New to me, in 2011, on my second trip to Chilean Patagonia. Merquén is a sort of chilli peppers used in indigenous Chilean cookery. I bought both the ground chillies and whole peppers. My rucksack was exactly 5kg on the way to Chile, on the way back it was 10kg, with only the addition of chillies! I collected them along the way but hit the jackpot in Termuco, a Mapuche stronghold. Every stallholder saw that I tasted a pinch at each stall and bought some, they approached me and let me taste and then of course I bought some too!
Chileans eat herbs and spices, whereas the spice trade passed its neighbour Argentina by. I don’t remember eating anything spicy in Argentina. It was hard to even find salad on menu in restaurants. They don’t need vegs, beef and alfajores are enough.
Another thing new to me, also in 2011, during my holidays in eastern Germany. Bought this bag of mugwort in Leipzig. Mugwort goes well with fatty meat and fish. German expats try to find this in other countries for their christmas goose and ducks and almost never able to find any. Mugwort has medicinal uses traditionally.
Text on label: “dried mugwort to go with duck, goose and eel. Gives fatty foods nice taste and aids digestion. Use buds and stems after roasting.” I’ve read it’s to be used in the gravy.
I don’t remember where you are, but you do occasionally run across things like that in NYC’s Chinatown(s), at “normal” prices. It’s been a few years since I 've just roamed around NYC/Manhattan’s Chinatown browsing the small grocery stores (and the number of non-Chinese stores has dwindled over the years), but there at least used to be an (I think) Indonesian-owned store on Mulberry St (on the west side of the street, a few store-fronts north of Bayard), that had a lot of Malaysian as well as Indonesian imports like this. I don’t have a specific recollection of seeing the name Alagappa in particular, but I do remember seeing various “Baba” products… The Vietnamese grocery store Tan Tin Hung (on the Bowery just south of Grand St) also carries (or used to carry) a number of Malaysian and Indonesian dry products like these, too, as well as some jarred seasonings/condiments/etc.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking @MikeG. One of the smaller places that specializes in non-chinese ingredients. There are a couple south of Canal on that street before you hit Kam Man (walking east).
Iirc @boogiebaby is around Baltimore maybe? But I get the stockpiling - easier to do when you have easy access, vs schlepping around looking for something “obscure” here.
That’s how I feel about all my asian store staples at the moment too - just saw someone on amazon selling my $2 rendang paste for $10
Based on my one extended trip through the Philippines, “adobo” refers to a meat / fish dish marinated in a vinegar-based sauce but adobo is not necessarily a spice. I had many a delicious adobo fish dish in many locales throughout that gorgeous archipelago.
Mine is probably kalonji (nigella seeds). Maybe asafoetida.
I also have Za’atar, Berbere, and Ras el Hanout (three Kroger Private Selection branded blends that I was surprised to see there.) I’ve had them so long they probably don’t have much punch left. They’re okay, but not as good as when i mix the blends myself.
I/we go back to Singapore/Malaysia often enough that my stockpile lasts me just fine. I also stock up on other groceries and stuff that I can’t get here so its not a big deal. I don’t really have a need to find those spices here in the US since I have enough of them. They aren’t things I use on a daily or even weekly basis.
I live in SoCal - a bit far from NYC and Baltimore.
I do not consider Japanese authentic wasabi to be unusual, however, this would be my only atypical ítem I have …
I predominately use terrace grown Mediterranean herbs and some Mediterranean spices.
Genovese basil, fresh grown parsley, black pepper, sea salt, regular salt, thyme both herb and dried, oregano herb and spice, Rosemary herb and spice, savoury herb (Winter & Summer ) …
On occasion some Moroccan spices and home grown lavender … and Wasabi for my nigriri …
Also nutmeg for a specific récipe or 2, and that is pretty much it off top of head.
Chilies are not our cup of tea. Delicate stomachs. Have to be careful …
I also stock up on other groceries and stuff that I can’t get here so its not a big deal. I don’t really have a need to find those spices here in the US since I have enough of them. They aren’t things I use on a daily or even weekly basis.
