Around noon, I walk to Rewe to buy groceries. On the way, I see a mini Farmers' Market on the plaza for a train stop. The market has a produce stand, a floral stand, and a truck selling sausages and cheese. Some customers arrive at the market by bicycle, others by foot.
When I reach the small shopping mall that houses Rewe, I decide to look around before heading into Rewe. I notice a sign that announces "Food Store." How odd. Why would a food store locate itself so near Rewe? Then I notice the smaller words above "Food Store." It's not just a food store, it's Tiger and Dragon's Food Store. An Asian grocery store! But how good is this Asian grocery store?
This Asian grocery store carries nearly all of the items that I need to make pho. That's phenomenal.
When I served as the visiting professor for the Shanghai Program in 2009 - 2010, I could not find several key ingredients (e.g., fish sauce, pho noodles, and Sriracha) that I needed to make pho. Thus, after my winter break in Malibu, I returned to Shanghai with those key ingredients in my luggage and proceeded to cook piping hot pho for my Shanghai students. How unexpected: I could not find key pho ingredients in Shanghai, but I easily find them in Heidelberg.
O.K., so what pho ingredients did I find in Tiger and Dragon's Food Store? Let me show you.
Pho noodles.
Thinly sliced beef.
Sriracha. 
Fish sauce. (It's not Flying Lion Fish Sauce, but it has the same rating.)
Hoisin sauce.
Thai basil.
Cilantro.
Bean sprouts.
Thai red chilies.
Limes.
Scallions.
Ginger.
The store even has pho seasoning packets for people who want to avoid the day-long method of making pho broth from scratch. 
Although lemongrass does not go into pho, I will use it to marinate chicken for bun thit ga (chicken rice vermicelli).
I can easily continue developing my Vietnamese cooking skills in Heidelberg.
No comments:
Post a Comment