Food Story Registration Begins Nov 23 until Dec 16

enjoying Portuguese natas

The Idea! 

What would it be like, if all the little goodies, that we create in our lovely kitchen, could be shared with others? What if the scrumptuous homemade pralines, marmelade, cupcakes, or spicemix were to be remarkably decoratively packed for a trip, a few kilometers away, so that it would create happiness for someone?!

Our thoughts: It would be amazing!

And by paying it forward, by sharing with others, we, at the Asian Supermarket World Foods and Imports, want to create and foster this happiness: The idea to share and to connect us!

How it works: Every 3 months, a theme will be announced on our blog. Everyone who would like to create [more] happiness, can register per Email, and you will receive an Exchange Partner at a fixed date. And so, the creation of happiness begins: cook, bake, stir, steam, and what ever your heart desires, snap a photo from your creation and send it away decoratively packed. And please post your photos on your blogs, if you don't have one, send us your photo and we will post it on our blog! And through our happiness creation, we could collect all our photos on Pinterest.

Join us in creating happiness? We would love to connect with you!

How does it all work?
Register here!

Welcome! Bhutanese Community

We would like to extend our warm welcome to the ever growing Bhutanese Community in Lethbridge, AB. We have had the fortunate opportunity to carry a selection of food that the Bhutanese have requested and we continue to expand on this, over the past couple of years. 

Our father Louis Luu, the owner and founder of the Asian Supermarket, along with our mother Thao; had initially opened the business solely because there was a lack of a food selection from our own country, Vietnam, back in the 1980's, where an influx of Vietnamese Boat People came to Canada and were resettled all over. We understand and believe that ethnic food is important no matter where we are: food connects and comforts individuals near and far.

We are happy to continue to support the Bhutanese Community, and please feel free to let us know what other selections that are important for the Bhutanese diet. 

Thank you!

Patricia

Ginger Fried Rice Recipe

We would like to introduce a feature food and recipe blogger Brian Ly from tubbybakes.com.

He currently resides in Toronto, an avid foodie and a creative food photographer for an upcoming Foodie shop in Burgundy, France.

“Hey, I'm Brian, and I'm the owner/author of tubbybakes.com; a food and recipe blog located in Toronto. I was asked by Trish at the Asian Supermarket World Foods and Imports to share my recipes and postings and to encourage others to try out different recipes. I thought I'd start off with something simple, so today I will be posting my ginger fried rice recipe.”

I had a sudden craving for fried rice last night and decided to stir something up. But after a long night, I thought it would be best to take a nap first…8 hours later, I woke up and the magic began. 

Peel and finely chop the ginger.

Ta da!

 Do the same to the garlic

Add the ginger and garlic into the pan and get them nice and golden brown. Remove from pan.

.

Add the scallions to the same pan. 

Mix in the rice with the scallions. 

Ginger Fried Rice Recipe

Prep time: 10 mins – Cooking time: 20 mins 
1/4 cup or less of canola oil 1 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp minced ginger some salt 1 cup thinly sliced leeks or cup of scallions – white and green parts 2 cups day-old cooked rice 1-2 large eggs 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium to high heat. Add ginger and garlic into the pan and stir until golden brown. About 30 seconds. When it’s done, remove with a slotted spoon or tip the pan and spoon it out into a bowl lined with paper towel. Salt if desired.

Turn the heat down to low and add the leek/scallions. Scallions take a couple of seconds, but the leeks will take a few minutes. Once they’re sizzling, turn the heat up and add the day old rice and break it in thoroughly.

While the rice is going at it, heat another small pan and start frying the eggs. Once they’re golden around the edges, pop them out.

Lay the rice on a plate and top with egg. Garnish with ginger and garlic and a bit of soy sauce. Enjoy.
  
Tips Use day old rice. Why? You want fried rice don’t you? Using fresh rice while it’s still warm won’t give it time to release its moisture resulting in a soggy mushy rice. This isn’t a recipe for soggy mushy fried rice now is it?

Spice of the Month: Cumin

Cumin is earthy, smoky and downright toasty. This sensational spice is a must-have for fall cooking

Cumin Basics

Dating back to the Old Testament, this ancient spice is a relative of parsley (but you’d never know it by the flavor). Tiny slivered brownish-black seeds are super aromatic and explode with even more flavor when ground into a fine powder. Some specialty markets may also have white cumin seeds.

Popular across various cultures, you’ll find cumin as a staple in Asian, Mediterranean, Mexican and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Nutrition Info

One tablespoon of whole cumin seeds has 22 calories and 1 gram of fat along with 1 gram of fiber and 22-percent of your daily iron needs.

What to do With Cumin

Ground cumin is a common ingredient in both curry and chili powders. It’s warm, not spicy – a nice balance to fiery spices like cayenne and chipotle.

Use cumin to add a deep, nutty flavor to chicken, fish, pork or beef. Add to a marinade for a platter of grilled veggies like zucchini, eggplant, peppers and portabello mushrooms. Jazz up chicken soup, beef stew and turkey chili. Or blend into salad dressing and hummus.

Cumin seeds can also be enjoyed whole – they’re divine when sautéed in oil and added to soups and sauces. Indian classics like lentil soup and masala use this method frequently.

Shopping and Storage Tips

Store cumin seeds or ground cumin in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. To bring out the flavor of cumin seeds, lightly toast in a dry pan.

Taken from foodnetwork.com

Masterchef Season 3 Winner Christine Catfish Recipe

The first ever blind contestant from Masterchef with her Vietnamese comfort food, in which we totally agree! We are Vietnamese ourselves! Catfish is a very tasty fish and we have all the ingredients here at the Asian Supermarket World Foods and Imports!

Here is the link to the episode!

And the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb catfish steaks (bone and skin on or other meaty fish steaks)
4 tbs fish sauce
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs minced shallots
2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs black pepper
3 green onions, sliced 1 inches long
3 tbs caramel sauce (see below)
1 can of young coconut juice
1 thai chili (thinly sliced, optional)
cooking oil

Directions:

For the caramel sauce all you need is sugar and water. Use about 2 tbs of sugar and 1/4 cup water and keep at a rolling simmer, stirring until it reduces and becomes dark brown, about 8min or so. It should be around maple syrup like consistency. If too thick, just add more water.

Clean the fish steaks, rinse well and pat dry. Marinade with fish sauce, sugar, pepper, garlic, and shallots for about 1/2-1 hr.
In pot, heat about 1 tbs of cooking oil on medium high and add the marinaded fish. Allow to sear and brown for about 2-3 before searing opposite side for another few minutes. Add the caramel sauce and just enough coconut juice to the level of the fish steaks. Cover and turn to med low heat and allow to simmer for about 25 min (longer if you want it really soft), checking a few times to make sure that it's not reduced too much. Add more coconut juice or caramel sauce if needed. The fish will eventually caramelize and brown, as will the sauce which will be a thick gooey consistency. Taste sauce and make final adjustments with fish sauce or sugar. Turn off heat and add additional fresh cracked pepper, green onions, and optional chili pepper.

Best cooked in a clay pot, just like how Christine did! Best served over hot rice...why doesn't Masterchef Kitchen provide them with rice cookers....all Asian households have a rice cooker! But only the original real ones...you know what I mean?

Congratulations Christine!!!

German, Polish, and Hungarian Products for 2011

German, Polish, and Hungarian products have just arrived. Come by and see our wide selection of imported European products only available at our store! 

Here a list that just arrived - fresh from our shipment!

Enjoy and tell us you heard about the new products via our website and get 10% off !!!

Christmas Holiday Flyer Valid Nov 24- Jan 03, 2011