The Asian Grocery Store Demystified (Take It with You Guides)
Though many Americans are eager to cook Asian dishes at home, the thought of navigating an Asian grocery store is a different story. For a non-Asian it can be bewildering territory full of pungent aromas, packages with labels in Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean or Vietnamese and odd-looking specimens you don't know whether to eat or to plant. At last there is a book that takes you by the hand and gives a clear and fascinating tour of these markets. It couldn't have a better title,The Asian Grocery Store Demystified. The author, Linda Bladholm, begins by describing the layout of an Asian grocery store in her neighborhood in Miami. As she explains, there is indeed an order to these markets. "Asian markets are generally stocked according to the principles of balance, " she writes. "Hot, spicy, chili sauces and curry pastes are all in one place; salty items are together in one row, and bitter, sour or sweet things are in other sections." That explanation changed my entire perspective, making these markets seem more manageable and interesting. Ms. Bladholm not only sorts out the cultural context of an Asian grocery store, but also does it in such a way that makes you hungry to return. --Book Description