Shopping in the Local Okinawan Grocery Store.

     Today I decided I wanted to make Kalbi, or Galbi.  It seems to have two different names.  It’s basically Korean Short Ribs.  A couple weeks ago I saw some beef flanken  ribs at the meat counter in the commissary.  I picked them up not knowing what I would make with them. 

     Then, in the bargin bin, there was another package of beef flanken ribs.  Now, go ahead, call me cheap.  What kind of person shops for meat in the bargin bin?  I have a friend who is a firm believer that if something is on sale there must be something wrong with it.  For the record, the meat counters at the commissary are only allowed to keep the meat in the “fresh” bins for 1 day.  Anything that doesn’t sell by the end of the day goes to the bargin bin, which happens to be in a freezer compartment.   The way I see it is that I was going to bring it home and stick it in the freezer anyway.  Plus, I can save 50% by letting them freeze it for me.   I have never had a problem purchasing items from the bargin bin.

     I decided that I wanted to make Kalbi, before that little bargin bin explanation.  There are various versions of Kalbi.  The version that I wanted required Asian pear and green onions among several other items.  The problem, I had neither of none of these items.

     I could easily go to the commissary here on base and fight the horrible parking lot only to find that they didn’t have what I want or that it was in horrible condition.  Sometimes their produce isn’t the best in the world.  My other option is to go off base to one of the local Okinawan markets and find all kinds of good things. 

     With this in mind I decided that I would go to the San-A.  San-A is a really nice market with ample parking in a parking garage and also on the roof.  They have a department store on the second floor and the grocery store is on the first floor.  They usually have anything you might need. 

    I grabbed my camera and headed out.  I like to park on the third floor parking garage.  They have these cutesy little paintings on the wall so to help you remember where you parked. 

       

     When you walk in the doors you are greeted by the ubiquitous vending machines.  They have soda, tea, coffee machines, cigarette machines and toy machines.

These toy vending machines are in every shopping venue on the island.  I know my sister's kids would love them.  But, I'm not sure which to buy.  Maybe I'll just go in there and buy a something from a few different machines and see what the kids have to say about them.  

To get into the grocery shopping area you have to take the escalator down to the first floor.  Upon stepping off the escalator you find yourself immediately in the produce section.  Everything is so fresh and bright.  It all looks like it was just picked this morning.  I purchased a couple stalks of the broccoli in the photo below.  Also bought a couple of those beautiful red tomatoes.    

     In the photo below you can see that they have all kinds of different spouts, celery, goya melon and other items.  

     The fall brings persimmons.  I have never really been a fan of persimmons.  I'm not sure what they use them for, but they seem to be on sale!

Mushrooms anyone?  In the photo below you can see all the different kinds of mushrooms available.  

This next photo is a little blurred.  Sorry about that.  Remember I was sneaking around taking photos when I shouldn't have been.  They don't like photography in the shopping environment.  So, the photo below is bean paste.  At least that's what I think it is.  I'm not buying it to find out.  We'll just leave this one a mystery.

     You can find sushi just about anywhere here.  They make it fresh daily.  Marc loves to get these for lunch. The prices on these ranges from 250 Yen to just under 400 Yen.  So, if you are craving sushi you can have a nice lunch for under $5.00.  What you can't see in this photo is above the shelf the sushi chef is preparing these boxed lunches.  I'm sure as I write this someone is chowing down on a sushi lunch!

     This is a first for me.  I didn't know that anyone ate Butterfly fish.  They are cheap too. You can get 3 of them for about two bucks.  

Okay, moving on. I'm not really crazy about the fish section.  It smells pretty fishy!  

Below is a photo of some cake rolls.  These look wonderful and if I wasn't going to get sick, I'd sure buy one and bring it home with me.

     Panko breaded shrimp!  Need I say more?     Marc and I used to buy these all the time.  I can't eat it anymore.  You can get two trays of them for 500 Yen.  Where else can you get that much shrimp for about $5.00?  Granted you'll have to cook it.  But, that's half the fun.   

     In the photo below I have a close up of the extra fancy sushi.  These are larger pieces and I must say it looks really good.     I'm kind of funny about sushi.  I will only eat it in Japan.  I've had it in the states before and it is just not as good.  I don't know if it's due to the fact that the fish is not as fresh or what.  It's just not the same.  

     Here is the liquor aisle.  I'm not sure if this is sake or awamori.  

     Okay, I saved the best photo for last.  In the spice aisle I found these containers of pepper.  From what I can tell these are the hot ones!  I'm guessing that the red container is so hot that it will make you crazy.  The black one is so hot that it'll make you cry.  I have come to this conclusion based on the artistic rendering of the chili pepper on each container.  This right here, folks, is why Japan is so much fun!