As of late, I have been experimenting with different Asian foods and downright loving it. With the day off yesterday I was able to visit the Asian Market on Staten Island as was floored at the options. I had a small list of items I wanted to get but came away with 10 items not planned on. One example of confusion was seaweed; I wanted to add to some of the Thai dishes I was planning and was stumped at the options. I found seaweed in no less than 5 spots in the store; it soon became clear that the store was broken down to different countries. The seaweed I finally chose is shredded and looked perfect for my needs as it looks like green noodles.
Being of Italian descent, I am not one ignorant to ingredients, but the basic Asian options are mind-boggling when compared to Italian basics. It has opened up a flood of ideas and options. The noodle choices alone can cause a minor headache. I finally put some Vietnamese rice noodles into my basket. I came home with 4 different noodles, 3 hot sauces, some different sesame oils, and more. The meat market portion was as astounding as was the fish. I will spend some time exploring these sections at a later date although I did purchase 3 pounds of the most amazing short-ribs. I now need to see what I could make as a basic red wine sauce seems so yesterday. I know the Asian members here will go all Bob Wood on me, but here is where I start my photo-journey. Wish me luck.
Last night Soba noodles with shrimp in a Thai green curry sauce that made me smile-- Just the perfect amount of heat. I did the wife’s version with a bit of soy sauce and hoisin as she hates heat.
I am sure the purists will point out which noodles were the correct to use. I welcome those ideas.
A little perspective; an Asian supermarket in the U.S. is an odd beast. An equivalent “Western” supermarket would try to carry things you would find in stores in Spain, Germany, Poland, the U.K. etc. in one store.
They are carrying a range of products you would never find in one supermarket in a single country there. So most Asians wouldn’t recognize a lot of the ingredients either because they don’t use them in their particular cuisine.
Your Thai green curry over soba (maybe containing seaweed?) is a nice Asian fusion creation. I can see why an Italian would come up it. Thais eat curry over plain rice. I don’t recall any noodle in Thailand that is similar to soba. They prefer their noodles in soups or stir-fried dishes most of which are Chinese influenced.
If you want something with noodles and curry, find a good khao soi recipe. It is a northern Thai/Burmese noodle soup that is thinner than regular Thai curries and not as spicy. It is fairly easy and you rarely see it in restaurants here so it is worth making at home. Very earthy flavors and one of my favorites. It will probably introduce you to some fun ingredients, like shrimp paste, too.
Marinate in sesame oil, rice vinegar, perhaps a little chili/garlic sauce (Sriracha) & soy overnight. Roast in oven or braise in slow cooker. Serve on top of either rice or noodles (my preference). Garnish with chopped scallions, sesame seeds and, if desired, some of the shredded seaweed or laver (wonder what the difference is).
In their soup broths they do a mixture of rice noodles (similar to pho) and egg noodles. These noodles are typical for most south east asian cuisine (Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean etc)
Soba is very much a Japanese noodle. The koreans and japanese cuisines use buckwheat noodle, most others do not.
They typically absorb flavor better and have a great pull. They are easily my favorite type of noodle. Your local Asian market should have a whole section devoted to fresh noodles (not dry) in their refrigerated section. For a couple of bucks you get 4-5 servings.
In regards to sesame oil, they are pretty much all the same. Just buy one and you’ll be fine.
It’s really tough to beat the fish section of an Asian Market, especially a Chinese one. The fresh seafood has a large selection, but it’s the live fish swimming in the tank that’s the real deal. On top of that we’re coming up on crab season and if you go to an Asian market then, you’ll see live dungeness crab at ridiculous cheap pricing! I just bought a live striped bass last night, stuffed it with garlic, ginger, scallions. Steamed it with some rice wine on top. Then boiled a quick sauce of rock sugar, soy sauce, water, white pepper, sesame oil to pour over. Very simple, very delicious!
But for me, the crown jewel of any Asian market is the fresh produce section. So many greens to cook and work with! I picked out some gorgeous Luffa last night (for 99 cents a lb!) and just tossed it in a wok with some soy sauce, chicken stock, white pepper and cornstarch. So good. Love it when it’s around
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Very popular chinese dish for braising all different types of beef and pork. Short rib, beef shank, pork belly, it’s all the same. Eat it over rice. Makes a great lunch with leftovers. Grew up eating this stuff. My mom would make a huge pot of beef with it and we’d eat it over a few days.
I’d highly recommend next time you go, to grab a slab of pork belly to work with. Braising that stuff is so so good.
For those of you have access to a H-Mart which is a Asian style Costco. You will be familiar with less then half of their general products and only 20% of the produce items, this is a great place to explore. Also their selection of fish/seafood is just wild in its variety.
As Charlie has said, I love Asian markets for their variety (and CHEAP prices) on produce, and meats like short ribs, pork belly, and seafood. Even if you aren’t going to do an Asian prep, you can get things so much cheaper than the chain groceries.
As for pork belly, I think Christine Huang posted a good recipe here a while ago. Ah, yes, here it is: http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=376503#p376503
Also, a fish dish that Cary Wun posted a while ago is excellent:
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Thais eat curry over plain rice. I don’t recall any noodle in Thailand that is similar to soba. They prefer their noodles in soups or stir-fried dishes most of which are Chinese influenced.
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