Hi just wondering if anyone knows where to buy Mexican ingredients in Taipei. Looking for canned hominy, epizote, vanilla, tomatillos, various Chilli like chilli de arbo (want to make pezole Verde, refried black beans guacamole, enchiladas, ECT.) Thanks!
de arbol? I havenāt seen that, but if you donāt care about authenticity, I find refried black beans, guacamole, and enchilada sauce sometimes at Jasonās, Carrefour, and various online shops at Shoppe. You should look at a Shoppe shop called Tu Tienda. If thereās anything Mexican available in Taiwan they usually have it.
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- Hominy, dried or canned: never seen it here. I bring dried back from Canada. Not all that easy to find in Vancouver either!
- Epizote: ditto.
- Other chiles: ditto. A few years ago fresh jalapeƱos showed up in supermarkets for a few months, but they didnāt last long. Every few years I investigate North American websites that could deliver a range of chiles, but Iāve never found anything that works for Taiwan. iHerb used to sell dried ancho chilies, but no longer. As far as I know, weāre stuck with jarred or canned jalapeƱos, and canned chipotles in adobo, the latter almost always diced. I have bought ancho seeds (yes, so labelled) at the Jianguo Flower Market. I presumably killed those seeds before they had a chance to give me either ancho or poblano chiles.
- Vanilla: vanilla extract available pretty much everywhere, I think. Pods often available in higher-end baking stores & supermarkets (City Super, Jasonās, maybe the Tianmu Carrefour).
- Canned tomatillos: to my surprise, currently regularly available at the two Carrefours I frequent (Danshui & Zhishan-Tianmu). Iāve never seen fresh here. Theyāre in the āstock up while theyāve got them categoryā, since they previously vanished for five or six years.
- Not on your list: Iāve seen masa harina the past couple of times Iāve been to the Taipei 101 Jasonās, which is unusual - thatās another ingredient that can disappear for a year or more.
- Implied by your list: I donāt think Iāve ever seen dried black beans here in supermarkets here, or at least the ārightā kind. Maybe I saw these for sale at Kookās (restaurant in Danshui), but Iām not sure. EDIT: I get them from iHerb.
As for processed stuff:
- Guacamole ācupsā often available at Costco. Theyāre not the best but I do buy them because theyāre a manageable portion. My wife isnāt fond of guacamole, I canāt get through a whole avocadoās worth on my own, and itās not a food that keeps well. Iāve also seen jarred guacamole dip but Iāve never bought it.
- For better guacamole: Haas avocados are easier to find than they used to be: most supermarkets stock them, I think, although once in a while theyāll vanish for a month or two.
- Canned refried black beans usually available at the right Carrefours.
- Canned enchilada sauce, both red and green, often available at the right Carrefours, City Super, Jasonās.
See also:
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Thank you!!!
I can make the salsas myself using local chilies. Though itās not quite as good /different flavor itās not so bad I think. I tried guacamole here using local chili as a substitute and it still came out pretty good.
The other things are good to know. I didnāt see at my carrefour but Iāll back I probably just missed it. Those tomatillos mean I can make modified salsa Verde!
Luckily I found dried black beans at Jasons. If thereās one thing I just canāt tolerate itās canned or machine processed refried beans! But now I can just make it myself (though too bad about epizote) Iāve subbed epizote with a mix of cilantro and oregano and itāsā¦ Acceptable
You know about this guy yeah?
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Nope! But Iāll be investigating. As far as I can tell thatās the first time heās been brought up in the forum - I canāt find him anywhere else in search results.
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I order jalapenos from him and they are wonderful!
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Good luck! Iām guessing those are dried black soy beans. (Iāve heard those donāt work, but Iāve never tried.)
You can use most black beans interchangeably, though turtle beans are a little smaller. Just make sure you donāt use black soy beans , which have a completely different flavour and texture.
https://askinglot.com/whats-the-difference-between-black-beans-and-black-turtle-beans
Ah okay, thought youād be aware of him. Iāve never bought anything from him (except a couple of second-hand pans), but he seems to regularly sell various types of chilis.
Thatās a good list. Itās weird how we see masa harina for awhile and then itās gone.
Places like Masa tacos make their own masa for Taiwanese corn. I think that means there must dried hominy somewhere here.
We get polenta and occasionally grits and cornmeal. Iām surprised grits (Georgia ice cream) arenāt more of a thing here because they remind me of congee. They taste like whatever you put on them.
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Didnāt you ask them about buying their masa? I remember someone did, and it wasnāt an option.
Re: Mr. Chili Pepper: does he only do business via Facebook? I quite deliberately havenāt logged in to Facebook for a few years now, and itās a platform I try to avoid. I may have to give up on that ā¦ so many restaurants and shops here seem to be pretty much only on Facebook.
It specifically said black beans not soy but I didnāt buy it. Next time I will it was just a bit expensive
Taipei 101 Jasonās had Masa harina. A bit expensive though
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I believe almost all āblack beansā here are black soy beans - they just donāt bother to say the soy. However, I may be wrong. Can anyone confirm if these different Dr. Oko products are soy or turtle beans, or something else?
I asked him when they are going to make us tamales. They struggle to make enough masa for the tacos.
Mr. Chili Pepper is on FB. Iām sure we could get a local number for him. He ships via 7-11.
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I know people have used č±č± as replacement for pinto beansā¦ itās cheap here.
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Yeah, this has been my experience. I bought one bag at Jasonās labeled āblack beansā and another from City Super. Both turned out to be soy beans, not good when cooked.
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I find this at a place called DGF. City super has things like taco sauce and chipotle sauce. Jasonās often has proper corn tortillas. City super too. I pickle my own chiliās. And have started growing my own beets and chili plants. Tequila is fairly cheap. Jasonās used to have chipotle seasoning mix. That stuff was good. Havenāt had it since they were bought out by carrefour.
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You found real black beans? Damn, i have looked for ages. Black soy beans are common, but i have yet to find black beans that arent canned! Nice score!
I found what I thought was black beans at Jasons, but some others said they werenāt so Iām not sure. I learned how to adapt the recipe when I was living in the Midwest USA where I didnāt have a car or an easy way to get to a Mexican store.