Being adventurous at the Asian Market

On Saturday, I needed to go to Asia World Market to get some locally made tofu for a dish I want to make this week. Every time I go in there, I try to buy a little something new so that I can try out new things. That grocery is a little intimidating, but I love trying to figure out all the things that are foreign to me. So, it was Saturday at about 11am after my run, and I was trying to come up with something quick and easy that I could take home for lunch.

I came upon a shelf near the produce section with all sorts of little things in baskets, and there were lots of women putting these things in their carts. So I finally just took my chances (that we would be able to communicate) and asked one..."are they good?" She was startled at first, but she warmed up and told me they were Sweet Rice Dumplings, and that I could heat them in the microwave...but they're better in the steamer. She said that the ones with peanuts were very good. I asked lots of questions about the different things in the baskets, and she was happy to answer me. She only had one question for me - Is your husband Asian? She couldn't seem to fathom why I would be in there.

So I got two of both of the kinds that had peanuts - one was vegetarian, and one had meat of some sort. I got these white sweet poufy, mushy things. Had no clue what they were, but she seemed to recommend them. The dumplings were $1.80 apiece, and the white things were less than that.

I came home with this:

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We steamed them for seven minutes and then unwrapped them. I bought four b/c I had no idea how much food was actually inside those leaves, but it turns out that one for each of us would have been plenty. They both had peanuts and one had meat and one had tofu...from what I could tell. I thought they were great (Todd rated them "good), and made a quick and convenient lunch for a Saturday. Once I bit into the white poufy thing, I remembered that I have had those in restaurants and don't really care for them. Sweet and mushy.

Here's what was in the leaves. The white stuff is rice, if you can't tell. They were just sitting out in baskets...unrefrigerated. I wonder how long they sit out like that? And how long they stay fresh after one purchases them? What kind of leaves are they wrapped in? Maybe someone can comment and fill me in.

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