99 Ranch Market
99 Ranch Market is a chain of Asian Markets here in San Diego (and I think some other places in SoCal.) They are huge and filled with really amazing things. I like just wandering around and checking out all the food for sale that you would never see in regular supermarket. The Ranch 99 nearest me also has a bakery section and a couple of restaurants and a boba tea place and a bookstore and a shop that cells Hello Kitty type stuff inside it. Here's some pictures of the stuff I bought this time:
See how there's only two of these left? That's because these are my new favorite thing ever. Oh my god, so good. They're like the normal red bean cakes you find in Asian markets, but the outside is made with black sesame. I love the gelatinous chewy texture of the rice-flour outside part. They also have a level of sweetness that's very nice - just sweet enough, without being overly sweet. Normal red bean cakes are already one of my favorite things, but adding the sesame to this pushes it over the top.
What the sesame red bean cake looks like inside. Yummers!
I'm a sucker for the weird fake meat. We'll see how it tastes.
Fake drumsticks! So adorable.
Fake duck in a can! How could you not buy this? I've had some fake duck in a couple of Thai restaurants around here, and I'm hoping this is the same stuff, because it was delish.
I thought I'd try the spicy seaweed. Seaweed is one of my favorite snacks to keep in my office, I love the taste and it's good for when I'm just eating because I'm bored, since one piece of seaweed is not very much food.
Big bag o' black sesame seeds (99 cents!), spring roll wrappers (I wanna make the mango spring rolls from Vegan with a Vengeance), agar agar powder (I could only find it with sugar mixed in, sadly), preserved tofu (I'm going to make vegan goat cheese). Not pictured: potsticker wrappers, tiny mushrooms. It's going to be a big dumpling/spring roll party at my house. I'm going to make food, and wrap it up in other food, and it will be awesome.
See how there's only two of these left? That's because these are my new favorite thing ever. Oh my god, so good. They're like the normal red bean cakes you find in Asian markets, but the outside is made with black sesame. I love the gelatinous chewy texture of the rice-flour outside part. They also have a level of sweetness that's very nice - just sweet enough, without being overly sweet. Normal red bean cakes are already one of my favorite things, but adding the sesame to this pushes it over the top.
What the sesame red bean cake looks like inside. Yummers!
I'm a sucker for the weird fake meat. We'll see how it tastes.
Fake drumsticks! So adorable.
Fake duck in a can! How could you not buy this? I've had some fake duck in a couple of Thai restaurants around here, and I'm hoping this is the same stuff, because it was delish.
I thought I'd try the spicy seaweed. Seaweed is one of my favorite snacks to keep in my office, I love the taste and it's good for when I'm just eating because I'm bored, since one piece of seaweed is not very much food.
Big bag o' black sesame seeds (99 cents!), spring roll wrappers (I wanna make the mango spring rolls from Vegan with a Vengeance), agar agar powder (I could only find it with sugar mixed in, sadly), preserved tofu (I'm going to make vegan goat cheese). Not pictured: potsticker wrappers, tiny mushrooms. It's going to be a big dumpling/spring roll party at my house. I'm going to make food, and wrap it up in other food, and it will be awesome.
September 14th, 2006 21:40
Dude, Cyn, if you knew how many mochi balls I`ve eaten in Japan, you would…you would..do something. But I`ve eaten a shitte tonne. Which is metric. And therefore bigger.
I`ve had them with just the mochi (which is actually a certain kind of super sticky rice made into a paste), with red bean paste in the middle, with the mochi balls put into a red bean sauce soup, with just the sesame stuff, with sesame and red bean, with green tea powder mixed in, and with green tea cream filling in the center and red bean paste outside it.
I even made it one time, which involves putting whole cooked mochi rice into a spinning machine like a cotton candy maker and then putting your back out trying to stir it while your vice principal and his entire family snap pictures of you and laugh.
Also, ooooh! hey Cyn! I`m commenting! Look at me comment!!
September 26th, 2006 22:09
where is your location at in san diego?
March 27th, 2007 01:27
Hi, I came across this post because I recently bought some of the smoked drumsticks and don’t know how to cook them! The directions are somewhat spare. The Vegefarm website was not much help- they indicated that some of their meats should be defrosted first, but that’s about it.
Anyway, if you can offer me any assistance, I’ll be very grateful.