Pig's Ear:
I have eaten Pig's Ear, in Lithuania, where it is often served as a snack with a glass of beer. To be honest, I found it repellent!
This one is for Margaret, who I know will appreciate the description on this pack of Japanese noodles:
This must be nicer than it sounds:
This is Lotus Root - it naturally grows in these lines of linked tubers, making it look like sausages!
These are Lotus leaves. I think they are used in much the same way as Banana leaves, for wrapping food in during cooking, a bit like Europeans do with Cabbage leaves.
To my mind this product doesn't sound attractive - Grass Jelly drink. However, if I were Chinese, I'd probably think it very nice...not to mention healthy.
Most of my readers will know that I don't eat fish or seafood, so you can imagine what my reaction would be if served with Spiny Goby! It doesn't even sound attractive. Maybe it needs the Seafood Marketing Department to re-launch its image?
This, on the other hand, does appeal to me. A huge box of (uncooked) Prawn Crackers! I find that Prawn Crackers seldom taste very fishy, and I enjoy eating them - especially with peanut sauce.
This is the way to buy rice, not in those silly little 500g bags! These a 20kg sacks of USA Long-Grain rice.
I was intrigued by these smaller packs of red rice from Thailand, described as "Red Cargo Rice". I had to look up where that name comes from. This is what Wikipedia tells me: "The term "cargo" originates from the idea that this type of rice is exported/transported by ship/sea in bulk to the importers/distributors who then package the rice in small 1 kg bags for the market, unlike white rice which is usually pre-packed by exporters into 5, 10 or 25 kg bags."
I like the play on words on this product label. Tapioca Pearls flavoured with Pandan, with the brand name "Double Pandas".
This is deep-fried Tofu. It was being sold in very big bags so we didn't buy any.
But we did buy fresh Tofu. This is 600g for £1.09. The name of the producer is a bit unfortunate, isn't it? "Tofuking" sounds a bit dodgy.
The fresh Tofu has a shelf-life of only about 10 days, but we also bought some long-life Tofu which has a Use By date of 11/08/2016. (That's 11th August to you American folks!). At £1.39 for 349g this is not as good value as the fresh stuff, but I suppose you're paying for the convenience of being able to keep in your larder until you need it.
I also couldn't resist buying these - Soba (Buckwheat) Noodles. I plan to make a Japanese-style soup one day soon, in honor of my friend Takashi Sato, from Osaka. He'll probably be horrified to learn that we paid £1.19 for (only) 250g!
You remember that when we were on holiday in Mexico last December we were pleased to be able to buy Achiote (Annatto) seeds in a local market? I had not previously seen them on sale in our shops here, but Hoo Hing had them. I think Annatto is used in some oriental dishes to create a bright red color.
I am going to end my post today with another Chinese New Year- themed product. Oranges.
Oranges / citrus fruits (especially Kumquats, which symbolise prosperity) are closely associated with Chinese New Year, and houses are often decorated with small citrus trees laden with fruit, in much the same way as European people use a conifer tree at Christmas.
So, Happy New Year to all my Chinese friends and readers, especially Su-Lin whose blog is Tamarind and Thyme and JoJo Yee who writes Fusian Living. Right now I'm off to the kitchen again...
