Chinese Ingredients?

Initial_C · Post by **Initial_C** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:33 am

I'm going to Jyvaskyla in a few months for a visit. And I want to cook an authentic Chinese meal there to serve to my boyfriend and his mother. Is Chinese ingredients readily available in Finland?

I'm getting all neurotic about it. I never really noticed the last time I was abroad as I didn't have to cook a full Chinese meal there before. I stuck to more western foods... Like pizza, omlettes, etc.

So are there things like light and dark soy sauce? Black bean sauce? Oyster sauce? Hoisin sauce? Plum sauce even? Coconut milk? What about vegetables like bak choy and tofu and stuff like that? Are these things usually readily available in supermarkets? Or are they more limited? Or are they completely non-existent in Finland and I should pack a bottle or two of my own sauces before I leave Canada?

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cressers · Post by **cressers** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:23 am

there are some chinese supermarkets around helsinki, and stockman sells most of the items you mentioned...but vegatables can be tricky because of the transit time to finland, so they are either expensive or crap if imported.

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:33 am

I have been able to find most of those ingredients in specialized shops or on one of the better super markets in Kuopio.
So I guess it's possible, but it might also be out of stock for several months.
Better bring something.
Coconut milk and dark soy sauce however are readily available.

sinikettu · Post by **sinikettu** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:58 am

In the Helsinki area especialy around the Hakaniemi Square area there are foods shops actualy run by Chinese folk..they have everything...If you have time on route to Jyväskylä, worth a diversion..
The area is quite close to the central railway station just a couple metro stops away. Or 15 minutes walk.
But...
I would be very surprised if there is not a least one "Ethnic Foods" shop in Jyväskylä..ask your BF.

Karhunkoski · Post by **Karhunkoski** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:24 am

Initial_C wrote:
So are there things like light and dark soy sauce? Black bean sauce? Oyster sauce? Hoisin sauce? Plum sauce even? Coconut milk? What about vegetables like bak choy and tofu and stuff like that?

We have an ethnic shop here in one of the business units at the front of Seppälä Citymarket. I've seen all the above things, with the exception of the bak choy, but that may be because I haven't looked for it.

Ask if you need directions or any more help.

EDIT to add: Map here:

http://www.citymarket.fi/page.php?page_id=25#

Click on the red "Meille on helppo tulla, katso oheisesta kartasta." above the parking "P" on the left hand side.

EP · Post by EP » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:55 am

So are there things like light and dark soy sauce? Black bean sauce? Oyster sauce? Hoisin sauce? Plum sauce even? Coconut milk? What about vegetables like bak choy and tofu and stuff like that?

Light soy sauce and plum sauce I have never seen, the rest I can find from my near-by small supermarket. But "bak choy" I have never heard about, what is it in English?

Sometimes some items are missing from the shelf, but next week they are there again. I have a habit of doing these "theme" cooking-months, and I have had several Chinese ones. If I don´t find something from the nearest store, I just take another recipe. Or I make it from scratch, cookbooks usually give a recipe for all sauces.

If you bring light soy sauce with you, you can usually find the other ingredients even without going to a specialist shop.

EP · Post by EP » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:57 am

And Tofu you find in the same shelf where cheeses are.

Xochiquetzal · Post by **Xochiquetzal** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:12 am

Bak Choy hits the supermarkets occsionally. Not always.

EP · Post by EP » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:19 am

What is bak choy?

raamv · Post by **raamv** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:21 am

EP wrote:What is bak choy?

Chinese Cabbage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage

and
the result:

raamv · Post by **raamv** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:22 am

I ve seen this a lot of times at Viiv voan..both fresh and frozen..
Your best bet is to pay a visit to Viiv Voan in Hakaniemi before you go to Jyväskyla!!

EP · Post by EP » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:27 am

Hah, kiinankaali. (China´s cabbage)

That is always in stores, not just occationally. It is very good done in a Chinese way, but when it came to Finland 30-40 years ago, Finns thought that it is salad, and for ages it replaced lettuce. Usually it comes from Spain or some other big European vegetable producer, and is lighter green than the one in raamv´s picture.

Sara · Post by **Sara** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:45 am

Bak choy is also called Pak Choi

CH · Post by CH » Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:25 pm

EP wrote:Hah, kiinankaali. (China´s cabbage)

They aren't the same thing, although i think they are related. I think bak choi is paksoi usually in Finnish. It's a bit like "mangoldi" (I think that's Swiss Chard in English). I haven't seen it in supermarkets, but the Aseanic market in Helsinki has it.

EP · Post by EP » Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:44 pm

CH, you are right. I have a book called Exotic fruits and vegetables, and it has "paksoi", and says that paksoi is a vegetable very much like "kiinankaali", except its leaves are more loose. It even gives a receipe "Chinese Baak choi soup". Nice, I´ll try that.

I have happily used "kiinankaali" to all the recipies that contain "paksoi". I think I would have to be a real connoseur and a gourmet chef if I could tell the difference. I would not run to the other side of town to find paksoi if I have kiinankaali only 100 metres away.

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