I visit the Prague market Sapa several times a year. Two stops are always clear. The best bún chả in Prague and also grocery shopping at department store Tamda Foods and other small retailers. Asian cuisine is very quick to prepare and especially with pre-prepared flavored pastes, you can conjure up great Asian food at home in 10 minutes. So if you are thinking about what to buy in Sapa, try to bring groceries and ingredients for home cooking with you. You won’t be disappointed!
My favorite groceries from Sapa
Pad Thai paste
Pad Thai is a popular Thai dish with stir-fried meat, noodles, and peanuts. I add broccoli to the dish to have some vegetables in it. With the mixture, you have a meal ready in 10 minutes and you will enjoy it incredibly. I always have to have this paste in stock at home, I have tried other pad thai pastes, but this one tastes the best. My item no. 1 in every purchase of Asian groceries. One package costs about 60 CZK (2.40 EUR).
Tom Kha Kai soup paste
From the paste, you can easily prepare the popular Thai soup, just add meat and coconut milk. A wonderfully flavored non-spicy blend of herbs and spices, including lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves. Tom Kha Kai soup is known for its balance of sweet, sour, and spicy taste with a distinctive aroma of coconut milk. One package costs about 50 CZK (2 EUR).
Pastes from Asian Home Gourmet
AHG is my favorite manufacturer of ready-made spice and herb mixtures in paste form. They offer pastes for the most famous dishes from Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and other Asian cuisines. My favorites are Szechuan Kung Pao and Singaporean Laksa soup. One package costs just under 40 CZK (1.60 EUR).
Thai Dancer Red Curry paste
A non-spicy blend, wonderfully flavored. Add stir-fried meat, mix, coconut milk, season with lime juice, fish sauce, add rice, and you have a ready lunch. Red curry is one of the dishes I cook most often at home. One package costs about 20 CZK (0.80 EUR).
Aroy-D coconut milk
A proven brand, an essential ingredient for Asian dishes. In Sapa, you can buy smaller and larger packages. One 250 ml package costs approximately 30 CZK (1.20 EUR).
Spicy Sriracha sauce
Again, an indispensable addition that you will find on the table of every Asian restaurant.
Rice noodles
I prefer thin vermicelli noodles, but thicker flat noodles or noodles flavored with black garlic are also available in Sapa. One 400 g package costs approximately 50 CZK (2 EUR).
Rice paper
Again, a proven brand of rice paper, with which you can easily make Vietnamese rolls at home. Just soak the paper in water for 20 seconds, fill it with a mixture you like, roll it up, and a great roll is ready.
Miyata sushi vinegar
I don’t make sushi at home very often, but this sweet-sour vinegar is absolutely great for seasoning leaf salads (just chop any leaf salad, add vinegar, and a delicious vegetable side dish is ready). I have tried other types of sushi vinegars, but this one tastes the best. It’s a vinegar that I consume in really large quantities, and I always have at least two bottles in stock at home.
What groceries do you buy in Sapa?
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