Don't be scared of the Asian market

Good Morning!

Yesterday we (Becky and I) had a hankering for some green curry, so we had a little shop around. There's probably one near you, but the one around here is on route 9 in Hadley called Tran's World Food Market and it's a little daunting to say the least. I have navigated my way through many times depending on what type of cuisine I am cooking i.e. Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, they have it all. We headed there for some green curry paste and my favorite comes in what looks like a tuna fish can and is called Maesri. We also got some things for tonight's meal, tom kha gai like curry leaves and galanga root.

The best deals to find at your local Asian Market - basically anything you can find in the international isle at the regular grocery store will be cheaper here.

• soy sauce
• rice wine vinegar
• noodles
• tofu
• sriracha
• sambal
• bamboo shoots, water chestnuts
• wasabi peas
• rice
• fresh produce - often bigger and way cheaper - yesterday I bought 5 limes for $2!

I started going here when I was in culinary school and was obsessed with "Cuisines of the Asias" with Chef Shirley Cheng (my hero). I was home for Thanksgiving in 2007 and brought my recipes and chose to cook Chinese. I made stock from the turkey and used it for some Hot & Sour soup, which is now a regular at our house. I also cooked fried pork dumplings and spring rolls...I have never seen my family light up like they did when they ate what I cooked. For my dad's cooking, sure, but now I had their attention!

Another thing about Asian cooking - it's a lot of prep! I remember cooking Vietnamese food with my dad, in fact, my entire family and it took FOREVER! That was before I had knife skills and tricks of the trade, which I will share :) A lot of ingredients and everything cooks fast at high heat hence the prep.

Back to the shop around...

Our next stop was Golonka's, which my friend Willa told me about at the beginning of the summer (thank you!!!). It's an amazing farm stand in Whately, MA and has the biggest and most beautiful produce for unbelievable prices. When we were there I overheard a lady talking to the cashier asking her if anything was organic. Her response was that none of the produce was USDA certified organic, but that they did use the same pest spray that organic farmers use - awesome. I won't talk about food politics just yet, but The Omnivore’s Dilemma did change the way I think about food. 

What we got at Golonka's

• zucchini
• patty pan squash
• tomatoes
• broccoli
• garlic 
• strawberries (last of the season)
• corn 
• carrots
• cucumbers
• green beans
• melons

I think that's all, but here's a side note on how to tell these are ripe. One question - DOES IT SMELL LIKE WHAT IT IS?!!? i.e. does that tomato smell like one? If it smells like it, it will taste like it. If it smells like nothing...got it? You want tight bulbs of garlic. Broccoli should have tight flower clusters or florets and have a sort of bloom or haze and of course should be green, not yellow or greenish. Melons in general (especially watermelons) should have a ground sore or you should be able to see that it was on the ground. It means that it was not picked too early and able to ripen and sweeten! Another test is when knocking on the melon you should hear a dull thump or hollow sound and again it should smell like a melon! I'll give you more tricks as I buy more produce ;)

Ok, now for the dinner and I'm sorry that I didn't take pictures of the prep or cooking process, but I was starving and was busy eating chips and Becky's famous homemade salsa...

Rice, rice noodles, galangal root, scallions, curry leaves, mint, thai basil, curry paste, thai chili peppers

BEST INVENTION EVER

add shrimp and herbs last!

Lastly - I need design help (obviously) any recommendations or advice for blogs, books, or websites? I want to do this on my own so what resource helped you design your blog?

Thank you so much for the positivity, love, and support!!! I am overwhelmed by the kind words :)

See you tomorrow!

Jody

p.s. for breakfast I had scrambled eggs (from Intervale Farm) #spoiled, half of an avocado, chocolate cherry tomatoes, and strawberries! Healthy and delicious! Remember to season everything you eat-I sprinkled salt on the avocado and tomato-try it!