A World Away, Around the Corner

Dark green, with large and bumpy spikes, four watermelon-sized durian fruits sit in a cardboard box near the store’s entrance.

Even in the city of banking, NASCAR, and Southern charm, there are stores that carry a fruit whose smell is so obnoxious it’s forbidden in hotels and on public transportation in parts of Southeast Asia.  A delicacy in Asia, their pungent aroma is described even by fans as that of a rotting corpse.  The fruit has yet to win over many American palates.  While my normally tolerant husband has banned me from bringing one of these fragrant melons home, I find some comfort in the fact that this oddity is available for purchase right here in Charlotte.

Two such places are the International Supermarket and the much larger New Century Market, located on the corner of North Tryon Street and Sugar Creek Road, in the Asian Corner Mall.  The mall that houses the two grocery stores is, while large, easy to miss, as the strip of stores that includes two Asian markets set far off the street, across a span of pothole-pocked parking lot that appears to have been pelted with meteors.  As your car bottoms out while you drive in cross the parking lot, remember that this is all part of the adventure.  And be forewarned: entering these stores is like entering a whole new world.

A friend who accompanied me to the markets related how impressed she was with an episode of “Top Chef” where one of the contestants skinned an eel. With a yell, she held up a package containing long, snake-like pieces of meat from the refrigerated meat section of the store.  “These,” she proudly declared, “are the eels after they have been skinned.” Sensing her excitement, I was reluctant to direct her attention to the label which read “bull pizzle.”  But it had to be done.  She was an Asian market virgin, and this was a classic rookie mistake.

Let’s be clear—this is not your local Teeter.  There is a Cantonese saying that goes: “Anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to heaven is edible.”  For those who deem this a boastful exaggeration, give yourself five minutes in the New Century meat department.  Alligator feet are sandwiched between chicken feet and honeycomb tripe, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a rib eye here.  New Century’s seafood section has tanks of live eels, frogs, lobsters, and fish, giving new meaning to the notion of choosing one’s dinner.

In the frozen foods section at the International Market there are packages of beetles, bearing a strong resemblance to the cockroaches of my Florida youth, frozen neatly in Styrofoam containers.  A bag that appears to contain fried chitlins is fish maw, or fried fish intestines, a popular Asian snack. Instead of chicken eggs, you are more likely to see large duck eggs, “thousand year old” eggs, and tiny, speckled quail eggs.  Look a little closer at that package to your right and you’ll see dried minnows, black pinpricks for eyes, preserved for now but ready to be fried or rehydrated for cooking.

The produce section offers some familiarity with basics such as red bell peppers, bok choy, and cilantro.  But these are overshadowed by exotic vegetables and fruits, like yama-imo, a Japanese yam, packed in sawdust, that resembles an oversized yellow carrot.  There are freshwater chestnuts so refreshing and flavorful that you will never buy canned ones again.  The selection of mushrooms is wide-ranging, including such varieties as enoki, trumpet, oyster, and maitake—and that doesn’t include the myriad dried mushrooms and other fungi.  Neither store does a good job identifying their produce, which can be frustrating.  However, I’ve found that typing a few descriptive words about the product along with “Asian market” into Google before heading to the store will usually solve any identification problems.

Don’t expect to find bread.  Rice flour replaces White Lily, and entire aisles feature a gamut of noodles, such as soba, buckwheat, pancit, and wonton.  Fresh noodles, wound up like yarn balls, conjure up steaming plates of lo mein or Singapore street noodles. Rice, from jasmine to sushi, can be bought in bags of five to fifty pounds.

What else will you find?  Soy sauce, in what seems like a thousand brands, is lined up next to an equally large selection of fish sauces and cooking wines.  Star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, and five spice powder, much cheaper than at your local grocery store, come in small foil packages or austere looking bottles.  Dried teas, some for men and some for women, promise relaxation or the healing of ailments and come in a variety of styles. Things may be a little dusty, and it’s always a good idea to check the expiration dates when you can find them, but there is an authenticity to all of this that makes you feel as though you’ve traveled around the world.  Adding to this feeling, both Asian markets contain an international section that includes Latin American, African, and Indian products.

When I was growing up, a trip to a major city was not complete without a visit to its local Chinatown.  I loved walking into these neighborhoods and seeing the signs switch from English to Asian characters, the yelling of hawkers in a foreign tongue, the bustle of thousands of people that seemed to magically appear and swarm the streets, and the enticing smells that wafted from the stores filled with glazed ducks with their heads still attached.  It was like visiting another country and, pressing close to my father, I remember feeling both terrified and enchanted.

I experienced that same feeling when I entered these markets in Charlotte for the first time.  My initial visit to New Century Market was sparked by the need to find authentic ingredients—specifically, preserved radish—for a dish called Dan Dan noodles. From the moment I stepped through the door, as my clothes absorbed that indescribable, yet distinctly Asian market aroma, I found myself in sensory overload.  I spent more than an hour trying to find my ingredients, all the while distracted by the steamed buns, the tamarind, and live eels twirling around each other in a black and constantly moving mass.

On a subsequent visit I was introduced to the smaller International Supermarket by Betty Lee, a patient guide and fabulous Chinese cook here in Charlotte (her thirteen-course Chinese New Year dinners are legendary).  With her guidance, I was able to focus and start to appreciate the rich diversity of Asian food and the incredible resourcefulness of Asian cooks.  My appreciation has only deepened on ensuing visits as I’ve learned more, tried new things, and grown comfortable in what is truly a world outside my comfort zone.

International Supermarket and New Century are far from being the only Asian markets in town, but their size and breadth of product are perfect for those who like to jump in with both feet.  For first-timers, the adventure might consist of just driving across the parking lot and walking through the doors for a look around.  You might return to your car with a bottle of soy sauce, a little bok choy, or a bag of rice, but maybe, just maybe, you’ll be bold enough to also carry out a ripe old smelly durian fruit.  Or, perhaps, buried deep in your shopping bag, a package of prized bull pizzle.

New Century Oriental Food Supermarket
4500 N Tryon St
704.921.1716
Open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

International Supermarket
4520 N Tryon St
704.509.1799
Open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Xie Laoban’s Dan Dan noodles
Serves 2

Adapted from Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop.

8 oz Chinese flour-and-water noodles

For the sauce:
1/2 teaspoon ground roasted Szechuan pepper
2 tablespoons sesame paste, may be labeled as Chinese salad dressing
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons chili oil

For the meat topping:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 Szechuan dried chilies, cut in half and seeds discarded
1/2 teaspoon whole Szechuan pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons preserved radish
1/2 cup beef or pork, finely chopped
2 teaspoons light soy sauce

Bring the water to boil.  Prepare the noodles as directed on package.

Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium heat.  Add the peanut oil.  Sauté the chilies and Szechuan pepper until just fragrant, being careful not to burn them.  Add the preserved vegetable and sauté for 1 minute.  Add the beef and soy sauce and sauté until meat is cooked through.  Remove from the wok and set aside.

Drain the noodles.  Spoon a little sauce into each serving bowl.  Divide the noodles between bowls and sprinkle with the meat topping.  Serve immediately with chopsticks.  Stir the dish before eating to combine all the ingredients.  Add more sauce if desired.