Spice islands: Ethnic markets are hotbeds of flavor & value

HOOKED ON ethnic food and looking for a way to make your favorite stir-fry, curry or mole on the cheap? Why not take a lesson from savvy chefs and shop for specialty ingredients at the many ethnic markets in and around Philly?

While mainstream supermarkets are doing a better job of stocking items like coconut milk, habanero peppers and taro root, exotic ingredients don't come cheap. But buy these same ingredients at ethnic markets, and you can save big.

A nonscientific sampling showed savings of up to 50 percent, and sometimes more, on like items. Take soy sauce, a necessary ingredient for all kinds of Asian recipes. Priced at $2.79 for 15 ounces at Acme markets, the same brand sells for $1.39 for 22 ounces at 1st Oriental Supermarket on Washington Avenue in South Philly.

Something as essential as whole black peppercorns, packaged in a 1.6 ounce glass jar at Genaurdi's for $3.65, run $1.99 for three ounces in a clear plastic envelope at 1st Oriental.

Excellent frozen dumplings with fillings like mushroom and chicken sell for $2.99-$3.69 for 30 pieces at Hung Vuong Supermarket; a 6.4-ounce box sells for $5.19 at Acme. At 1st Oriental Supermarket, you'll also find fresh lobster for $7.99 a pound, five-spice powder for $1.79 for 4.2 ounces, and red snapper for $5.49 a pound.

"You can't beat the prices," said chef Judson Branch, in the kitchen at Thirteen at the Philadelphia Marriott. Branch creates all kinds of ethnic apps at Thirteen, and frequents Asian, West Indian and Indian markets for many of his ingredients. "If I need something in bulk, I just order if from our purveyors. But for something particular, like cassava root or yucca, I don't always need a case of it. And I like to pick it out myself."

"I know the prices are very cheap, but I also shop at ethnic markets for the unusual range of products," said Phil Rowens, chef de cuisine at Savona in Gulph Mills. He loves the pork belly (about $2 a pound), the spices ($3 for a big bag of star anise) and the unusual produce (chive blossoms, basil pods, lychee nuts) at 1st Oriental.

When Xochitl chef Dionicio Jimenez has a taste for Chihuahua cheese and spices from his native Puebla, Mexico, he heads to South Philly, where a spate of taquerias and Mexican food stores are in the mix at the Italian Market. One of his favorites spots is Piedras Negras (translation: "black rock") at 8th and Tasker streets, where he finds great deals on dried fish, chilies, spices and fresh greens.