantage of the local Asian market's fish department. The Asian markets are usually half the price of the Western locals, though I'm not sure why this is so. I suspect, in the deepest parts of my soul, that it's all individually quick frozen harvests from Korean or Japanese aquatic holocaust fish trawlers, but for the moment, I'm still fine with paying $3.00 / lb. for sea bass.

If there's a Filipino section, jars of halo-halo ingredients (red beans in syrup, coconut gel in syrup, purple yam, etc.) make for good pantry items to dress up desserts or ice cream. Also, lechon sauce is a sweeter alternative to traditional barbecue sauce.

If there's a Vietnamese or Thai section, consider packages of rice noodles if you're getting tired of ramen or traditional egg noodles. The nice bit with rice noodles is that they generally take less time to prep, since you just need to dip them in hot water until they soften.

for more generalist pantry ingredients, I keep a bottle of hoisin, black bean, fish and oyster sauce in my pantry. Also rice vinegar, sesame oil and peanut oil. For vegetables, always have garlic, ginger, lemongrass and scallions.

Oh, and, of course, a big 20lb. bag of rice.

With this on hand -- a stirfry is always available as a weeknight dining option. Just stop by any store on the way home to get mushrooms or bok choy or shrimp or chicken or string beans. Then, the question of whether the night's dinner will be chicken in black bean garlic sauce or lemongrass chicken with scallions is a matter of what I want to use from the pantry.

And, if you haven't already, do buy a wok -- carbon steel, of ocurse, and season it yourself.
posted by bl1nk at 2:32 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Yes a good quality rice cooker is a must. Making rice is a breeze with one. Plus I forgot and left the leftover rice in it one night. Next morning I opened it up and the rice was still perfect.
posted by jockc at 2:33 PM on October 12, 2007

oh man get some Thai tea and fast: no other tea can touch that stuff. It is, to quote my sister in law, "like heaven in my mouth". Comes in bottles & cans, or in bags of loose tea.

For fresh produce, yucca root and galangal ("blue ginger" but not actually blue) are delicious. Boil or fry the yucca like potatoes, and use galangal in place of ginger or for the billions of South/Southeast/East Asian recipes that call for it.
posted by ibeji at 3:30 PM on October 12, 2007

Look for cans of curry paste. My local asian grocer has Maesri brand. It's mighty tasty, especially the hot green variety.
posted by cog_nate at 3:49 PM on October 12, 2007

Japanese Curry! (Not the boil-a-bag ones, but the ones with flavor bricks.) Of all the ones I've tried, The Golden Curry in the black box with gold letters is my favorite.

Directions, even in Japanese, are understandable with some imagination. Basically add one block to a large amount of water, add potatoes, onions, carrots and boil until the sauce thickens. Add meat if desired.

For a strange but delicious topping... add cheddar cheese. Not even joking, it's a great combination.
posted by whatzit at 3:56 PM on October 12, 2007

Make sushi: pick up some masago, roasted eel (in blister pack, deli wrap styrofoam or tins), and other trimmings. Try for oyster mushrooms, fish balls, miso, wasabi peas, sichuan peppercorns, litchis, "scallion pancakes" (in the freezer or the fridge... not like pancakes in texture, more akin to croissant), all manner of choy, seasoning packets, curry paste (in non-refrigerated little tubs), seaweed salad (look for the frozen kind). BASIL SEED DRINK, other weird beverages. At least one per trip. Hi Boss is very good. chrysanthemum drinks are yummy. Milk tea and boba pearls, Men's Pocky, which I buy out of love for dark chocolate and cheek. Check for frozen samosas or pakoras, get some potstickers or any other dumplings, cheap frozen clams for chowder.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 3:58 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Weird ice cream flavors (red bean isn't weird, it's required eating.)

Oh, and one of these, for vengeance emergencies.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:01 PM on October 12, 2007

Mochi ice cream. I particularly recommend the mango, but it's pretty much all good.

Asian markets are also great sources for fake meat, if you're interested in that kind of thing or cooking for someone who is.
posted by streetdreams at 4:11 PM on October 12, 2007

Scour the Thai recipes on this site. They'll tell you how to use all sorts of crazy ingredients that you can find at your local Asian market.

For example, do you see a can of Kaeng Kua curry paste on the shelf? Buy it and make Todman Khao Phot or Kaeng Sai Mai Rong Hai! Now you'll know what to do with tamarind concentrate or pickled garlic. I highly recommend the Mae Ploy curry pastes. This site has made it so that I buy mostly Thai ingredients when I visit the Asian market.

Also, not all Asian markets but stock them, but try to pick up some wasabi-covered peanuts. Wasabi-covered peas are much easier to find, but they're boring; wasabi-covered peanuts are a godsend.
posted by painquale at 4:55 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Buy some fresh galangal and make this soup.
While you're making the soup drink some of the Paldo aloe drink you picked up while you were there, too. It's the best stuff ever.
posted by hecho de la basura at 5:06 PM on October 12, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Easy and yummy sweet snack:
Red bean paste and spring roll wrappers (from the freezer section). Cut each wrapper into quarters, put in a dollop of red bean paste, roll it up while folding in the ends, and fry in ~1/2 inch of olive oil for 1-2 minutes per side on med. high heat.
posted by solotoro at 5:19 PM on October 12, 2007

There are dozens of versions of kim-chi so try them all - I recently found a raw squid and radish one that blew my socks off. If it goes sour on you (or, more sour) then get some crab, noodles and bamboo shoots and turn it into soup.

Try all the dumplings you can find - the import/ingredients sticker will guide you about the fillings. If you can find them, buy takoyaki (Japanese octopus dumplings that are made like little balls - endless squid-ball jokes will be yours forever). Korean stores often carry a vast range of red-bean products - the savoury pastes usually contain a metric ass-ton of chilli so if that's not your thing try red-bean roti if you can find them in the freezer section (sweet red-bean paste sandwiched in flakey roti dough that you fry gently in butter until golden - some strange Indian/Indonesian/Fillipeno hybrid).

Try all the strange, brightly-coloured sweets. I've no idea what half of them are called, but although there are some stomach-twisters in there, most will be the cutest little containers of jelly, coconut and wafers that go great in lunchboxes.

Have fun! Random shopping in asian grocery stores is one of my most favourite things!
posted by ninazer0 at 5:21 PM on October 12, 2007

Thanks for posting this question, Telf! I compose an identical one in my head every single time I go to my own local Asian supermarket.

I'm surprised there isn't a blog that features interesting products from Asian supermarkets and recipes you can use them in. It seems like the sort of thing that young food bloggers would be all over...does anyone know of something like this?

Or will one of you just steal my idea and do it yourself, then send me a link? All I ask is that you don't call it The Asian Supermarket Project...enough with the "Projects" already!
posted by Ian A.T. at 5:57 PM on October 12, 2007

There are several Vietnamese groceries in my city, and my SO really like the Vietnamese coffee they sell. The box says "Trung Nguyen Coffee" - presumably that's a brand. Oolong tea is pretty good, too.
posted by dilettante at 6:24 PM on October 12, 2007

Chinese treats for the lau fan:

Chin Pei Moi (spelling may vary: they look like this)

haw flakes (necko wafers from China!)

Rice candies with edible wrappers

My favorite tea, which I've only ever found at Asian markets, Poonee, a very musky/dusty tasting black tea, often sold in solid cakes.

Chinese sausages, amazingly delicious extremely greasy pork (I guess, don't look into to closely). You can hear those arteries clogging, but you'll die happy.
posted by nax at 7:01 PM on October 12, 2007

Get some Ume Plum vinegar and use on thin slices of seared beef- damn good. Also, if you are going to try the coconut water try Zico. It is very good and taste better then the can stuff to me.
posted by bkeene12 at 7:37 PM on October 12, 2007

I currently like Gai Lan, stir-fried. Dice up the stalks and start them frying first, then dice to the leaves and gradually throw them in. Add grated ginger and garlic and sesame oil in there at some point (depending on how fried you like them.) End with soy sauce. I like it well-fried - some bits almost crisp.
posted by mediaddict at 7:53 PM on October 12, 2007

Now that you have encountered red bean buns, you can go try custard buns, lotus seed buns, taro buns, etc. Heat them in a rice cooker for a couple minutes, or in the microwave covered with a damp paper towel for about 45 seconds.

Get a block of tofu, cut into cubes, drizzle with oyster or soy sauce, cover with sliced scallions or furikake or bonito flakes.

Green tea ice cream mochi. You will get addicted.
posted by casarkos at 9:56 PM on October 12, 2007

White rabbit candy! I also find that fresh herbs are way more affordable at my local Asian market.
posted by pluckysparrow at 8:09 AM on October 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Fresh Thai basil and other fresh herbs such as cilantro, which Western chain supermarkets sell tiny amounts of at insane prices. It's essentially the same basil. Make pesto!
posted by bad grammar at 7:54 PM on October 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Lee Kum Kee has a nice range of ready made sauces and spice mixtures for stir frys and other chinese dishes - 60 cents each and in little pouches. I make a stir fry with fresh mushroom, fish balls sliced, broccolli, bean sprouts and a bit of ginger sliced thin. excellent with rice.

sheets of spicy seaweed as snacks
posted by infini at 5:48 AM on October 14, 2007

This is for posterity as I know this question is dead. Today I found a useful link via this post.

The article is called Staples of a Chinese Pantry.
posted by Telf at 6:52 AM on December 29, 2007

I know this thread is dead but I love love going on Asian supermarket shopping sprees. When I lived in Pittsburgh the highlight of my semester was taking my visiting parents to the Lotus in the Strip District and going wild. I also love how no matter how much it seems like you pick out, the total bill is always so cheap. I'm the same way in Indian markets; I love buying saffron in them...

My absolute favorite thing to get at Asian grocers is ddok, which is in the freezer section. It's pounded nearly gelatinous rice that is sweet and chewy, a little like tofu but (i.m.h.korean.o.!) much better. It's versatile too--you can cut it into bite size pieces and throw it in soup or stir fry or anything that would normally have, say chicken, pork, or tofu. I love it. I also love the almond cookies and birdseed-like crackers in the snack aisles, White Rabbit candy (chewy, has a creamy flavor), those prawn-flavored cheeto-like cracker snack things, the gigantic cases of dark sesame oil (saves money over time), the stackable bamboo steamers for cheap, and the Bee and Flower sandalwood soap (only that scent; don't like the others). The soap's so cheap and it makes me smell amazing.

If you're into spicy Thai cooking, Mae Ploy green curry paste is an excellent, easy way to quickly heat up curries you make at home (don't use a lot--it's quite hot). Blends beautifully with coconut milk. Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce is also one of those ingredients that will automatically make your dinner taste really Asian. And if you can find it, you should find banana leaves and make amazing Thai dishes! Hands down the best Thai food I've ever had, spanning different states, has been in restaurants where they cooked my entree in a banana leaf. I haven't done it myself, but I want to!

I keep hearing about furikake on Metafilter but have never bought it myself. Sounds really awesome too.
posted by ifjuly at 4:42 PM on August 1, 2008