My trip to the Asian supermarket (long)...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

OK, so last weekend, a friend of mine (who just finished culinary school) asked me to go with him to this authentic Asian supermarket to look around and get some ideas for some new dishes. He told me that I might see some things there that I normally wouldn’t see at my local, neighborhood Ralph’s (I don’t know if Ralph’s is a local, California thing, but for those of you outside the LA area, Ralph’s is one of the better, major-chain supermarkets).

Anyway, the first thing I noticed was the smell. Not a bad smell, not a good smell - just different. Put it this way - it was definitely something you wouldn’t normally smell at Ralph’s. I also noticed that things just didn’t seem as clean or as sanitary as one would normally find at a place that sells food.
So, walking up and down the aisles, I saw some things that looked good and some things that looked not so good. No big deal - I was just looking and taking it all in.

Then we made it to the back of the market - to the meat section. The first thing that stood out were the row upon row of pigs ears. Freshly lopped-off-the-head pig ears - complete with giant blue veins. Mmmmmmm, veins.

Then, up on top of the counter, I saw the aquarium-like tank - filled with giant frogs. Some were dead, some were alive… and the ones that were alive were either dying or pretty much wanted to die. They were “swimming” in, well, I don’t know what kind of liquid it was. Could be water, could be frog juice - I don’t know. Death water perhaps. All I know is that it was this cloudy, dingy, dirty liquid - with plenty of assorted stains along the inside of the tank. I understand that the reason for them to be kept alive is to show that you’re purchasing “fresh” frogs - but they looked anything but fresh and healthy. Look, I know the French eat frogs legs, but it’s just that way they were kept that didn’t seem right.

Walking along a little further, I came across the fish section. Normally, in your local supermarket, you’ll see fresh fish that look and smells quite appetizing. They are spread out very nicely across a large bed of clean ice, maybe with sliced lemons and little jars of cocktail sauce. Yummy, right?

Well, not in the Asian market.

These “fish” were all slit up the belly, blood gushing from the gaping wounds and all were just sort of strewn across a large table. I think I counted maybe two little cubes of ice to help keep in the “freshness.” Then, to better help you pick out your selection, there were the tongs. The tongs were placed on top of the pile of fish. And on the tongs was the blood. Some of it was fresh blood that came off the fish that were there - some of the blood was dried on, from fish long gone. But rest assured… there was definitely BLOOD. Mmmmmmm, bloody tongs. I just wanted to pick them up and lick 'em!

Did I mention the many flies buzzing around??? Can’t forget about the flies!

Moving right along, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed, sitting on the ground, was “the tub.” I couldn’t see what was in the tub, so I had to get a little closer look. As I leaned in, I couldn’t immediately make out exactly what I was looking at. I knew it was green and round. Then it hit me…

I was looking at TURTLES!!

I love turtles. They’re just so cool. They’re so chill and all, [mellow]“hey man, what’s up?”[/mellow] But this was downright disturbing. These turtles made the frogs look scrumptious! And much like the frogs, some were dead, some were alive, but all weren’t happy. Big ones piled on top of little ones. Little ones on top of big ones. But all were dried out and just not looking good.
After that, I had to get away from the “fresh meats” section. So we walked through the packaged meat section. I saw all the regular meats (chicken, beef, pork), then we found the more exotic section. I’m not talking about tongues, brains, hearts or livers, but pig testicles and pig PENIS!

Mmmmmmmm, hog dick.

Now, I’ve never really seen pig penis before, and, looking at the package, I’m not sure if it contained just one pig penis or many pig penis’s, but let’s just say that they are quite long. So long in fact, that they had to coil it/them around the inside of the package to fit it/them all in. God forbid you don’t get your full moneys worth of hog dong!

So, I guess it’s cool not to waste any part of the animal, but do people actually eat penis? I’ve heard of Rocky Mountain oysters (bull testicles), but PIG PENIS??? Why not just throw some pig penis, pig balls and some tongue into a big pot and make some “blow job stew”!!!

But hey, why stop there? Where’s the urine? Where’s the sheep’s vagina? I’m still looking for cow clitoris! And where oh where is the swine rectum? I want to eat the section of pig that retains the bits of food that even a pig’s body needs to get rid of! Hey, why not just a big old tub of shit! How about a nice big bloody tong and shit loaf!

So I guess my question is: how can a place like this operate? I mean, all joking aside, I can dig other cultures, but as a public safety thing - aren’t they violating a bunch of heath regulations? In this day and age of law suits concerning food poisoning and all of that, how can a market like this exist?

I asked my friend, the guy who recently graduated from culinary school, if any of what we saw was clean or if he’d eat anything he saw. He said, “No way.” What really concerned him were those bloody tongs! I mean, you could almost see the diseases growing on them.

Anyone else have any expierences at these markets???

2

Well at my local Ralph’s I don’t see a wide variety of fresh fish spread out on ice. I see maybe three different kinds of fish frozen and shrink-wrapped.

If I were a restauranteur, would go to a chinese market for the variety of produce that you noticed. I sure as heck won’t find a turtle or frog’s legs at Ralph’s. The Chinese market closest to my house seems a lot more sanitary than what you describe.

3

First, a disclaimer: I am a vegetarian. That said, I will point out that all of the horrors that you describe seem to be associated with the meat selling part of this experience.

My take on this is that you would probably see similar horrors if you were to visit an American meat packing/meat slaughtering facility. I think that the difference here is mainly cultural. We are not used to the meat preparation being in the same place as it is sold.

I think that, in general, the attitude that is encouraged by the way that supermarkets sell meat is a little too antiseptic. Although I do not enjoy the sights I have seen (I too have gone to these type of markets) I tend to find it inherently more honest.

Is it more gross? You bet! Will it actually matter once the food is taken home, and washed and cooked? I doubt it. My 2 cents. Another aspect of the OP that I notice is the horror at the parts of the animal that are being consumed. In general, I will not tend to agree with this at all. Think of this as a cultural echo, from when folks basically ate what they had to (if you are a poor farmer, you will not throw sources of protein or calories away. You eat what you have to in order to stay alive. Hell, when I was young, I lived with my great-great-aunt, and she used to make HEAD CHEESE! Did she need to? No, she had enough money to buy it if she liked it or eat steak every day. She simply grew up doing so because she was a poor farmer and just throwing the head away would be sinful waste).

Anyway, just a few thoughts.

4

I have nothing to say other than I’ve recently tried sauteed tortoise and it was SO nummy.

The next time we got back to China Town in NYC we’re having it again.

5

As Cecil himself has previously addressed, pigs’ penises (penii?) are curled, just like their tails.

Just out of curiousity, which Asian market was this? I’ve been to a few and was just wondering if I recognized the one you visited.

Though I’m also curious how you’re able to live in ther Los Angeles area for any length of time and not visit an Asian market… :wink:

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Welcome to the wide world of asian supermarkets! Would you like a tub of pig’s blood? Fresh! Tasty!
I’ve been to a number of asian markets, for the packaged sauces and convenience food, and most of the ones I’ve been to match your description.
I was attacked by an elderly Chinese man’s live fish at the checkout once.
Oddly enough, some of the conditions that the vegetables are in affect me almost as much as the odd meat. In Toronto at least, a lot of Asians set up independent small food selling operations on the sidewalk in summer. When their veggies go bad, they toss a lot of them into the street. You practically need a gas mask in summer.

7

I’ve been to two Asian supermarkets, both in Torrance (Hi Rjung) which is just south of LA. One matched your description to a chicken’s head, the other was the most antiseptic, sparkly clean, disrespectful to dirt shopping experience I have ever had. As always, it just depends on the store.

As a rule though, from what I’ve seen, big city supermarkets work very hard to isolate the shopper from the reality of food preparation which is, as Binarydrone said, extremely gross. Supermarkets in the Midland were sanitary but they would have large slabs of beef hanging around. I guess they’re less squeemish about the connection between moo and beef than city folks.

[ot]Arnold, if you’re talking about the Ralphs on Balboa, do NOT go there. Their seafood section is disgusting. Spend the money and go to Bristol Farms[/public service announcement]

8

Freshness of food is extremely important to many Asians, especially the Cantonese. Every day, I walk through a street market where the fish are spread out freshly gutted, and every conceivable cut of meat is hanging from hooks. Buy a chicken, and an old woman slits its throat for you on the spot.

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Hey, I was looking for some sweetbreads a while back. Sounds promising.

Now if there were just an Asian market in my little burg. . .

10

I’ve never been to an Asian supermarket such as you describe. The ones here are like any store: they’re clean and they conform to government health standards for presentation and storage. The one you describe - what with the improperly refrigerated fish and the blood and the flies - would be heavily fined. Write yours off as a just dirty supermarket, not as an average Asian supermarket.

**The consumption of the more esoteric animal body parts is hardly an Asian oddity. I’ve seen brains, livers, kidneys and hearts at normal supermarkets.

11

A friend’s grandmother said her mother used to eat pig testicles, sauteed in butter. And they were French-Scots.

Someday, we’ll have to have a Pittsburgh Dopefest down in the Strip.

12

Yeah, I went to an Asian supermarket the other day (gotta get me some Haw Flakes). Had a dingier look than my Ralph’s (where I work) but I think it was the effect of poor lighting more than anything else.

An aside- I hate Ralph’s.

13

Umm…if intestines are close enough to rectum for you, where do you suppose natural sausage casings come from? Yep, washed-out intestines.

The bloody fish sounded fairly normal to me. Ever been to a place where they whack the fish over the head right in front of you and gut and clean it? The lack of ice somewhat disturbs me, though.

I don’t know whether bloody tongs are a health-code violation, but in the State of Illinois, AFAIK, it is illegal to sell fresh animal blood. There’s a Polish soup called czarnina which is made with fresh duck’s blood (which you can find in Chicago if you know the right people), and if you’ve ever been to a slaughter, pig’s blood fritters are sublime (not to mention blood sausage aka blutwurst aka black pudding aka kiszka.)

14

That sort of market is actually quite sanitary compared to some of the street markets around here… Lissla Lissar, I feel (smell?) your pain. Even in the comparatively suburban/rural streets around here, if there’s a market, there’s gonna be food on the floor. There’s a place in downtown Hsinchu (I live in the rural part of Hsinchu) called “Chung Hwang Temple” where there’s an indoor market. It’s almost always horribly crowded and hot, and there’s all sorts of stuff underfoot: litter, discarded food, little “presents” from stray dogs, etc.

There’s also a dock down the highway a stretch, where they sell seafood. All the fish is fresh, guaranteed, but they do have ice. However, the concrete floor is usually awash with blood and guts discarded from fish-cleaners and old o-ba-sans (ancient, vociferous harridans) sitting right underfoot scraping scales off some poor fish or other.

The aquarium tanks are ubiquitous around here, even in posh four-star restaurants. And the water is always sort of algae-green-tinged (especially the smaller restaurants. I’ve seen a few lawn-worthy algae-crusted aquariums before… the fish there were delicious. Go figure.)

I remember going back to America a couple of summers back… The Chinese stores reminded me of the little shops lining the more rural roads around my house, except different products and slightly cleaner. I was especially thankful that there weren’t any cockroaches or lizards in sight in the American stores…

Whew, that was long (for me, at least).

15

Hey rjung, the market is actually a “Hawaiian” market, but really, it’s Asian. I was looking around and there was nothing “Hawaiian” about it.

But it’s in the San Gabriel valley. I believe it was on Valley Blvd.

Someone also mentioned the produce. And yes, there were some very funky smells coming from the veggie department.

And pulykamell, I try not to think about natural sausage casings!!

16

Well, there are a lot of Asians in Hawaii…

Okay, gotcha – Hawaii Supermarket, corner of Del Mar and San Gabriel. Yeah, I’ve been there, and it’s definitely a bit on the grungy side. On the other hand, my wife swears their vegetables are the freshest she can get, and they’re always crowded (the parking lot is a !!%@!%#%^! pain).

If you want something a little closer, go east on Valley for a mile to San Gabriel Supermarket. Almost the same selection (no turtles the last time I looked), but it’s cleaner and easier to navigate. And if you don’t want groceries, there’s lots of electronics and jewelry inside as well.

And if you go to the shopping plaza just west of Hawaii Supermarket, the Sam Woo BBQ deli makes a mean won ton noodle. :wink: But now I’m digressing…