Seven Brilliant Things about HMART

     What's HMART? An alternative universe of food. From the outside, it looks like any other grocery. But once you step inside, you realize that something very different -- very exciting is going on. The alternate universe is from the other side of our planet -- Asia. Mostly East Asia, and heavily focused on the Korean. The thing is though, that although I eat in Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indian restaurants fairly frequently, I’VE NEVER SEEN MOST OF THIS STUFF! So I have no idea what to do with it. I plan to find out. And if you follow this blog, you can find out too.

     Brilliant Thing One: Produce. It looks like an acre. Some familiar -- apples, oranges, melons. But then, look to the side and there’s an entire wall of greens. Most with names you’ve never heard of. Bok choys of various kinds. Mustard greens. Chards. Chinese broccoli. Fruits and melons with odd shapes and spikes.
     Brilliant Thing Two: Kimchi. Turn the corner and there’s a wall of kimchi, in sizes from a few ounces to a few pounds. Prepackaged and in bulk. What’s kimchi? Fermented vegetables, most often cabbage, but here there’s also green onions, radishes, cucumbers, and more. The posters nearby claim it to be one of the five healthiest foods on the planet. It packs an incredible flavor punch, and can be used by itself or as a seasoning.
     Brilliant Thing Three: Side Dishes. Near the Kimchi, there are Korean “side dishes”. Row upon row of plastic tubs filled with marinated, dried, or otherwise preserved vegetables, seaweeds, and fishes. Most with a spicy kick, but some milder. Stuff you’ve likely never seen before, even in Korean restaurants.
     Brilliant Thing Four: Fish. There’s an enormous fish counter, with a dozen or more varieties of fresh fish -- some familiar (bluefish, trout) and many not -- croaker, palumbro, tilefish. And freezers full of frozen fish as well. All cleaned and dressed to order.
     Brilliant Thing Five: Dried things. Fish -- big and little. Vegetables. Fungi. Seaweed. All good basic food. That packs a punch. In Asian cooking, dried things aren’t just weak substitutes for the fresh. They’re often BETTER than the fresh. Flavorful. Intense. Wow.
     Brilliant Thing Six: Flavorings. Including condiments. Hot sauces. Curry pastes. Intensely flavored oils.
     Brilliant Thing Seven: Noodles. All shapes, sizes, ingredients, and textures, out of a variety of Asian cultures.
     I could go on, but I’ll stop there. Meats and poultry. Sweets. Frozen Asian convenience foods. Though these are interesting, these aren’t calling my name.
Mission
     To explore, meander, gambol, investigate, experiment, create, taste and enjoy. One by one. Find out how these unfamiliar ingredients are used in traditional cooking, but more alluring -- how to assimilate them into my own cooking. I’m not looking to become a gourmet Asian chef, but I am looking to add tantalizing ingredients and cooking methods to my chow -- the food I cook every day at home for my family and friends.
     I’ll reach out to experts. I’ve picked up a couple of books on Asian ingredients. Other bloggers are a fount of information. The HMART staff hangs out in the aisles on weekends and are happy to share what they know. If there’s an HMART in your region, it’ll be easy to follow along. They have 33 stores, and if you go to their website, they now have mail order. But lots of cities have Asian groceries, so there’s plenty of opportunity for your own exploration. This isn’t about the HMART as much as it is about the food.
      So stay tuned. And lets frolic in the marvels of the unexpected.