Chinese supermarket - any tips?

Trinny

Our chinese supermarket in Cardiff is brilliant - well worth the 20 min walk to get there. My OH loves cooking Asian style food. We buy - and recommend

1. Instant flavoured Noodles - around 30p per pack
2. Packs of unflavoured Noodles - better than branded noodles
3. Soy Sauce - big bottles for cooking -
4. Kecap Manis - thick sweet soy for cooking
5. Sambal Oelek - chilli ketchup - brilliant asian ingredient
6. Pak Choi - the best value and keeps for ages
7. Beansprouts - same reason
8. Galengal and Lemongrass - best quality fresh and cheap

We even bought our WOK there - authentic chinese wok with stand and brush cleaner for around a tenner.

Happy cooking

Trin

russetred

I dont often get the chance to shop at chinese supermarkets but next week I 'll be in the "big smoke" so I want to make the most of the opportunity.Left to my own devices I'll be overwhelmed with choice and end up buying hardly anything.Basically what are my best bets for stocking up on cheap ingredients.Our family love all asian food and I can cook just about anything instinctively.So what would be on your shopping list?

mouseymousey99

Hello RR - Their is a long thread on this one that someone with more savvy than me will point out. In the meantime here's mine:-
Noodles (big packets of dried and egg noodles)
Rice
Tins of creamed sweetcorn
Spices and Herbs - my local supermarket sells huge bags of these for the same price as the dinky jars.
Plum sauce
Soy sauce
Red and green Curry paste (in tubs)
Garlic (always have great garlic)
Mushrooms
Pak Choi
In the back they have a section with woks and cooking utensils - some of the dishes are good value also the chopping boards.
In the past I've bought a massive steamer (also bamboo inserts)
A steam boat (like a fondue)
Have a great time, and let us know what you got.
Best wishes - Mx

ClaireLR

White Vinegar and bicarb for cleaning!

BigBouncyBall

pork dumplings imported from china.

meanmarie

Sesame oil, glass noodles, dried fish (even just shrimps to put in fried rice), chilli sauce....

Marie

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

frozen tiger prawns, frozen dim sum/gyoza, black beans/yellow bean paste, sake, mirin, black sesame seeds/goma, rice noodle circles (good alternative to starchy wraps), crockery, mochi, usu-age tofu, ponzu juice, shiso/perilla leaves. custard tarts, fresh fruit mochi (a revelation for people without a sweet tooth but a liking for strawberry/green tea/chestnut)...

paulwf

I tend to buy chilli sauce and soy sauce as they do much bigger bottles than other retailers stock. Also their fresh tofu is a fraction of the price and much better tasting than found in other retailers...so you can make super cheap veggie meals

Trinny

Hi There

A bit of general advice really - if you are shopping in china town - all the shops have bargains and all of them vary in price. I would work out what you need and in true MS style - check out a few - so you buy everything at best value

We shop in Cardiff in the chinese supermarkets,

Utensils - chopsticks, bowls, rests, woks, cleaning brushes etc are really good

Dried - we buy dried mushrooms, noodle cakes, rice, spices and chilli

Tins - lychees, guava, and some of the tinned drinks are really nice

Bottles - soy - regular and sweet, seseme oil, white wine vinegar,

Fresh - ginger, pak choi, lemongrass. the rice dumplings are also really nice, you also sometimes get big boxes of mushrooms - regular and chinese, and tubs of other chinese veg and fruit at a good price.

You are right to think about choice overload - its not MS if you are not going to use it - and the temptation to buy stuff can be overwhelming.

Write a list - and keep to budget and you should be ok

Trin

Pink.

Hi Russetred,

There's an earlier thread on what is worth buying at the chinese supermarket that should help so I've added your thread to it to keep the replies together.

This thread may help too:

The chinese supermarket and why I love it so...

Pink