Asian markets are a goldmine.

Every now and then, I like to do a post about unique and interesting foods that I now have access to.  You already know that I like to go where I have never gone before. And that includes both culinary as well as physical destinations.

I find most of what interests me at Asian markets and we have several to choose from. Each is a treasure trove of 'discoveries.'

This is a dragon fruit. Its entire beet-red inside is filled with juicy pulp and tiny edible black seeds. It is mildly sweet and somewhat bland. Jeanne thinks it reminds her of watermelon, not for it's flavor, but for its very high water content.

This is a snack I bought at the night market in Henderson recently. There is a Panko-crumbed prawn, 2 octopus tako yaki, and 4 pieces of deep-fried chicken skin. The tako yaki is a sort of dough ball with chewy bits in it. All that for $5.00 Kiwi or about $3.55 U.S. 

Can you tell I like to think 'outside the bun?'

Do you think this is unhealthy? Well, it probably won't win any awards, but I walk at least an hour every day and my blood numbers are all pretty good. Besides that, I've made it almost 65 years now. A little experimentation at this point probably won't kill me. The chicken skin surprised me. They must marinate it in spices before deep frying it. 

 I'm slowly moving toward the more unusual. These anchovies were okay, but rather chewy. A somewhat sweet, soy sauce inspired flavor. Not salty. Not the kind of anchovy that goes on a pizza.
Look at the label.  Kids like these things. They can't be too bad. The little girls says, "You're the best, Mama."

And here's another product from the same company...

"Oh, come on Mama, can I Pleeaase have some lotus root?"

The sauce over this lotus root was decidedly sweet. The texture was very firm. They are probably crunchy fresh,because they're very dense canned. Not bad. I love the shape of these. 

Okay, so far I've been going easy on you. This next item Jeanne and Allie wouldn't get close to. I have to admit I was a bit squeamish about them myself, but I did a little research on ways to prepare them and I decided to deep fry them. It was a good choice.  

The ladies left the room when I cooked these and didn't even want to think about what I thought of the taste/texture. That's okay. 

I bought these at a Korean Market. What would I do without such wonderful places? A garden of earthly delights? Well, sometimes I guess. But maybe they should be called 'earthy' delights because that's how these tasted. Earthy. 

I have to admit that when I opened the can, I seriously considered feeding them to the disposer.

But then, I ralied, rinsed them well and fired up the deep-frier. 

I discovered that it was important to dry them completely before dropping into the hot oil. After cooking them for one minute and 50 seconds, I scooped them out and let them drain on paper towels. I sprinkled one portion with garlic salt and one with Pico de Gallo, a spicy Mexican powder.  The P de G was the clear winner. 

This new store opened recently in the mall. I will be a regular. 

But, here is one item from the Japan Mart that I Will Not be trying. (I took this photo in the store) You've no doubt heard of Wagyu Beef. I've always heard about how incredibly tender it is. Well, it's no wonder.  It's tender because it's mostly fat! I'm not eating that.  And look at the price. 

This piece is about 2/3 pound. That's $63.00 American at today's exchange rate. 

These two beauties are from Ko and Ki's shushi shop.  They have caviar as a main ingredient. I asked Ko once long ago what sort it is and was told it was flying fish roe.   

I haven't been able to find that sort of caviar until the Japan Mart opened up. Now I have a small container of my own, and it was didn't cost an arm and a leg.  

A bit of toast, sweet onion slice and flying fish caviar. 

Our Henderson Seafood Market always has octopus, but they are huge things, and I would have to buy a whole one if I wanted to try it . The Japan Mart had two small  frozen ones so I snapped them up.

 Here they are boiled in broth.

And here they are in a Spanish salad, Ensalada de Pulpo. Jeanne and I first had it in Spain on our honeymoon. It has chopped octopus, onions, tomatoes, capers, salt, vinegar and olive oil. This was a success. It was fun recreating a dish that amazed us in 1973.

 

Ponsonby is a suburb of Auckland and these pies are popular. They are similar to our pot-pies. 

(Okay, these didn't come from an Aian market, but they're popular here.)

And who doesn't like a Kit Kat after dinner? Especially a green tea Kit Kat.  

There you have it. Some of the interesting food items I've come across lately.   

---hold on, don't go yet, here's an updated item....

It is October now and fresh durian has just appeared at a couple of the markets. Look at the price...As much as I'd like to try it fresh from the tree, I just can't see spending $60 or more to do it. But they are disappearing from the shelves. Somebody is buying them, even at that price. (They were only $24.99 at the other market, maybe I should go there)    -djf