In my quest to make chicken curry, I made a foray to Uwajimaya, a local Asian grocery store that sells anything and everything you need for cooking Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, and any other kind of Asian food dishes.
I love shopping there because there's so many wonderfully tasty, exotic items. Rows of rice from which to choose. Rows upon rows of soy sauces, teriyaki sauces and a multitude of other tasty sauces for cooking. Shelves of rice crackers and other snack items I came to love through my mom and our visits to Hawaii, where she grew up. Beautiful produce. Beautiful breads and meats and fish. Hawaiian Sun cans of juice (mango, passion fruit, mango-passion fruit, guava, guava-mango, guava-mango-passion fruit, and so on...mmmmmm!) for cheap. New and interesting vegetables to add to the mix. Raw sugar cane.
That's why I love shopping there.
It's also why I stopped -- I end up getting way too much! But, I have learned to hold back, and I only got what I needed.
And it's also completely amusing -- like a big soft plastic baby bottle-like container filled with this pinkish stuff that simply said "Food Stuff for ages 0-100"from Japan. There was a little picture on the front of what could either be a happy baby standing and wearing a diaper, or a plump, happy old man standing and wearing a diaper.
But the other reason I avoid going there is their nifty gift area. Lots of cool saki sets. Beautiful rice bowl sets, or just in singles. Gorgeous plates and teapots. Lots and lots of rice cookers. Sweet, sharp sushi knives. Tea whisks. Silk purses, bags, fun toys. Slippers. Woven, conical bamboo hats.
It's also fun to look at all the imported items forhousehold and bath and body care. They look similar to things we find in the bath and body sections at Fred's, but at the same time they look just like what we sell here -- and yet, also just different that even a toothbrush or tube of toothpaste has a foreign air to it; plus the English translations of the Japenese description of the products inside the packages is much like a living tour of www.engrish.com.
I think I'm going to have to remember to go shopping there more often so I can factor in some of the nifty veggies and fruits there -- as well as stock up on rice cakes and other items. Some of the stuff there was about $1 or so cheaper than the equivalent I've seen at Fred Meyer. And there's more of a selection.
I went there originally to get rice and ingredients for chicken curry; I knew they had a great selection and good pricing, and walking in I felt like I'd been transported back to Foodland, a big grocery store chain in Hawaii. It also feels good to shop among other cultures; Fred Meyer is pretty "white bread", and it was enjoyable to be around a different set of faces and people, as well as hear a variety of languages around me. At any one moment I could hear a couple speaking in Japanese, while a family going the opposite direction were speaking in Hindi.
It was also a challenge to figure out just what to get; I needed coconut milk, and I had no idea if one brand was better than the other (there were about 6 from which to choose, unlike Fred's that had 2), so I got the ones that were on sale. It was either that or try to learn how to instantly read Thai or Chinese. The brand I got was low in stock; I don't know if that's because it was on sale, or if it was a good one.
New spices, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, coconut milk and shrimp paste in hand I went home to make my meal -- only to discover that I'd gotten so distracted by all the shiny nifty things I'd forgotten to get one of the key ingredients -- unsweetened coconut flakes. I made a jaunt up to Albertson's, but they only had sweetened flakes, so I drove down the street to New Season's, where I got to packs of organic flakes for a decent price.
However -- I'd misremembered the amount of flakes I needed. I'd had it in my head it was a cup and a half, but it was actually a tablespoon and a half. I have plenty of coconut flakes now!
Cooking the meal took awhile, mostly because I was slowed down by the cloves and the cardamom seeds. When I bought the little plastic jar of the cardamom seeds, I thought they were like nutmeg -- they were about 1/2 - 1/3 the size of nutmeg and looked just like it. So while at New Seasons, I picked up something I've been meaning to get -- a microgrinder for cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. But when I started scraping the cardamom seed over the grinder, I realized it was more like a tiny little coconut and that what I'd been scraping against the grinder was actually a husk.
Confirming that by checking on the Internet, I then set about trying to figure out how to open up the little pod -- they are just hard enough so you can't just tear them open, but too soft for, say, a nutcracker. I finally discovered I could snap them open by whomping them with the pestle from my mortar and pestle set. But even that needed caution -- too little and the pod just sort of smooshed under it; too hard and it smashed everything.
Inside are little seeds that look like smooth black peppercorns fused together -- and they smell really good -- and it took me probably about 15 minutes or so to snap open enough husks to get the amount I needed to grind down to a powder.
Then onto the cloves. All I had were clove buds, and so I had to pick off the part I needed so I could grind it down. That also required care -- too little pressure to pop off the little bud and it didn't do anything, too much and you end up with a puff of nothing between your finger and thumb. That, too, took about 15 minutes.
But it was loads of fun and I was in culinary heaven from the scent wafting up from the bowl where I'd piled up all the spices. Aromatic would be an understatement.
It took about an hour and a half to cook, and that 90-minute block of time made my apartment smell divine. And the final product was tasty, too -- I also had enough for lunch, dinner and likely lunch again today. I'm definitely going to have to make more dishes like that.
The other thing about Uwajimaya is that I realized how boring standard produce selections are at standard grocery stores. Fred's does get some neat stuff, but the more exotic stuff is sometimes kind of limp-looking and / or really expensive. At least more expensive than prices I saw at Uwajimaya for the same stuff.
I think I'm going to have to go back there and meander through the other sections more -- like the frozen food, the meat section, the refrigerated food area. I love Asian cuisine, but there's only so much you can do with what your generic American grocery store sells. I love food, and I've always been a good eater, at least according to my mom. I love cooking, too, (though it's just hard to cook for one all the time!) so it will be fun to factor in some new stuff into my routine from there.
The only problem is that after awhile my apartment stops smelling good from the cooking and it gets heavy-scented with it. My old apartment did the same thing; it helps to open the front door and get a cross breeze in from my terrace doors...but I won't be able to open those much longer as the weather is cooling rapidly. Asha, a good friend from India, suggesed uncented Febreeze air freshener; I usually use essential oils warmed up in a terracotta plate on my stove, but sometimes things just won't get out of the corners.
On Sunday, I went for a nice walk around the neighborhoods near where I live; the air was gorgeous, the sun was a beautiful buttery light and song birds are still out and about. Trees still have their leaves here, so it felt more like late summer. The air was cool, but there was still a tell-tale tang of forthcoming Fall. One house had Halloween decorations out, clearly made by the resident child or children. One of them was a picture of a hand-drawn ghost with "BEWARE! SCARY!" written in all caps above the ghost, and on its chest was written "60's".
I'm not sure if the child meant that the 1960s were scary or if he meant being in his 60s would be; I suppose to any child at the age of the one who'd drawn the pictures, it would be. When you're 6, anything beyond about age 15 is "adult" and someone in their 30s is "old". (I remember watching 2001 when I was 12 and figuring out how old I'd be that year; to my horror it was 30; even at that age being 30 felt really old. Now that I'm 7 years past that, it's an amusing thought.)
All in all, it was a nice weekend.
Here's to tasty leftovers!
All in all, it was a nice weekend.
I love shopping there because there's so many wonderfully tasty, exotic items. Rows of rice from which to choose. Rows upon rows of soy sauces, teriyaki sauces and a multitude of other tasty sauces for cooking. Shelves of rice crackers and other snack items I came to love through my mom and our visits to Hawaii, where she grew up. Beautiful produce. Beautiful breads and meats and fish. Hawaiian Sun cans of juice (mango, passion fruit, mango-passion fruit, guava, guava-mango, guava-mango-passion fruit, and so on...mmmmmm!) for cheap. New and interesting vegetables to add to the mix. Raw sugar cane.
That's why I love shopping there.
It's also why I stopped -- I end up getting way too much! But, I have learned to hold back, and I only got what I needed.
And it's also completely amusing -- like a big soft plastic baby bottle-like container filled with this pinkish stuff that simply said "Food Stuff for ages 0-100"from Japan. There was a little picture on the front of what could either be a happy baby standing and wearing a diaper, or a plump, happy old man standing and wearing a diaper.
But the other reason I avoid going there is their nifty gift area. Lots of cool saki sets. Beautiful rice bowl sets, or just in singles. Gorgeous plates and teapots. Lots and lots of rice cookers. Sweet, sharp sushi knives. Tea whisks. Silk purses, bags, fun toys. Slippers. Woven, conical bamboo hats.
It's also fun to look at all the imported items forhousehold and bath and body care. They look similar to things we find in the bath and body sections at Fred's, but at the same time they look just like what we sell here -- and yet, also just different that even a toothbrush or tube of toothpaste has a foreign air to it; plus the English translations of the Japenese description of the products inside the packages is much like a living tour of www.engrish.com.
I think I'm going to have to remember to go shopping there more often so I can factor in some of the nifty veggies and fruits there -- as well as stock up on rice cakes and other items. Some of the stuff there was about $1 or so cheaper than the equivalent I've seen at Fred Meyer. And there's more of a selection.
I went there originally to get rice and ingredients for chicken curry; I knew they had a great selection and good pricing, and walking in I felt like I'd been transported back to Foodland, a big grocery store chain in Hawaii. It also feels good to shop among other cultures; Fred Meyer is pretty "white bread", and it was enjoyable to be around a different set of faces and people, as well as hear a variety of languages around me. At any one moment I could hear a couple speaking in Japanese, while a family going the opposite direction were speaking in Hindi.
It was also a challenge to figure out just what to get; I needed coconut milk, and I had no idea if one brand was better than the other (there were about 6 from which to choose, unlike Fred's that had 2), so I got the ones that were on sale. It was either that or try to learn how to instantly read Thai or Chinese. The brand I got was low in stock; I don't know if that's because it was on sale, or if it was a good one.
New spices, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, coconut milk and shrimp paste in hand I went home to make my meal -- only to discover that I'd gotten so distracted by all the shiny nifty things I'd forgotten to get one of the key ingredients -- unsweetened coconut flakes. I made a jaunt up to Albertson's, but they only had sweetened flakes, so I drove down the street to New Season's, where I got to packs of organic flakes for a decent price.
However -- I'd misremembered the amount of flakes I needed. I'd had it in my head it was a cup and a half, but it was actually a tablespoon and a half. I have plenty of coconut flakes now!
Cooking the meal took awhile, mostly because I was slowed down by the cloves and the cardamom seeds. When I bought the little plastic jar of the cardamom seeds, I thought they were like nutmeg -- they were about 1/2 - 1/3 the size of nutmeg and looked just like it. So while at New Seasons, I picked up something I've been meaning to get -- a microgrinder for cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. But when I started scraping the cardamom seed over the grinder, I realized it was more like a tiny little coconut and that what I'd been scraping against the grinder was actually a husk.
Confirming that by checking on the Internet, I then set about trying to figure out how to open up the little pod -- they are just hard enough so you can't just tear them open, but too soft for, say, a nutcracker. I finally discovered I could snap them open by whomping them with the pestle from my mortar and pestle set. But even that needed caution -- too little and the pod just sort of smooshed under it; too hard and it smashed everything.
Inside are little seeds that look like smooth black peppercorns fused together -- and they smell really good -- and it took me probably about 15 minutes or so to snap open enough husks to get the amount I needed to grind down to a powder.
Then onto the cloves. All I had were clove buds, and so I had to pick off the part I needed so I could grind it down. That also required care -- too little pressure to pop off the little bud and it didn't do anything, too much and you end up with a puff of nothing between your finger and thumb. That, too, took about 15 minutes.
But it was loads of fun and I was in culinary heaven from the scent wafting up from the bowl where I'd piled up all the spices. Aromatic would be an understatement.
It took about an hour and a half to cook, and that 90-minute block of time made my apartment smell divine. And the final product was tasty, too -- I also had enough for lunch, dinner and likely lunch again today. I'm definitely going to have to make more dishes like that.
The other thing about Uwajimaya is that I realized how boring standard produce selections are at standard grocery stores. Fred's does get some neat stuff, but the more exotic stuff is sometimes kind of limp-looking and / or really expensive. At least more expensive than prices I saw at Uwajimaya for the same stuff.
I think I'm going to have to go back there and meander through the other sections more -- like the frozen food, the meat section, the refrigerated food area. I love Asian cuisine, but there's only so much you can do with what your generic American grocery store sells. I love food, and I've always been a good eater, at least according to my mom. I love cooking, too, (though it's just hard to cook for one all the time!) so it will be fun to factor in some new stuff into my routine from there.
The only problem is that after awhile my apartment stops smelling good from the cooking and it gets heavy-scented with it. My old apartment did the same thing; it helps to open the front door and get a cross breeze in from my terrace doors...but I won't be able to open those much longer as the weather is cooling rapidly. Asha, a good friend from India, suggesed uncented Febreeze air freshener; I usually use essential oils warmed up in a terracotta plate on my stove, but sometimes things just won't get out of the corners.
On Sunday, I went for a nice walk around the neighborhoods near where I live; the air was gorgeous, the sun was a beautiful buttery light and song birds are still out and about. Trees still have their leaves here, so it felt more like late summer. The air was cool, but there was still a tell-tale tang of forthcoming Fall. One house had Halloween decorations out, clearly made by the resident child or children. One of them was a picture of a hand-drawn ghost with "BEWARE! SCARY!" written in all caps above the ghost, and on its chest was written "60's".
I'm not sure if the child meant that the 1960s were scary or if he meant being in his 60s would be; I suppose to any child at the age of the one who'd drawn the pictures, it would be. When you're 6, anything beyond about age 15 is "adult" and someone in their 30s is "old". (I remember watching 2001 when I was 12 and figuring out how old I'd be that year; to my horror it was 30; even at that age being 30 felt really old. Now that I'm 7 years past that, it's an amusing thought.)
All in all, it was a nice weekend.
Here's to tasty leftovers!
All in all, it was a nice weekend.
