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I spent my high school years in Guam, and while this didn't do much to effect my general eating habits, it did expose me to a lot of Japanese snack foods. Some of these I have no problem getting or approximating now that I'm back in mainland US (it isn't exactly difficult to find Wasabi-coated fried peas, for example), but some have eluded me for a while. Luckily, I recently found an international market relatively close to me. They call it an international market, but the truth is it's actually better described as an Asian market. It's a mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean with a handful of products from Vietnam, Indonesia, and India thrown in. This place has brought shrimp crackers, dried squid strips, and Pocari Sweat back into my life. But now I've started wondering what else I could be picking up from this place. I don't do much cooking, so I'm mostly looking for recommendations for snack foods, candies, and drinks. There's also a great selection of instant noodle soups that I can't quite decipher alone. I'm willing to give some cooking a try, as well, though, especially considering the wealth of interesting ingredients and sauces to be found here. I'm also pretty fond of Ube, or Taro, which is a purple yam. I don't like yams/sweet potatoes normally, so the prospect of making something out of one from scratch has me a bit leery, but it's great in ice creams, bubble teas, mochi, etc. They have whole ones on sale there. Talk me into buying one for something!
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May 5, 2014 02:55
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I have a store just like that in my little town, half the items in that place are not in English and it is always a blast going in there. I will mostly just walk in and randomly grab a few things to try, that is when I found out I love squid jerky. Also that Black Assam tea in Guam is crazy good stuff, I wish I could get that stateside.
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May 5, 2014 04:06
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Rythe posted:I have a store just like that in my little town, half the items in that place are not in English and it is always a blast going in there. I will mostly just walk in and randomly grab a few things to try, that is when I found out I love squid jerky. They have King Car at my store, but not Assam, alas! Yeah, that stuff is great.
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May 5, 2014 07:10
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ALways buy kimchee. Ominiakiyaki sauce is what Japanese put on their bizarre pancakes, but goes really good with anything on the grill. Asian markets always seem to have a good variety (if sketchy) seafood isles. I always check out the booze isle too. I really like the tom yum soup in a can.
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May 5, 2014 07:27
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Everything. Buy everything.
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May 5, 2014 12:10
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Frozen blocks of coconut juice. They cost nothing and I always go buy them in summer, I have no idea what they are meant to be used for, I just eat them. Goma wakame/seaweed salad can often be purchased in bulk. Steam buns/Baozi/Mantou/whatever other names. Kimchi Pork floss? Rapman the Cook fucked around with this message at 14:30 on May 5, 2014 |
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May 5, 2014 14:23
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I get all kinds of stuff from the asian market depending on what I'm cooking, but I always buy the asian brands of dried mango strips and they never last more than a few hours before I end up eating the whole drat thing even though I tell myself I won't But if you're too lazy to cook, those stores aren't really for you, unless you just want snack food.
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May 6, 2014 00:19
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I always pick up a few bags of random snacks when I go visit friends. If they have snack foods from India buy all of them. They're invariably delicious, although my friends were of mixed opinion about the mint-flavoured potato sticks. So far I had: - roasted spicy chickpeas: great - minty potato sticks: fantastic - I think Vietnamese sweets that were a lot like lokum, but a lot less sweet and with peanuts and sesame, very good - durian "cookies": disastrously awful, like little bits of durian/coconut-flavored insulating foam
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May 6, 2014 07:57
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Use it as a way to do more cooking. Find a recipe and pick up the ingredients, and you'll be surprised how transferable a lot of them are. Some rice wine, dark and light soy sauce, Szechuan peppercorns and dried red chillies will open up a bunch of dishes that you can make at home for super cheap and for which you'll only need to grab a couple of ingredients. You can make a pretty delicious stir fry with the things I just listed and a bit of ginger and garlic. You could also grab some miso, which will last forever in the fridge and has many applications. Rice and noodles might be cheaper there, too. If you see them, there are these milky white sweets wrapped in rice paper that are the bomb. The packet looks like this:  They are incredibly moreish. Also if you buy a bunch of spices from the Indian section you'll be able to make wonderful curries with minimal effort.
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May 6, 2014 15:23
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Last time I went to the local-ish Asian supermarket I got a jar of Sichuan chili sauce, a box of some kind of flat Chinese noodles, a bottle of fish sauce, and a bottle each of Pearl River Bridge dark and light soy sauces. You'd be surprised how far those will go in terms of really tasty food.
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May 6, 2014 15:26
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I "found" sichuan peppercorns over there after reading about them on this forum (would've never noticed them otherwise), and dried bean curd sticks and sheets, took them with me as an experiment as I'd never had them or seen them before (they're great). And that list goes on and on...just grab something unfamiliar, use google and have fun. Other than that, I normally go there in the first place for inari, edamame, sushi rice, different kinds of sauces, and stuff from the fridge (buns for pork belly buns, calamaris, etc)
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May 6, 2014 16:45
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Canned fried mackerels in curry sauce. I think the Smiling Fish brand is pretty good.
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May 6, 2014 20:16
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Took another trip down today, because my sister wanted to go. She wasn't interested in browsing much, just grabbed some candies and some drinks and immediately asked to leave. I didn't linger much, because frankly she's a really bad judge of what's okay and not okay to say or to laugh at and I was deathly afraid she'd inadvertently say or do something incredibly racist around the staff or customers.Bollock Monkey posted:If you see them, there are these milky white sweets wrapped in rice paper that are the bomb. The packet looks like this: I did, however, see this bag out of the corner of my eye and went ahead and grabbed one. Haven't tried it yet, will report back. I also got a can of an Thai energy drink called Panther. It tasted like a Rockstar/Monster version of drinking an improperly mixed fountain soda with too much syrup - very sweet and a little too thick. Not completely unpleasant, but not something I'll be buying again. Funkmaster General fucked around with this message at 21:55 on May 6, 2014 |
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May 6, 2014 21:52
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Yep as someone said, buy all the things  . However, to be more specific, get yourself that fried seaweed snack thing. Japanese and Koreans do it well. Get hot/spicy ones if you like that kind of food, you will not be sorry. There is a lightly salted alternative if you do not like hot food.I got hooked on these things and now it is hard to go through a single week without getting into some of that sweet, delicious action.
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May 7, 2014 02:53
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If you can find Indian spicy mixture (that's what its called), get some. Also get chakli, ghanthiya, and other such snacky things. Indians are lovers of snacks, and you'll do well to try some of them out.
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Jul 6, 2014 01:35
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Korean and japanese canned coffee or canned/jars of thai ice tea. Also buy and cook tofu. It's cheap and delicious.
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Jul 6, 2014 07:17
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Jars of fermented tofu. Aptly named "stinky tofu" Linked for large : http://imgur.com/6jIqoCh It's... interesting. And once you've tried it, you can pretty much say with authority that you've had the worst that the store can throw at you, so everything else will be delicious in comparison 
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Jul 28, 2014 12:43
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I get Fried Shallots there, goes well in soups, omelettes, ramen. I rarely get to go to an Asian market, but I did yesterday and I saw a drink from an Anime i have been watching. The drink is called Pocari Sweat, I got a couple of bottles of it but haven't drunk any yet. Also got a can of "Calpis" which just makes me giggle when I say it. I can't find a lot of information about the Pocari animal thouigh, and I don't really understand why you'd use an animal's sweat in a sports drink...
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Aug 15, 2014 15:18
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Zaii posted:Jars of fermented tofu. Aptly named "stinky tofu" Fun fact, stinky tofu is a common street food in China and a few years back some street vendors were caught using literal sewage to shortcut the process.  Also Pocari Sweat is awful. It's a sports drink, which is why they have the word sweat in there, I think. Some people like it, I guess.
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Aug 15, 2014 18:53
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I usually love going to the local asian mart in Boston. And then I read this... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_safety_incidents_in_China#Sewage_used_in_tofu_manufacturing
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Aug 15, 2014 20:43
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MeramJert posted:Also Pocari Sweat is awful. It's a sports drink, which is why they have the word sweat in there, I think. Some people like it, I guess. It blew my mind when I found out it was supposed to be grapefruit flavored and not vaguely sweet sweat.
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Aug 15, 2014 21:34
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Pocari Sweat is not supposed to make you think you're drinking actual sweat, it's just called that because it implies it regenerates all the things you lose while sweating like water, salt, etc. Doesn't come out as appealing when translated to English. Also Calpis is usually localized as Calpico in the Western world because the original name sounds like cow piss.
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Aug 15, 2014 21:36
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Pocari Sweat is amazing and is 90% of the reason I go to the asian market. If you don't like it, then I don't know what to tell you. It owns.
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Aug 15, 2014 22:04
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canoshiz posted:It blew my mind when I found out it was supposed to be grapefruit flavored and not vaguely sweet sweat. Wow, it's grapefruit flavored? I can't taste it, Funkmaster General posted:Pocari Sweat is amazing and is 90% of the reason I go to the asian market. If you don't like it, then I don't know what to tell you. It owns. Wrong. It's bad.
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Aug 16, 2014 01:06
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Pocari sweat is korean and basically just tastes like (and functions as) Gatorade. When you're at an Asian market, buy the vegetables that have a high turnover: green onions, watercress, cilantro, garlic, ginger, tons of different Chinese greens, etc. It'll be dirt cheap.
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Aug 16, 2014 01:12
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hoshkwon posted:Pocari sweat is korean and basically just tastes like (and functions as) Gatorade. It's Japanese, but is also distributed in Korea. I find most bottles for sale in the US are imported from Korea rather than Japan, for whatever reason, so the label is ususally in Korean.
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Aug 16, 2014 03:14
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Funkmaster General posted:It's Japanese, but is also distributed in Korea. I find most bottles for sale in the US are imported from Korea rather than Japan, for whatever reason, so the label is ususally in Korean. I see. I always saw it in korean so just assumed it was korean. Anyways why is everyone so focused on this stupid drink? Asian markets are gold mines and not just for novelty drinks/snacks.
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Aug 16, 2014 03:48
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There's an Indian snack mix called chevda or something to that effect that is nuts, dried peas, and little turmeric-covered chickpea powder noodly things. Its a weird yellow colour that rubs off on your hands and makes them look gross but it's so good. I wish I knew where to get it around here.
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Aug 16, 2014 04:19
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If you eat a lot of rice, a good selection of furikake is handy and available in most asian markets as well. I'm a big fan of shiso, also known as beefsteak plant, furikake, but it comes in a lot of varieties. Many are a touch fishy because they use bonito.
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Aug 16, 2014 12:32
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50 gallons of Kewpie, that stuff is the best mayo ever
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Aug 16, 2014 17:21
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hoshkwon posted:Pocari sweat is korean and basically just tastes like (and functions as) Gatorade. And the limes. Anywhere between 4 and 12 for a buck.  
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Aug 16, 2014 22:17
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Calpis isn't that great, but when my sister first came back from Japan with the stuff, it was a huge hit in our family solely because my dad's name is Calvin. Any weeaboo will elucidate on the merits of Ramune too, and the flavor (especially lychee) isn't bad, but because of the weird trademark shape of the bottle, there's not much bang for your buck. My husband is crazy for the aloe drinks and gets at least a dozen every time we go to our local Asian grocers. Chunks of aloe pulp floating in this really refreshing juice. It's good for when I'm sick. 
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Aug 17, 2014 05:53
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kinmik posted:Calpis isn't that great, but when my sister first came back from Japan with the stuff, it was a huge hit in our family solely because my dad's name is Calvin. Seconding the recommendation for aloe vera drinks! Friends and family think I'm crazy for drinking something looking like this, but at least the grape-favoured one (the green one in the photo) is really refreshing and filling - without being super sweet or high in calories (surprisingly little chemicals, too). Also get a selection of soy sauces of various intensity, colour and visocsity in addition to fish and oyster sauce. I never thought I could live off rice and steamed/grilled vegetables without feeling like I'm missing out on great tasting food until I discovered these babies. Plus ridiculously cheap fresh ginger and garlic! SavageGentleman fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Aug 17, 2014 |
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Aug 17, 2014 11:54
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I realize you aren't interested in really cooking, but if the market has it you should pick up some fresh yu choy and/or gai lan (Chinese broccoli). Steam it, microwave it or quickly boil it and add it to your ramen for healthy green goodness or just dip it in oyster sauce. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai-lan Chinese sausage is not as healthy but also delicious and simple to prepare. It's not 'cooked' so I steam it then pan fry it with some fresh chili and green onions, then serve it over rice with soy sauce (I'm not Chinese). It's more commonly added to fried rice though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_sausage Bald Stalin fucked around with this message at 15:38 on Aug 18, 2014 |
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Aug 18, 2014 15:32
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BUY ALL THE THINGS For about $20, I got: * A 3-pack of chinese eggplant * Bunch of bananas (why not) * 5lb bag of Jasmine Rice (cheaper in larger bags, but this is as much as I wanted to carry) * 1 lb bag of bean sprouts HOLY poo poo SO MANY SPROUTS * Large package of baby bok choy (8-10) * Huge bunch of thai basil * 2 lbs of trimmed flank steak (lies - was not trimmed at all despite the package. More like 1lb after trimming) * Bag of bamboo shoots (whole), 3 medium * Two 1-lb bags of fresh lo mein noodles * 2 red bean bao and 2 egg custard bao  EAT ALL THE THINGS
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Aug 20, 2014 15:28
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If you're not looking to cook, the Japanese section will probably have packaged ramen dishes that have to be refrigerated. They differ from instant ramen in that the noodles have not been fried to preserve them (hence the refrigeration) and the soup base will generally come as a liquid tare package instead of a powder. Noodles packaged in this way tend to be of significantly higher quality--the ones produced by Sun Ramen are literally the same stuff that some of the West Coast's best ramen-yas serve--and are still pretty much instant to prepare. With a poached egg, scallions, and meat, they're a pretty decent instant meal. Not the greatest for you, though. EDIT: if you are, check out the produce section. I've seen Daikon radish for 25 cents a pound at random sketchy-as-hell asian markets in San Francisco's chinatown.
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Aug 22, 2014 02:05
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What are the best noodles to buy for making ramen? There are all kinds of noodles that look like they're approximately the right size/shape, but I haven't found anything that actually tastes or feels like the noodles you get at a decent ramen place. I don't know if they all prepare their noodles fresh or what makes them different, and I don't expect anything to really match up completely, but I just want something that actually tastes like I'm eating ramen instead of spaghetti (or whatever) in ramen broth. I'm looking for types of noodles, brand names to look out for, noodle ingredients to watch for or avoid, really anything to step my ramen game up.
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Sep 10, 2014 23:50
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Reiterpallasch posted:If you're not looking to cook, the Japanese section will probably have packaged ramen dishes that have to be refrigerated. They differ from instant ramen in that the noodles have not been fried to preserve them (hence the refrigeration) and the soup base will generally come as a liquid tare package instead of a powder. Noodles packaged in this way tend to be of significantly higher quality--the ones produced by Sun Ramen are literally the same stuff that some of the West Coast's best ramen-yas serve--and are still pretty much instant to prepare. With a poached egg, scallions, and meat, they're a pretty decent instant meal. I was highly disappointed that I did not find these types of packages at my local korean supermart the last time they were mentioned in this thread. Even though it was labeled a korean mart, it was still very asian international EXCEPT for those specific packages....
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Sep 11, 2014 01:02
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For snacks I would recommend the bags of tiny crabs covered in a sweet sesame glaze, or the bags of whole dried sardines. They're an overlooked snack, but they're both a great and crunchy source of protein and calcium. I've had the Japanese kind, but I think there's a Korean version of each too. My favorite snack is squid jerky though. It comes in long, thin white strips and tastes awesome, slightly sweet and totally unique. Pretty sure there is both a Japanese and Korean version regularly available. Also seconding or thirding furikake, that stuff on a bowl of rice is my go-to for a nice, filling snack.
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Sep 11, 2014 23:48
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for sale posted:For snacks I would recommend the bags of tiny crabs covered in a sweet sesame glaze, or the bags of whole dried sardines. They're an overlooked snack, but they're both a great and crunchy source of protein and calcium. I've had the Japanese kind, but I think there's a Korean version of each too. I just got one of those sardine bags the other day. So good. I briefly considered taking them to school as snacks, but thought better of it after I walked in the house with an open bag and both the cats immediately gravitated to me and started begging.
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Sep 12, 2014 03:16
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