just popped into my local asian supermarket for a wander this afternoon . . .

[lucysmam]

& had a look at some bits and pieces I wouldn't normally use & have never heard of . . .

Can anyone help me out with the following questions . . .

what would I use wsabi (sp?) sauce for & it 75p for 2 (bogof) good value?

what is dill weed? & what would I use that for?

Also, is everything better value or would I be better comparing prices on mysupermarket.com before I stock up my cupboard from there in future?

Also, what on earth do you use the huge variety of herbs/spices they stock for??? May sound daft but I have never heard of half of them at least

ta

[lucysmam]

oh, duck . . . yum! Hmm, I'm starting to think I'm going to like trying out some of this stuff!

Wonton soup, how would you make that?

[ChopsTheDuck]

rice wine is for cooking,

shaoxing is the best rice wine, smells aguely like sherry, adds richness and flavour. Normal rice wine is closer to white wine vinegar.

wonton papers look like the pancakes you use for duck. Thin, almost transparent. You make little dumplings with them for wonton soup. Very yummy.

[lucysmam]

Ooh, while I'm reading, what is rice wine used for? Cooking or drinking? Or both?

Thanks

[lucysmam]

Nina, I don't know to be honest. The man who is always working in there is Chinese, although that doesn't really help because they could still sell different types of stuff.

Having said that, I will give pretty much anything a go, so next time I'm planning a curry I will give your curry base a go.

Prof, I didn't even look at mushrooms! Will add them to my list to have a look at next time I go. Quite surprised myself realising that . . . I love mushrooms!

ChopsTheDuck, wonton papers? What are they? I didn't even notice half the things which have been mentioned so am writing a list of things to investigate next time I'm in town & allowing myself a budget of £10 for things to try out

[ChopsTheDuck]

I love cookign different cuisine and regularly shop in alternative supermarkets -

defo get the dried mushrooms. I find them good for most things, not jsut chinese cooking.
Shaoxing rice wine is great stuff, and chilli oil.
Noodles are really cheap from chinese shops and there are heaps of different varieties you can try.
Prawn crackers that are sold in big bags that you deep fry at home.
Frozen spring rolls.
Wonton papers for making your own soup.
Packs of meatballs for making sweet and sour.

The spices you get the knack of evenutally. I have a whole cupboard different spices, just started buying them for recipes and eventually built up quite a collection. I don't grind them myself - too much hassle.

[ProfYaffle]

It's aaaages since Ive been to an oriental supermarket but iirc dried mushrooms were good value in there and huge bottles of things like soy sauce, rice wine vinegar sesame oil etc

[NinaInCognito]

Hi lucysmam, we cook a lot of curries at home and use the following spices which you might have seen in the shop for a curry base:

To hot oil we add black and green cardamoms, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and whole cloves (and sometimes cumin seeds). Then we add onion, salt, ginger and garlic and cook, and once the onions are brown we add some or a combination of these spices:
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Tumeric
Garam Masala
Black pepper
Chilli powder

Then let that fry for a while and add any meat, vegetables, tomato, cream, butter that you feel like.

Not sure if you meant just Chinese Asian, this is Indian Asian, they quite often combine the two in one shop IME.

[Overmydeadbody]

I agree with MERLYPUSS, spices go stale and loose their kick after a while once ground, so if you want fresh strong spices far better to buy them whole and grind them as you need them, a peste and mortar will do tha job just fine.

I always have ground cinnamon and cround cumin to hand though, as I use these regularly so get through small bags relatively quickly.

[lucysmam]

MERLYPUSS, I didn't know you could buy the whole spices instead of bags of ground spices. That might be better for space as well

[MERLYPUSS]

Unless you use a lot of spice regulaly dont be fooled into buying large bags of ground spices as they go off. Far better to buy the whole spice, cardomon, cloves etc, roast and grind them as required.

[jimmyjammys]

chou chou - sort of pear shaped but texture of firm melon inside - you can put it in soups or cut into finger shapes and fry in batter like tempura!

[lucysmam]

Well, my list for when I go back at the weekend is growing and growing with things to try out . . . oh will think I've bought shares in the place at this rate! lol

[hifi]

its sometimes called christophine(sp), peel it and thinly slice in salads, luverly.

[jimmyjammys]

If you can get your hands on Amaranth - please get some - I tried it for the first time last week and it was delicious - it looks very similar to Spinach - dark green with splashes of purple on the leaves. Apparently it contains more iron then spinach and has more health benefits and it was much nicer - didn't have a strong metallic taste and the wierd bite that spinach has. Cook it exactly as you would spinach - i just stir fried it with a bit of oil and water. I think it would be lovley with pasta in an anchovy, chilli and garlicky sauce.

[lucysmam]

chou chou? Now just with a name like that I'm intrigued! What is chou chou? & what do you do with it?

[hifi]

i cant remember their name, i think it begins with r, thanks jj.

[jimmyjammys]

The big white radishes are great in pickles!

[hifi]

i love our local one. i take specimens of veg to the counter and they suggest what i could use them in. so far have done
kohlrabi
okra
big white radishes
chou chou

[lucysmam]

True, I never thought of it like that! I will ask him next time I'm in there

[MaureenMLove]

He might be bored because no-one ever talks to him! You never know!

[lucysmam]

He doesn't seem the particularly friendly type Maureen, spends all his time in there stood looking mean n moody behind the counter. Poor bloke, he's only young n he's the only staff member I've ever seen in there!

But you're right, it would be worth asking

[MaureenMLove]

Ask the shopkeeper. We have an Asian supermarket locally and he loves it when we go in for a chat about his stock! If anyone knows about how to use all the spices and things, it'll be him.

[lucysmam]

I love horseradish! Oh is not keen but I don't mind, more for me

[Overmydeadbody]

I love wasabi, definately try it, especially if you like fiery things like mustard and horseradish!

[lucysmam]

It's only little clockface, but they're sooo cheap compared to supermarkets! Another thing we have nearby is a 'weigh n save' so we can pick up as much or as little of something as we want to