Apparently there is a new book out by the author of the New Yorker essay, Michelle Zauner. Here is a blurb:

"From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity."

Has anyone read it yet?

Cathy2 wrote:

Rene G wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:New ingredient to muse about: Beef Marrow Guts at $1.99 a pound. This is the marrow extracted from the bone.

Are you sure? Marrow gut usually refers to a part of an unweaned calf's stomach. It's an essential ingredient of sonofabitch stew. See Frank X Tolbert's A Bowl of Red for plenty of background on this Texas delicacy.

I left my camera in the car on this occasion. It did not look like a stomach, though it did look like a tube. I then looked at a wikipedia definition:

This last item, the "marrow gut", was a key ingredient. Davidson quotes Ramon Adam's 1952 Come An' Get It: The Story of the Old Cowboy Cook, which reports that this is a tube, between two of the calf's stomachs, filled with a substance resembling marrow, deemed edible only while the calf is young and still feeding on milk. This marrow-like substance was included in the stew and, according to Adams, was "what gave the stew such a delicious flavor." Davidson says this "marrow gut" probably was the passage leading to the abomasum as well as the abomasum itself (said to have a "distinctive flavour of rennin-curdled milk").

ReneG, it appears you have made a correct ID. I simply reacted to the name, seeing the tube, then assumed it was extracted bone marrow. Do you have an overwhelming desire to make this charmingly named stew? I think I could arrange it!

I wish I had an excuse to make this: How To Make Morzello, the Calabrian Cow Offal Stew

Morzello, a Calabrian stew of bovine offal with tomatoes and the region’s famous chili peppers, is the meal that Valentina Raffaelli and Luca Boscardin remember most from their research for their cookbook Scarti d’Italia, or Italian Scraps. It’s eaten as a sandwich in a ring-shaped bread called pitta, the book explains, often “with the fans on to counter the Calabrian summer heat and the intense spiciness of the sauce.” The couple was invited to enjoy the dish with great ceremony by the Antica Congrega Tre Colli, which works to preserve the city of Catanzaro’s traditional cuisine.
...

Regards,
Cathy2

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that H-mart in Niles is presenting more and more of their produce in pre-packaged plastic wrapped packages.

Today, I went to H-mart because I mistakenly thought Fresh Farms did not have head-on shrimp. While I was getting the shrimp, I thought I would pick up a lemongrass stalk. No, only 4 to a package and every package had at least 1 stalk that looked past its prime. This was not isolated, but the standard in the produce section.

lougord99 wrote:Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that H-mart in Niles is presenting more and more of their produce in pre-packaged plastic wrapped packages.

Today, I went to H-mart because I mistakenly thought Fresh Farms did not have head-on shrimp. While I was getting the shrimp, I thought I would pick up a lemongrass stalk. No, only 4 to a package and every package had at least 1 stalk that looked past its prime. This was not isolated, but the standard in the produce section.

Yes, yes, yes. The practice seems fairly common there now. I've almost completely stopped buying produce there and I shop there a lot less often. It does seem like they're trying to intentionally hide the poor condition of some of it by shrink wrapping it. And geez, who needs 4 stalks of lemongrass? I buy one stalk at a time at Fresh Farms and for just about everything I make, that's more than enough. Iirc correctly, a 4-pack at H Mart was nearly $8. 1 stalk at Fresh Farms was about $0.99.

I posted it elsewhere but for me, it's just H-Mart now. There's nothing "super" about it.

=R=

Lemongrass freezes well. When I've bought a clump, I usually cut half of it in thin slices for soup or pastes, the rest in 6-8"pieces for stews.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

lougord99 wrote:Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that H-mart in Niles is presenting more and more of their produce in pre-packaged plastic wrapped packages.

Today, I went to H-mart because I mistakenly thought Fresh Farms did not have head-on shrimp. While I was getting the shrimp, I thought I would pick up a lemongrass stalk. No, only 4 to a package and every package had at least 1 stalk that looked past its prime. This was not isolated, but the standard in the produce section.

Yes, yes, yes. The practice seems fairly common there now. I've almost completely stopped buying produce there and I shop there a lot less often. It does seem like they're trying to intentionally hide the poor condition of some of it by shrink wrapping it. And geez, who needs 4 stalks of lemongrass? I buy one stalk at a time at Fresh Farms and for just about everything I make, that's more than enough. Iirc correctly, a 4-pack at H Mart was nearly $8. 1 stalk at Fresh Farms was about $0.99.

I posted it elsewhere but for me, it's just H-Mart now. There's nothing "super" about it.

=R=

It is common in most Asian markets in the Western states and for good reasons. Why do I want to buy produce that has been handled by every auntie in the county? Why do I need to wait ten minutes while someone holds a beauty contest to select the best five rambutans out of hundreds?

If I find that I received bad produce, I take it back to the store for a refund.

jlawrence01 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

lougord99 wrote:Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me that H-mart in Niles is presenting more and more of their produce in pre-packaged plastic wrapped packages.

Today, I went to H-mart because I mistakenly thought Fresh Farms did not have head-on shrimp. While I was getting the shrimp, I thought I would pick up a lemongrass stalk. No, only 4 to a package and every package had at least 1 stalk that looked past its prime. This was not isolated, but the standard in the produce section.

Yes, yes, yes. The practice seems fairly common there now. I've almost completely stopped buying produce there and I shop there a lot less often. It does seem like they're trying to intentionally hide the poor condition of some of it by shrink wrapping it. And geez, who needs 4 stalks of lemongrass? I buy one stalk at a time at Fresh Farms and for just about everything I make, that's more than enough. Iirc correctly, a 4-pack at H Mart was nearly $8. 1 stalk at Fresh Farms was about $0.99.

I posted it elsewhere but for me, it's just H-Mart now. There's nothing "super" about it.

=R=

It is common in most Asian markets in the Western states and for good reasons. Why do I want to buy produce that has been handled by every auntie in the county? Why do I need to wait ten minutes while someone holds a beauty contest to select the best five rambutans out of hundreds?

If I find that I received bad produce, I take it back to the store for a refund.

Gotta respectfully disagree with you on this one. Who doesn't wash their produce before they use it? Once rotting produce becomes the norm at a store, why would anyone choose the perpetual burden of knowingly buying it and then having to return it? And even if waiting for someone to choose their stuff prevents you from choosing yours (really?), isn't that still less burdensome and time consuming than regularly returning items?

Better to vote with one's wallet and shop elsewhere. This seems more a case of people coming to accept the crappy treatment they're given because it's easier than resisting it, or perhaps, because they feel they have no alternatives. This is a practice that's to the seller's advantage. If it weren't, it would cease to be.

=R=

jlawrence01 wrote:It is common in most Asian markets in the Western states and for good reasons. Why do I want to buy produce that has been handled by every auntie in the county? Why do I need to wait ten minutes while someone holds a beauty contest to select the best five rambutans out of hundreds?

If I find that I received bad produce, I take it back to the store for a refund.

I would rather not buy the bad produce in the first place.

It also requires that I buy the produce in the quantities that the store determines rather than the quantities that I determine.

I always thought of it more as a way to sell more volume than to hide bad/mediocre produce.

I'm always annoyed when I want 2 or 3 peppers, but they're only sold in large quantities. I would rather only pay 11 cents for the 3 Thai chiles I need and now you're making me decide how much I actually "need" them.

Has anyone ever asked to have a package split? I was at Joong Boo yesterday and noticed that most of the produce was loose/you bag, while the Asian veg were pre-wrapped /bagged. I was ok with the quantities and condition so didn’t worry too much about it but when I checked out the banchan bar, saw that all the offerings (which, pre-C19 were serve yourself) were in the pint containers v. the small ones. I used to get 5-6 of the little ones and this time bought none because I knew I didn’t want the larger amount. I looked to see if getting them split was an option but no one was around and I needed to get going. Just wondered if anyone had asked for this for produce or prepared foods at any of the local Asian markets.

jlawrence01 wrote:Why do I want to buy produce that has been handled by every auntie in the county? Why do I need to wait ten minutes while someone holds a beauty contest to select the best five rambutans out of hundreds?

I'll pile on. Thinking about how produce is grown, the slight extra dirt and microbes from customers aren't going to make much difference. The extra packaging adds cost, ultimately adding to price, and adds plastic to the dump. And that picker you're waiting for is doing you a favor: 95 rejected rambutans you don't need to look at. It's worse with packaged produce, looking for a package where every piece is good.

tjr wrote:

jlawrence01 wrote:Why do I want to buy produce that has been handled by every auntie in the county? Why do I need to wait ten minutes while someone holds a beauty contest to select the best five rambutans out of hundreds?

I'll pile on. Thinking about how produce is grown, the slight extra dirt and microbes from customers aren't going to make much difference. The extra packaging adds cost, ultimately adding to price, and adds plastic to the dump. And that picker you're waiting for is doing you a favor: 95 rejected rambutans you don't need to look at. It's worse with packaged produce, looking for a package where every piece is good.

I was at a suburban Jewel a few weeks back that had red grapes bagged in plastic slider bags. An older shopper parked her cart in front of the aisle and proceeded to open every bag to examine the contents (otherwise plainly visible from the outside of the bag). A determined shopper doesn't let something like packaging deter them.

I object to this comment as I am an older shopper ( I really don't - I laughed at your description ).

I wonder if there may be some Chicago-Asian factor at work in the packaged produce. The Lincoln Avenue Tony's where I shop frequently has quite a few Asian customers and packages most of the Asian vegetables covered with plastic. These packages are way too large for our two-person household. Therefore, I do not buy them at Tony's. Cermak, HarvesTime and even Jewel offer more reasonable alternatives. Even if the price per pound is higher, they are more economical when half or 2/3 does not end up in the compost bin.

Went to HMart yesterday, picked up gochujang and doen-jang (apparently the unspiced sibling of gochujang). FWIW, I got the "#1 seller in Korea"-marked gochujang which did have an ingredients list and does not have garlic or onion.

I couldn't dry fermented black beans despite blundering through almost every aisle. Perhaps H-Mart doesn't sell them? I guess they're more Chinese than Korean. There are some darn good deals on sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauces both ordinary and deluxe.

Right, if you’re looking for the stuff called douchi(豆豉) in Chinese, you can find several varieties at Richwell Market nearby, but none at H Mart. I don’t think Koreans use these very much in their dry form (they use them in a paste for jajangmyeon and many varieties are available in the same aisle as the doenjang/gochujang, but that won’t help you if you’re looking to make mapo tofu).

Re quality of produce: it depends. The lemongrass has always been prepacked, of so-so freshness, and expensive — the lemongrass at Whole Foods is fresher and cheaper. Like, by a lot! That’s because hardly anyone ever buys it at H Mart. There are other things I stay away from like galangal (again, no one buys it and they let it sit). Chinese eggplant is usually fresh and spotless, but (especially when on sale) occasionally sad and limp.

On the other hand, stuff like Chinese greens, Korean radish, Napa cabbage, etc. are usually plentiful and of great quality. Other things are great in season: ginger, garlic, Chinese and Korean chives, Asian pears, sweet potatoes, and so on.

Where do you buy your galangal ?

lougord99 wrote:Where do you buy your galangal ?

Ideally, Talard. But in a pinch, you do sometimes luck out and find relatively fresh pieces at H Mart. Not too many other options that I’m aware of….

Thanks for the douchi advice. I may also try out some black bean paste if I can find one with minimal other flavors.

Got my curiosity up about fresh galangal: Is it generally used like ginger? I've used the dried version - I think it's labeled Laos powder - enjoyed the flavor.

It has a very different flavor than ginger and most advice that I see says that they cannot be used interchangeably.

The only dish that I use galangal for is Tom Yum Goong soup, which I make fairly regularly. I have always bought it at H-Mart and been disappointed. I will try Talard next time.

lougord99 wrote:It has a very different flavor than ginger and most advice that I see says that they cannot be used interchangeably.

The only dish that I use galangal for is Tom Yum Goong soup, which I make fairly regularly. I have always bought it at H-Mart and been disappointed. I will try Talard next time.

Agreed, ginger isn't even slightly similar to the cedar-like woodiness of galangal, but it tastes good when used as a sub, and serves similar flavor purpose.

I usually slice it thin and freeze it, no loss of flavor, easy to drop into Tom Yum or grind into a curry paste.

I also freeze it, but I find the galangal I get at H mart is so hard that it is impossible to slice thin.

I am very far from a galangal expert, but I believe that it is always going to be extremely hard/fibrous and slicing it and pounding it into a paste is going to be a bit of a workout (unless it’s very young, which I think is pretty much unavailable to us). My objection to what is sold at H Mart is that while 1) the galangal is correctly wrapped in plastic to prevent it drying out, 2) the turnover is not fast enough, so that 3) mold begins to develop. In my experience, Talard checks their stock better (although they also have some sad-looking produce on occasion).

A small local Asian market here in Salem Oregon has their galangal soaking in a tub of water. Don't know if that keeps it fresher or not, but it always looks good. I haven't made anything that requires it, so no clue about that. Everytime I have been there, they have had it, no matter the season. They also have it dried, but that isn't soaking in water.

The galangal that I have bought at H-Mart is not slice-able. The only way I can get pieces is to embed the knife into it and lift the whole thing up and smash the galangal onto the cutting board with the knife. I need to do this several times to cut through.

When I see Palin on Hot Thai Kitchen use galangal, it is hard, but she is able to slice it. I would think we could get just as fresh as she does in Vancouver.

cilantro wrote:

lougord99 wrote:Where do you buy your galangal?

Ideally, Talard. But in a pinch, you do sometimes luck out and find relatively fresh pieces at H Mart. Not too many other options that I’m aware of….

I'm pretty certain at least one of the two Fresh Farms in Niles carries it, because I've definitely seen it. Knowing my luck on the minor differences between the two, I'd go to the wrong one first when looking. I'll confirm the next time I go to each.

The Galangal I purchase at H-Mart Niles is nice quality and we either slice and mince or grate using a Kyocera ceramic grater.
It is harder than Fresh Ginger and the aromatic is quite different.
WE use in PHo and various Southeast Asian preps where called for.

Because I really can't find them anywhere else on my usual circuit, I recently bought a shrink-wrapped pack of red jalapenos at H-Mart in Niles. While in the store, I did my best examine them through the plastic, press-test them for textural integrity, etc. However, when I got home and unwrapped them, I found that about half of them were absolute mush on the side that wasn't visible in the store. Obviously, I cannot speak to intent but this really feels like a deceptive practice. At the very least, it's an innately impractical one.

If there's next time for this item at H-Mart, I plan on taking them to the service desk and opening them there in front of a live person before I check out at the register.

=R=

Carnicerias Jimenez on Dundee had a big bin of red jalapenos 2 days ago. Very good quality, though many were turning green, so I had to look through to get the best red ones.

lougord99 wrote:Carnicerias Jimenez on Dundee had a big bin of red jalapenos 2 days ago. Very good quality, though many were turning green, so I had to look through to get the best red ones.

They are green and turn red when they ripen, in case that’s helpful. They also won’t turn color much, if at all, once they’re picked. I don’t usually find it impacts heat level much though-that’s about the type of jalapeño and growing conditions—not color.