What to Buy in Sapa? Groceries!
I visit the Sapa market in Prague, the largest Vietnamese enclave in Czechia, several times a year, and there are two stops I never skip: the best bún chả in Prague and a grocery run at the Tamda Foods superstore and the little shops around it. Asian food is surprisingly quick to cook at home - with ready-made seasoning pastes you can put together an excellent Asian meal in under 10 minutes. So if you're wondering what to buy in Sapa, think about taking home groceries and ingredients to cook with. Here's what I took home myself - and what I paid for it all.
Ngom Lam Pad Thai Seasoning Paste
Pad thai is probably the best-known Thai dish there is: stir-fried rice noodles with egg, meat and peanuts, bound together by a sauce where sweet, sour and salty all meet. That balance comes from tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar - and a ready-made paste has all three sorted for you. I throw in some broccoli as well, so there's at least some veg in there. With the paste you're done in 10 minutes and the result is seriously good. I've tried other pad thai pastes, but I like this one best - the first thing in my basket on every Asian grocery run, and something I always keep stocked at home.
Price for a pack of pad thai seasoning paste: 60 CZK (2.40 EUR)
Cock Tom Kha Kai Soup Seasoning Paste
Tom kha kai is a creamy Thai soup of coconut milk and chicken, known for the balance it strikes between sweet, sour and spicy. The name literally means "boiled galangal" - galangal is a root similar to ginger, and together with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves it carries the flavor of the whole soup. The paste is mild and perfectly balanced as it is: just add meat and coconut milk and a few minutes later you're done. I've been buying Cock pastes for years and not one of them has let me down.
Price for a pack of tom kha kai seasoning paste: 50 CZK (2 EUR)
Asian Home Gourmet Seasoning Pastes
Asian Home Gourmet is my favorite maker of ready-mixed spices and herbs in paste form. They cover the best-known dishes of Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and other Asian cuisines, so a single shelf at Tamda Foods will get you through half of Asia. I reach most often for Sichuan kung pao - stir-fried chicken with peanuts - and for Singaporean laksa, which brings together noodles, coconut milk and a proper hit of spice. The photo shows the tom yum soup paste, which is worth a try too.
Price for a pack of Asian Home Gourmet seasoning paste: just under 40 CZK (1.60 EUR)
Thai Dancer Red Curry Seasoning Paste
Red curry is the Asian recipe I cook at home more than any other. With this paste you can't really go wrong: stir-fry the meat, add the paste and coconut milk, finish with lime juice and fish sauce, serve with rice and lunch is on the table. The paste is mild and beautifully balanced - if you like more heat, fresh chilli will get you there.
Price for a pack of red curry seasoning paste: 20 CZK (0.80 EUR)
Aroy-D Coconut Milk
Coconut milk is everywhere in Asian cooking - no curry works without it, and hardly any Thai soup does either. Aroy-D is a Thai brand I've come back to again and again: the milk is runny, easy to pour and always tastes the same. Sapa has both smaller and larger packs; the little 250 ml carton is exactly one dish, so nothing gets left over.
Price for Aroy-D coconut milk (250 ml): 30 CZK (1.20 EUR)
Uni-Eagle Sriracha Hot Sauce
Sriracha is a chilli sauce named after the Thai town of Si Racha, and you'll find it on the table of practically every Asian restaurant. It combines chillies, garlic, vinegar and sugar, so alongside the heat it brings a mild sweetness and a garlicky note. At home I use it on soups, noodles and quick wok dishes. This Uni-Eagle one has the regular heat - if you want more, Sapa also sells an extra hot version, which I write about in the third part of this series.
Price for sriracha hot sauce: depends on the size of the bottle
Rice Noodles
Rice noodles always end up in my basket. I go for thin vermicelli - in Sapa you'll come across them in dishes like bún chả or bún bò Nam Bộ, and at home they work in stir-fries as well as in soups. You can also get thicker flat noodles or noodles flavored with black garlic. They're naturally gluten free and ready in minutes - a quick blanch is all they need.
Price for rice noodles (400 g): 50 CZK (2 EUR)
Rice Paper
Rice paper makes Vietnamese rolls at home almost effortless. Soak the rice flour sheet in water for 20 seconds, fill it with whatever you like - usually vermicelli, herbs, vegetables and shrimp or meat - and roll it up. A good roll takes a couple of minutes, and it's a great way to use up whatever's left in the fridge. This is another brand I keep going back to.
Price for a pack of rice paper: depends on the size of the pack
Miyata Sushi Vinegar
I don't buy sushi vinegar for sushi - at home I mostly use it to dress leafy salads. A few drops of this sweet-and-sour rice vinegar over any chopped leaves and you have an excellent vegetable side with no oil and nothing else added. Sushi only happens at my place now and then, but I get through this vinegar by the bottle and always keep at least two in the cupboard. I've tried other sushi vinegars, but I like this one best.
Price for a bottle of Miyata sushi vinegar: depends on the size of the bottle
If there's still room on your shopping list, carry on with the second and third parts of the series "What to Buy in Sapa? Groceries!".
What groceries do you buy in Sapa?
SAPA Praha
