The Culture of Food in Auckland
If you are looking for Stinky Tofu, Chrysanthemum or Rose tea, Day Lilly for cooking, a wide variety of seaweed, or any number of dried funghi, you won’t go to Countdown or another traditional supermarket. If you live in Auckland or any other medium sized city, you will find a good number of Asian supermarkets carrying these items and many, many more, many of them in the range of items you buy now or could consider buying, even if Stinky Tofu doesn’t qualify. Auckland today has well over 300,000 people of Asian origin, 22% of the population and growing, and that has created opportunity for a flourishing retail business at both ends of the food chain.
Even a quick visit shows that the customers are European as well as Asian, shopping for fruit and vegetables, groceries, and a selection of fresh meat and fish. Quality of fruit and vegetables can vary, but a quick 6 item survey of fruit and vegetables taken on the same day (a kilo each of bananas, carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, a whole pineapple and one avocado) showed Lim Chhour cheapest at $14.75 and Countdown the most expensive at $26.96, almost double, with New World not being a lot better at $24.95. Fruit World were second cheapest at $18.94. Taiping, as part of an admittedly limited fresh fish offer, had beautiful, even sized Hapuka steaks, one of my favourite fish dishes, at $19.99 a kilo while they were $26.99 at Pak N Save, and did not look anywhere near as appealing. Ginger root ranged from $3.99 a kilo to $9.99 in Countdown. As we all know, it can pay to shop around if you have the time.
I have some regular purchases from Asian stores, Oolong Tea and dried Goji berries in particular. I could write about Goji berries for some time, since I started adding them to my cereal 18 months ago I have not had one day’s illness to speak of, through two Auckland winters – they boost the immune system among other benefits. This time around I was looking for fish and chicken frames for soup stock, and for chilli and ginger paste, and for anything else that might add inspiration to fish and chicken soups.
The Ingredients
A good soup starts with a good stock. I purchased a tasty hapuka frame from an Asian retailer. This was expensive at $8.75, and I later saw an option in Pak N Save, trays of snapper heads and frames for $2 which would have done as well. For chicken frames though the Asian retailer offered a good quantity fir just $1, very hard to beat. There is a variety of chilli paste available, but much of it contains sugar and gums, so in the end I chose the Healthy N Fresh brand of both chilli paste and crushed ginger from the vegetable area of Pak N Save, At $1.79 for 185 gms it was a price and a size that suited me. They both contain preservative, Potassium Sorbate, a potassium salt, and Lactic Acid, in its natural form an acid produced by bacterial all fermented foods. Neither of these ingredients concern me. The chilli paste was adequate, I only wanted a mild result, and the ginger too was acceptable. I do think fresh ginger root has a deeper flavor, and I like the natural appearance. I also considered dumplings which are wonderful in soups, but these were mostly made with pork, a meat I have avoided recently because of the treatment of the pigs, and they seem to have a very long list of ingredients. . I bought sesame oil. This is available in most stores and all 100% sesame. I chose a fairly small bottle of Hengshun, $3.99 for 150 ml, again because the size suited me.
Making the Soups
Fish Soup with Chilli and Cucumber
Add one lemon halved to the fish frames along with a sprinkle of rock salt , cover with water an simmer or teh fish stock.When drained, add 75 gms sliced peeled telegraph cucumber p
er litre, and puree. This gives a contrasting green freshness to the chilli taste, a flavor coming from the very body of the soup. The chilli paste is added at the start also, stirring it through the sautéed onion, and when finished you have a very satisfying flavor combining the warmth of the chilli, the freshness of the cucumber and a deep fish stock. The flavor of this soup stayed with me well through the following day.
Chicken Soup with Kumara, Ginger and Sesame.
To the drained chicken stock (1.5 Litres) II added 300 to 350 gms (two medium sized)peeled orange kumara , simmered that to cooked and pureed the soup, adding a depth of flavor and a natural sweetness, and a kiwi character. For the Asian character, to start the soup itself, sautée onion in a mixture of sesame oil and canola oil, and add the ginger. The sesame and ginger again become part of the body of the finished soup., combining with the sweetness of the kumara and a fresh bite from the leek, the whole thing being absolutely delicious and satisfying. ,
One Size Fits Nobody
At this point I haven’t gone very deeply into Asian cuisine, but if we like food we welcome influences from different cuisines. The retail environment now provides choice. While the bigger companies are studying demographics and customer desires, but this can only take them so far, they also need to balance efficiencies in range and the need for volume. They will never be able to satisfy the diversity that is now inherent in society. The consumer is the winner if we want to be, so enjoy the shopping environment, take the time to smell the dried rose tea and maybe even the stinky tofu!
