Atlanta: International Farmers’ Market

All photos in this post are of
the Gwinnet International Farmers’ Market in Atlanta

International Markets

What to Expect

All too often, we pass by the opportunity to try something new, not because we’re afraid, but simply because we don’t know what to do, or what’s expected of us. We don’t like making some little mistake that betrays our ignorance or that puts us, or someone else, in an awkward position. It’s simply a matter of unfamiliarity. So we drive on by the interesting looking store, or we glance over the unusual menu item and, once again, for the hundredth time, take the known instead of the unknown.

It’s understandable. Unless you’re a veteran culinary adventurer, when you walk into an international market, you’re going to be confronted by what may be for you a bewildering array of canned foods and beverages with names you’ve never heard of, if you can even read them. You may see packages of foods with, if you’re lucky, at least one word in English you understand: seaweed, for instance (yes, the stuff you have to step over on the beach).

There will be strange utensils, forbidding pots and pans, and even small stoves and braziers in shapes and designs you can’t quite figure out. As you pass the produce department you’ll see fruits and vegetables that seem as if they’re from an alien planet. Farther back, in the meat department, you’ll discover that much of the seafood is still living and that the fowl hanging there look all too recently alive.

But, that’s the fun part. Then comes the real test. If for no other reason than you don’t want to appear cheap, you want to buy something…anything! What to buy?! That’s what I’m after, today: helping the inexperienced international shopper/eater. I want to give you a few ideas of what to buy when you visit an international market. [If you already enjoy and know a lot about international foods, please add your own suggestions for novice international shoppers in the comment section. Your comments & suggestions will definitely be appreciated.]

Things to Try

Here are some things to try. I’ve tried to come up with a short list of foods to buy that you can prepare at home with the kitchen gadgets and supplies you already have. At most, you might need to buy a prepared spice. The cooking times on all of these are extremely short. In fact, most ethnic cooking times, especially Asian, are lightening fast, which is why it’s helpful to prepare your ingredients before you start (what the French call “mis en place” because there are no leisure moments once you put the first item in the pan to cook!

Noodles

Asian noodles come in more varieties than western noodles. One of my favorites is the soba buckwheat noodle. Prepare these by just bringing to a boil until soft, drain, and put into any hot broth or soup. My other favorites are rice noodles and cellophane noodles. Soak (not cook) these in hot water until they’re soft, then dump into your skillet after you’ve cooked up some veggies (and maybe a little meat) in any sort of sauce and mix well. This is how the Italians add their pasta to the dish by mixing the noodles right in the skillet–not American style “Italian” where the sauce is poured over naked noodles.

Other good noodles to buy are the soft, fresh refrigerated wheat noodles that are used for lo mein dishes. You can use these just as you would soba or rice noodles, adding them to any stir fry or soup. There is no “wrong” way to do this. A friend once used a wonderful expression: the “Food Police.” Don’t be afraid of the food police. Don’t worry about the exact kind of noodle you buy or about trying to prepare them “authentically”…just try it. Remember, don’t be afraid of the Food Police!

Kelp

Seaweed hasn’t been part of the American diet until sushi invaded the country. But there’s more to seaweed than the thin sheets of nori that are wrapped around a makizushi roll. There’s a staggering variety of seaweeds that I don’t pretend to be an authority on. I just buy various kinds at random and try them in soups and in salads. From the big wheels of pressed seaweed, I tear off a handful, rinse it under the faucet, and tear into smaller clumps that I drop in soups just before serving. The large hard planks of seaweed I cut into smaller pieces with kitchen shears and add to a soup or stir-fry at the beginning to give it time to become really soft.

Also try prepared seaweed based seasonings. I highly recommend them to you as your starting point for getting acquainted with seaweed–in part because the seaweed seasonings are easy to use and have added flavorings, such as sesame, with which you will already be familiar. Try this: buy some Nori Furikake and use it to coat some cut-up chicken or fish before you grill them. Or, just shake some on top of some rice. Don’t be surprised if you see other variations on the shelf right next to the Nori Furikake. I promise you’ll be back to try those, eventually. Or, you might try a low calorie, low carb snack such as Tao Kae Noi which are small thin sheets of highly seasoned, pressed seaweed. There are many varieties of these kinds of snacks as well. That’s fortunate, since they are totally addicting.

Mushrooms

Other cultures use a greater variety of mushrooms than western foods do. In fact, once you get started on eating new foods, you’ll probably reach the same conclusion I have, that the same ol’, same ol’, mid-America menu is extremely limited. A good place to start with the variety of mushrooms that exist is with the packaged, dried mushrooms. The exact kind doesn’t matter. Just take a handful of the dried mushrooms out of the package and soak them in hot water until they’re soft. Add them to any dish you’re preparing (doesn’t need to be an Asian recipe). I suggest the dried mushroom because they keep a lot longer. Even refrigerated, fresh mushroom spoil rapidly, so if you buy the dried ones, they’ll be good for a long while.

Fruits

No matter how much I love it, I would not start exploring Asian fruits with durian (mentioned in my Atlanta Super H Mart post). But, I definitely would recommend you look for Asian pears. They’re super crisp with a brisk taste. They usually come individually wrapped in little stretchy perforated foam “socks.” They’re more round than pear shaped. In fact, if you were to buy only one item on your first foray into an international market, I would recommend you start with an Asian pear.

If you’re interested in an Asian fruit that doesn’t spoil quickly and that is a nice treat at the end of a dinner when you’re having guests over, try canned lychee (pronounced “lee-chee”). Extremely sweet, just chill in their canned juice and serve two or three to a person. They’re too rich to eat more than a few.

Beverages

As you walk along the aisles of strange and unfamiliar canned items, you’ll discover a greater number of different canned beverages than are available in typical western stores. Many are fruit juiced based, such as jackfruit juice, in cans or cartons. There are mango drinks, papaya drinks, many different kinds of coconut milk based drinks. And—my weakness: canned teas. Yes, you can make your own tea at home (and should!), but a cold can of unsweetened green or oolong tea is better than anything. And you can drink a 6 pack of them and still be able to hold a coherent conversation. There are a variety of brands, some including ginseng (an herb that gives a gentle energy boost), but my favorite brand is Itoen (Itoen Green Tea and Itoen Oolong Tea).

If you’re interested in what kinds of bulk tea to buy, to make either home-brewed hot or cold tea, I recommend these websites which explore the types of teas which range—basically—from white tea (which is completely unfermented), through green tea, on to oolong tea, through black, to the wine-like pu-erh tea. Each of the basic types have their own unique flavor and, research is beginning to show, their own unique health benefits. See The Tea Farm (I order from them, often) and In Pursuit of Tea.

Tofu & Soy

Although most of us aren’t going vegetarian, we’re discovering that a meatless meal once a day stretches the food budget. One way to do this is with tofu. If you’ve tried tofu and hated it, try some of the prepared grilled tofu which has a prepared spicy coating (look in the refrigerated section where other soy items are kept). Cube it and drop and mix into salads. I think you’ll like it. Or, stretch an avocado with silken tofu to make truly wonderful guacamole. Try adding little chunks of extra firm tofu to soup or to scrambled eggs!

Ultimately, the secret to using tofu is to realize that it’s totally tasteless. It adds protein to a dish that has a strong flavor all its own. The tofu will take on that flavor. If there’s no flavorful sauce, the tofu won’t have any taste. It’s not your fault…no one would like tofu just by itself! Tofu can also be fried, but I leave that to the restaurants who are set up to do it that way.

Miso paste, a soy product, as is tofu, is a paste that one ads to water to make a protein rich, flavorful broth soup. A friend of mine makes a gentle breakfast of miso soup for himself every morning. Also try crumbling up just a couple southern style good ol’ boy fried pork rinds from the 7-Eleven and throwing them in your miso soup at the last minute. Adds extra flavor and interest.

Doing Your Homework

Vegetables

When it comes to vegetables, I suggest you actually begin your international shopping spree by doing some “homework” in area restaurants. Try some new vegetables and/or new ways of preparing old ones at different types of ethnic restaurants. When you find one you enjoy, track it down at a local market. Go to this page: Urbanspoon. You may have noticed their icon at the bottom of many of my posts, linking to my reviews on their site. They also have a good list of area restaurants for the Tampabay area by ethnicity.

Yuca

In Tampabay, we are fortunate to have many well prepared “foreign” vegetables at any one of the many good Latin restaurants. Start with yuca, a root vegetable not to be confused with yucca, a cactus-like shrub. You can find yuca on any Latin menu in Tampa.

Rice

Try a Korean restaurant, an authentic Chinese restaurant, an Indian restaurant, and a Thai restaurant, then compare the rice in all four! The Korean rice—my favorite, actually–seems to stick together the most; the Thai about the same, Chinese less so, and the Indian almost not at all. This isn’t only due to the manner of preparation, but also the exact variety of rice and where it was grown.

Other veggies

While you’re conducting your rice experiment, try these vegetables in each of those ethnic restaurants: in a Korean restaurant, try the kimchi (fermented cabbage) and the jeon (Korean potato pancake). They are very mild, very fragrant, very delicious. At a Jewish deli, such as the Lucky Dill in downtown St. Pete (277 Central Ave.; 727-895-5859), compare the Korean potato pancakes with their cousins the Jewish latkas (Jewish potato pancakes).

In any authentic Chinese restaurant such as ABC Seafood in St. Petersburg (2705 54th Ave. N., St Petersburg, FL 33714; 727-522-1888), ask for a side dish of bok choy, however they want to prepare it. In an Indian restaurant, try any dish with cauliflower in it. If you’ve always hated cauliflower you might change your mind when you’ve had it prepared Indian style. In a Thai restaurant, try a casserole that has eggplant in it. Thai and Chinese dishes made with eggplant (usually using the narrow, long Asian style eggplants) are THE way to learn to enjoy eggplant. In a Vietnamese restaurant, try the green papaya salad.

Don’t stop with Asian restaurants! In a Russian restaurant (yes, there is one in St. Pete: Russian Nights), try the shchi (cold sauerkraut soup) or borscht (beet soup). In any of the numerous Greek restaurants in the area try the dolma (stuffed grape leaves) or the spanakopita (spinach pie). In a Middle Eastern restaurant try the baba ghannouj, hummus, jajik (cucumber salad), or falafel. I usually think Asian cuisine is my favorite, but I just realized that’s not entirely true, actually…I think it may be Middle Eastern cuisine that is my favorite!.

The operative word in this entire post, is “try.” Just try these dishes. If you really detest them, don’t even bother to finish them. But, if you come up with a “maybe,” then try them again in a different restaurant. If you decide you like the dish, find an international market, buy the item, look up the recipe, and try it at home. All foods—especially ethnic foods—have their origins in the home. They are meant to be prepared by mere mortals (not highly trained chefs). The suggestions above, I’ve not picked arbitrarily. They’re dishes that I can pretty well predict you’ll enjoy, that are available in almost all restaurants of that particular nationality, and don’t involve ingredients that will scare you.

Prepared Spice Pastes

Canned goods really shine, especially in international cuisine, with prepared spices and pastes. There will usually be an entire part of an aisle devoted to them. Don’t be afraid to ask for advise as to which to buy. Most of the spices will actually make suggestions as to what to prepare with them, such as meat, or fish, or vegetables. When in doubt, ask. With any of the spice pastes, put a little oil in the bottom of your skillet. As it begins to heat up, add your spice paste and “cook” the spices a little, then add your ingredients.

Seafood

Remember how it is that kids get turned off of their veggies: mainly it’s because the vegetables are prepared so poorly…same when it comes to any new foods The trick, definitely, of learning to enjoy new foods is excellent preparation. For a long time, I was of the mind that I hated squid until I had some GOOD calamari at Bernini’s, a fancy restaurant down in Tampa’s Ybor City. That experience changed my mind about calamari, and now I seek it out elsewhere. Try calamari as a way to begin widening your tastes for new seafoods.

Nifty Products You Might Even Find at Publix

The free market system has finally awakened to the new market for international foods because of the burgeoning immigrant population. Although the international markets are not about to be replaced by Publix, “regular” supermarkets have expanded their ethnic selections. Publix, for instance has an English section where you can get REAL Mars bars, HP Sauce (try this on any fried fish!), and various English canned desserts. For Indian foods, Sweetbay’s now carries at least four different kinds of lentils and a huge variety Patak’s pastes and pickles (hot relishes). There are a number of prepared Thai meals—not all that good, but OK in a pinch. As well as Jewish items and some Mexican food supplies beyond taco shells!

Online Ordering

If you don’t live near a market that carries international foods, almost all of them can be ordered online. Here are just a tiny, tiny sampling of what’s available online.
spices
• Penzeys Spices
Thai
• Temple of Thai
• Thai Market Online
UK
• British food – shipped around the world
• UK Goods
World
• World Food
• ImportFood.com
Indian
• Pataks

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Tagged as: Asian food, Atlanta, favorite articles, FOOD, international, markets