have been growing steadily<\/a> for years, according to market research firm IBISWorld.<\/p>\nThere are more than 20 international markets in Boise, which has just over 235,000 residents. Several more are located in nearby Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell.<\/p>\n
People tend to shop near home, Shereshewsky said, but exploring new territory can reveal hidden gems. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows you to interact with your city or town in a different way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Store workers are often happy to assist.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting,\u201d said Bailey Hughes, a cashier at Idaho Capital Asian Market who enjoys following food trends. \u201cPeople will come in because they saw something viral on the internet, like Chinese Baddie Tea.\u201d <\/p>\n
The viral beverage is based on a traditional Chinese tea recipe made with jujube dates and ginger.<\/p>\n
And doing a little advance research goes a long way.<\/p>\n
Many food bloggers focus on one cuisine, like vegetarian chef Manjula Jain who writes about Indian cuisine, Lola Osinkolu who specializes in Nigerian and indigenous African cooking, and Maangchi, a go-to resource for Korean cooking. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of people out there who are recipe developers who have spent a lot of time perfecting dishes and making them acceptable,\u201d Shereshewsky said. She goes into markets \u201cwith a very specific list and recommendations of what I need to buy because going in there with no plan can be like, a little bit too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can find inspiration in the familiar if you’re not ready to fully venture into the unknown. <\/p>\n
\u201cLook at something you really like and see the iterations of it around the world. That way you add a couple of new ingredients and you\u2019re trying something new from something that\u2019s familiar,\u201d said Shereshewsky. \u201cEven though we speak different languages or wear different clothing, or we live in different places, suddenly we\u2019re all connected through a tomato.” <\/p>\n
Breakfast lovers might try swapping scrambled eggs and toast for a Ugandan rolex, a thin vegetable omelet wrapped in chapati flatbread. Or a basic side salad can be replaced with Chinese spinach salad, an addictive appetizer made using blanched Taiwanese spinach, vinegary dressing and peanuts. The Taiwanese variety is sweeter and crunchier than the flat-leaf spinach found in most big-box grocery stores. <\/p>\n
Soups are another good place to start, says Louangketh. She likes to add bright, tart flavor to broths with fresh lemongrass and kaffir leaf, both pantry staples in Laos, where she was born. <\/p>\n
Spices, fresh produce and some specialty sauces are often less expensive in international markets than in mainstream grocery stores. Even proteins like fresh and frozen seafood can be substantially cheaper, in part because these stores are more likely to work with multiple suppliers.<\/p>\n
But keep your eyes open, and don’t just assume everything will come at a savings. International markets can also carry very high-end versions of specialty products compared to what you might find elsewhere. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think you’ll find some ingredients are much cheaper than in the traditional supermarket and others could be just as expensive \u2014 it depends on what you’re looking for,\u201d Shereshewsky said.<\/p>\n
If you see something that intrigues you, don\u2019t be afraid to try it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you just buy some things because you\u2019re vibing with them, you can then reverse-engineer meals out of them by searching that ingredient and recipes,\u201d Shereshewsky said.<\/p>\n
Filipino dishes have become part of her regular cooking rotation, in part because they are simple to prepare and often allow for ingredient substitutions that don\u2019t change the overall flavor or integrity of the dish, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, they have calamansi juice, which is a type of citrus, but you can use lemon, no problem,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Other favorite ingredients for Shereshewsky include pork floss \u2014 a Chinese finely shredded dried pork with a texture similar to savory cotton candy \u2014 and aji panca, a mild Peruvian chile with a sweet and smoky flavor. Banana sauce, a sweet and tangy cousin to tomato ketchup, is another pantry staple, she said. <\/p>\n
It can be fun to dabble in different cuisines, but real satisfaction comes from appreciating the cultures and people behind the food, says Louangketh. <\/p>\n
\u201cFood is about building community,\u201d she said, and creating opportunities “to connect through something that is healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consider attending cultural festivals or events or taking classes, like the free online \u201cKitchen of Exotic Eats\u201d cooking classes offered by the Idaho Museum of International Diaspora. <\/p>\n
Viral food trends may offer an easy entry point to exploring a new cuisine, said Shereshewsky, but don’t let that overshadow the history of a dish. “If you take the time to understand where that food is from, you can get a lot out of it and learn a lot from the people who have grown up with these dishes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOISE, Idaho — When kitchen burnout hits, figuring out what to make for dinner every day can feel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":829854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,28,2538,793,451,97,149,3,269,452,453,795],"class_list":["post-829853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-business","tag-food-and-drink","tag-general-news","tag-headlines","tag-health","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-nutrition","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-u-s-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}