I really had a time deciding where to put this post - Hong Kong is an Asian Market chain here in WA that I recently shopped at. I was asked to write a bit more about my experience there. WillTravelForFood
My first legitimate shopping trip to an Asian market. My goal was to make, an authentic as possible, Chinese Char Siu pork marinade. I did my research, I found a recipe, rather an amalgamation of recipes, that I could achieve and sounded good to me. I can provide references if anyone is interested. I took screen shots of most likely brands I would encounter based on my research, which turned out to be very helpful.
Every ingredient I needed were not to be found at a Fred Meyers or Safeway (prominent traditional grocery stores in my geo). In fact, most of the things I bought do not have any English on the packaging. Talk about intimidating.
I guess that may be why I have not been to more ethnic markets, be them European, Mexican or Asian. It is outside of my comfort zone and beyond my knowledge. The trouble is, I have missed out on so much great food and learning due to my own anxiety.
Anyway, I went shopping, I got my things I needed and nothing else happened. I’m not sure what I expected to happen but there was some hesitancy on my part. I have no story to tell, no great revelation. Nobody looked at me as if I didn’t belong there. Boiled down, that was probably my biggest hang up – to be the outsider, the fool. Silly right? That's when I remembered "Every Master was once the fool." or did I just make that up?
It was another trip to the store.
Hong Kong Market is amazing though. They have a small working kitchen with some deli items. Char Siu chicken hanging in the warming cabinet. Rows and rows of interesting ingredients, treats, candies, snacks, sauces, drinks, packaged entrées, noodles, noodles, more noodles. Cool looking cooking gadgets, tea pots, woks. The aroma !!- all the produce, the fish, the cooking from the deli…I will never forget that. What a wonderful smell!
The best looking selection of chicken I have ever seen at a grocery. Tons of chicken- quarters, breasts, thighs, wings, whole, halves. The produce….Oh my, I walked around there for 20 minutes just looking at what this or that was. So many fruits and veggies that I had previously only seen pictures of. Herbs and greens that I have no knowledge of at all. Peppers and chilies that burned my heart just looking at them. I had never seen a Jackfruit until that day. I’m gonna buy one just to know what it tastes like, and they look positively devious! Imagine a black spikey watermelon!!
Then I was over in the seafood area – one whole wall of the store. Packed with fresh fish on ice. Some fish that I had heard of, mostly not. Clams purging in a giant tank. Live crab.
In short, I was blown away. My mind expanded, my fear, reluctance, anxiety, call it whatever, assuaged and a whole new world of culinary possibilities opened up to me.
Wonder what else I’ve been missing in my life. Thanks for reading!
My first legitimate shopping trip to an Asian market. My goal was to make, an authentic as possible, Chinese Char Siu pork marinade. I did my research, I found a recipe, rather an amalgamation of recipes, that I could achieve and sounded good to me. I can provide references if anyone is interested. I took screen shots of most likely brands I would encounter based on my research, which turned out to be very helpful.
Every ingredient I needed were not to be found at a Fred Meyers or Safeway (prominent traditional grocery stores in my geo). In fact, most of the things I bought do not have any English on the packaging. Talk about intimidating.
I guess that may be why I have not been to more ethnic markets, be them European, Mexican or Asian. It is outside of my comfort zone and beyond my knowledge. The trouble is, I have missed out on so much great food and learning due to my own anxiety.
Anyway, I went shopping, I got my things I needed and nothing else happened. I’m not sure what I expected to happen but there was some hesitancy on my part. I have no story to tell, no great revelation. Nobody looked at me as if I didn’t belong there. Boiled down, that was probably my biggest hang up – to be the outsider, the fool. Silly right? That's when I remembered "Every Master was once the fool." or did I just make that up?
It was another trip to the store.
Hong Kong Market is amazing though. They have a small working kitchen with some deli items. Char Siu chicken hanging in the warming cabinet. Rows and rows of interesting ingredients, treats, candies, snacks, sauces, drinks, packaged entrées, noodles, noodles, more noodles. Cool looking cooking gadgets, tea pots, woks. The aroma !!- all the produce, the fish, the cooking from the deli…I will never forget that. What a wonderful smell!
The best looking selection of chicken I have ever seen at a grocery. Tons of chicken- quarters, breasts, thighs, wings, whole, halves. The produce….Oh my, I walked around there for 20 minutes just looking at what this or that was. So many fruits and veggies that I had previously only seen pictures of. Herbs and greens that I have no knowledge of at all. Peppers and chilies that burned my heart just looking at them. I had never seen a Jackfruit until that day. I’m gonna buy one just to know what it tastes like, and they look positively devious! Imagine a black spikey watermelon!!
Then I was over in the seafood area – one whole wall of the store. Packed with fresh fish on ice. Some fish that I had heard of, mostly not. Clams purging in a giant tank. Live crab.
In short, I was blown away. My mind expanded, my fear, reluctance, anxiety, call it whatever, assuaged and a whole new world of culinary possibilities opened up to me.
Wonder what else I’ve been missing in my life. Thanks for reading!
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