trip to the Chinese grocery

Today, in preparation for making a "Chinese Hot Pot" for dinner tonight, some of my flatmates were heading to the Chinese grocery to get supplies. I had sampled their hot pot a week or so ago and it was delicious - a huge soup filled with thin noodles, meat, seafood, cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, cucumber etc. and of course the "hot pot" spices. After about 3 months of watching my Chinese flatmates cook and sampling their dishes (once they realized I could handle their spicy concoctions), I decided it was time to dabble in the Chinese culinary world myself. With the intention of buying lots of pre-made Kimchi, I asked if I could accompany my friends on their trip to the Chinese grocery store. They were excited that I wanted to come along, and promised they would point out all the sauces and ingredients they use that I've sampled the past few months. I also did a little of my own research for some items to purchase, just encase I was actually able to find things on my own in the shop...which I wasn't.

The shop ended up being all out of Kimchi, due to the unfortunate cabbage shortage in Korea**, but I was able to get lots of other fun things. I invested in some spicy sauces and pastes, noodles, tofu, and soup mixes. I am all about spicy Asian soup, and am quite excited to make my own hot pots, Miso soups, and curries. I figure as the next week will consist of me sitting alone working on essays, I will have plenty of time to take a break and make some fun dishes. The picture features some of the things that I got, with the perfect backdrop of rice cookers and soy sauce. Despite the rice-heavy aspect of the Asian diet, everything else is so healthy - the use of spicy chili peppers, garlic, cabbage, seafood etc. all adds up to delicious meals that are easily digested and have lots of rejuvenating qualities. Perhaps I will even attempt to make my own Kimchi one of these days...if only I had known to stock up like the rest of my flatmates did.

** See: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-05/world/skorea.kimchi.shortage_1_cabbage-shortage-korean-families-south-koreans?_s=PM:WORLD