Lunar New Year at MILK: Treasured East and South-East Asian Groceries Along with a Special Recipe
Written by Kim Supajirawatananon
While February in Glasgow has brought with it some pretty grim weather, here at the MILK food blog we are going to ignore all that and celebrate Lunar New Year this week. In anticipation of the year of the dragon on Friday the 9th of February, we are presenting a couple of wee tidbits that celebrate Glasgow’s ethnically Chinese community. The first is a love letter to the legend that is Uncle Lim, whose shop at the edge of the city’s Chinatown is a delight. We are also sharing with you a recipe from one of our lovely regulars, Lie from Indonesia. This is a dish she likes to cook for her family during her Chinese New Year celebration dinner and it is quite simple to prepare. Lie explained the recipe to me with translation help from our Malaysian friend Lai Sie.
Where to buy and what to eat?
Since the post-Covid closure of See Woo, once Scotland’s largest Asian supermarket, people searching for ESEA (East and South-East Asian) ingredients and snacks have now reverted back to shopping at some of the venerable cash-and-carries, whose loyal customers have been returning to for decades; places like Matthew’s and Chinatown Groceries. Otherwise, a huge assortment of wee local shops have opened up to cater to the needs of the burgeoning international student community, particularly to the west of the city. My favourite Asian supermarket is a mix of the two, being quite small but well-established and well-loved.
Lims Oriental Groceries (Link) is on Cambridge Street in Glasgow city centre, just off Sauchiehall Street. It sells loads of different groceries from all over east and southeast Asia. It’s like a greatest hits of my favourite Asian childhood treats: Sky Flakes crackers from the Philippines, Foco tamarind nectar, White Rabbit sweets, so many more. I strongly recommend that film lovers stock up on different flavours of Pocky to devour during a movie at the Glasgow Film Theatre round the corner. I’ve also headed home from town with my dinner from there, as it has a great range of fresh and frozen food. The fresh vegetables always seem to be in good condition, and don’t seem to have hung about too long.
My favourite snack to buy in there is any of the red bean snacks they get in from Sun Fung bakery. Either the red bean mochi or daifuku. They always sell out quite quickly though, because I think the Chinese students grab them whenever they see them. To be honest though, I’m happy to grab any of the soft, gooey rice sweets they have there. If I’ve got a pack in the fridge, I’m happy.
I suppose the real reason I love this shop though, is Uncle Lim himself. He is really friendly and fun, with a cheeky twinkle in his eye and loads of good chat. My pal Mara introduced me to him, and it feels as though generations of new Scots have shopped here and went on to recommend it to their friends. Even though there are cheaper places to buy similar produce, you can’t argue with a place that you know well and you feel comfortable trying out new stuff from. I always make a beeline for there when I’m in town.
Lie’s Kukus ikan (Steamed fish) recipe
Ingredients:
Whole fish (usually seabass but Lie suggests you use any fish you like)
2-3 spring onions
Ginger (as much or as little as you like)
Soy sauce
About 2 tablespoons oil
Directions:
Chop spring onions and ginger into thin strips.
Place the fish on a dish with ginger on top and steam it. After 10 minutes, put spring onions on top and carry on steaming.
Once the fish is cooked, heat the oil until hot and pour it over the fish and vegetables, then pour soy sauce before serving.
Today’s article is written by Kim, a regular volunteer at MILK’s Friday ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Conversation Café , held every Monday and Friday from 10 am to 12 pm.