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Another place that we have been hearing many good things about is a local Asian Market. The rumor is that this place is GIANT and has everything under the sun, including live fish that you can pick out for butcher right in front of you. Now the vegetarian in me wasn’t as excited about this adventure, just because of the aforementioned. However, the kids and Bryan were VERY excited about the prospect. So off we went in search of this wonderful Asian market.
Asian Market Adventure Ensues
Come to find out, this market has been right under our noses the whole time. It was only about a 15 minute drive on the freeway to get to it. As soon as we walked into Grand Asia Market, we realized that we were in a completely different world and were thrilled with all of the possibilities!
We spent the majority of our time in the produce section, which was just absolutely ridiculous in its sheer size alone. Albeit, this section was a bit packed, which made maneuvering 5 children through it a bit tricky. The kids were pretty excited to try the lotus root that we found though. They thought that all of the different fruits and vegetables present were certainly interesting. So much so, that they had a difficult time keeping their hands to themselves.
There were two items that all of the kids seemed to be very interested in: the cane sugar stalks and the egg fruit. The cane sugar stalks were larger than most of the kids, which is probably why they were so excited about them! I can tell you that we didn’t end up getting either item on this trip, due to the fact that we had plenty of other things to try. But the plan is to try the egg fruit next time we go.
We did happen upon the live fish that everybody they were all looking forward to seeing. Not only that, but a woman purchased 3 while we were standing there. So the kids got to watch an employee catch the fish with a net and then kill them with a mallet. While they thought this was so cool, I had to walk away.
Next we ended up in the middle aisles that were chock full of Asian candy (which of course they all wanted) and a myriad of different sauces. My favorite aisle, by far, was the aisle with all of the different types of rice. I have never even heard of some of these types of rice, probably due to the fact that they aren’t really used in American cuisine. My favorite types of rice that we found there were:
- Wild Sweet Pink Rice
- Wild Sweet Purple Rice
- Red Glutinous Rice
- Red Rice
We opted to try the Red Rice. My plan is to let them choose between the Pink and the Purple rice next time we are there. Seeing as we already eat Forbidden Black Rice regularly, we figured that we would add another type of rice in to add color and diversify our rice dishes.
We also got this absolutely delicious Asian Pear that they individually wrap in these white protective cases. This fruit tastes like sweet spun sugar and has a grittier consistency than our more traditional pears. I love it!
What We Learned
Overall, this adventure taught us that we like the lotus root sliced and baked like fries. We liked the pear, most definitely, and we are excited about all of the different types of rice to add into our diets as well as the nutritional diversity they bring with them. In reality, the kids were most excited about the live fish, putting the white wrappers on their forearms like armor and the candy aisle. While it’s not exactly what I was hoping they would be excited about, it is a start. So we plan to go back soon and keep immersing them in the Asian food culture to continue to diversify their diets.
Have you ventured into the realm of Asian food? If so, what are some of your favorite Asian foods and/or spices?
