Chong’s Market in Coralville

905 2nd Street, Coralville, IA

This may be my favorite stop for food shopping in Iowa City/Coralville. It’s set just off the Coralville strip, and can be a be hard to find, but it’s well worth it. It’s one of the larger Korean/Asian grocery stores in Iowa, and stocks pretty much all you could want or need. The quality is great, and if something is expired, they take it off the shelf, which is a good sign (it happened to me once when I was buying Bulgarian feta–they also stock some South Slavic/Middle Eastern products). My usual purchases include rice in bulk (Kokuho Rose and Indian Basmati), various sauces and spices, Korean ramen, frozen gyoza and shumai, and lots of produce: pok choy (baby bok choy), shallots, garlic, peppers, cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, garlic chives (in the winter when I don’t have my garden’s supply), kabocha squash, daikon, shiitake mushrooms. Of course tofu, and I also get kim chee from time to time. It’s also my source for quail eggs (featured in one of my header pics), sushi ingredients, frozen fish and poulty–quail, “duck with head on and feet on style” wasabi peas. There’s also a large Indian section, which I’ve been exploring quite a bit lately. And there’s a nice section of things for cooking: rice cookers, gas burners, woks, dishes, and other utensils. One of my favorite items, perfect for making mapo tofu, is a heavy clay stove-top pot with lid. They’re perfect for any kind of stew, and are nice for serving, too.

I actually gained a lot of my knowledge about Asian ingredients in a place just like this in Columbus, Ohio, where a Korean grad student friend set me up with a part-time job. My friend cooked a different dish each Sunday that we worked, and I learned a few things. And the stock-boy part was fascinating until I had learned all the ingredients–and it quickly became a bit less interesting. But it was a fun experience, and got me a bit of extra cash and a pretty good discount on groceries.

I stopped at Chong’s yesterday (December 6th), to get the ingredients for what has become a standard dinner at my house: Bulgogi (with beef or venison), braised pok choy (also known as baby bok choy, and Shanghai choy), steamed rice, Asian pickled cucumbers and vegetable dumplings. I also made some mapo tofu. The braised pok choy has become a real standard in my house, and it may be one of the best preparations for pok choy I’ve ever tried (recipe follows). I plan to try this method with other kinds of cabbage with different flavor inflections.

Braised pok choy

This is a modification of a recipe I found on Epicurious.com; it’s from a 2000 issue of Gourmet magazine (which can be found here). Cut lengthwise in two 6-8 heads of pok choy. Wash thoroughly; I usually soak them in cold water first, too. You can also peel off some of the tough or damaged outer leaves. Put the washed halves tightly together in large saucepan or pot–something that you can cover. Add some vegetable or chicken stock, homemade if possible, with some chicken bouillon, about 1/2 to 1 cup.  You can also add butter (the Gourmet recipe calls for 3 tblsp; if I use it, I add only 1 tblsp). Bring to boil, then simmer-braise, covered, until the pok choy is tender to a fork. It should be almost soft. Remove and arrange on platter, cover with some foil. Meanwhile, reduce remaining liquid down by half. Add teaspoon of sesame oil, a few good grinds of white pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon of ground. Whisk, and pour over pok choy. This one’s best served immediately. It’s surprisingly good.