Good Stuff at Your Local Asia-town, Part 3

All ladies need a good hair band for face washing. For so long, I've had trouble finding a proper fabric hair band that kept my hair off my face. None of the Goody, Scunci, or Vidal Sassoon hair bands I've ever bought have any grip, so they eventually end up slipping to the back of the my head, letting wisps of my hair spill forth as I'm lathering my face over the sink. So annoying.

So for years, I've used a plastic headband with teeth that hold the hair.

These are effective, but not travel-friendly. And when you're groggy and bleary-eyed in the morning, you can stab yourself in the eye with it.

The solution? The Sofrien hairband.

I'm talking about #3 in this picture. It looks like a simple terrycloth hairband, but there are elastics sewn into the band, so it always stays in place. And the band is wide, so you can tuck in every little wisp of hair around your face. I can even tuck all of my long hair in the back, and it stays put perfectly. It's comfortable, it's durable, and it's easy to pack in your travel or gym bag. A real beauty must-have for me.

(You don't need to buy the Sofrien brand. You can find similar hairband/turbans in most Asian beauty supply or cosmetic shops. But I think the Sofrien is one of the cheapest.)


Where I bought my Sofrien hair band: The Galleria Market at the Koreatown Galleria

Good Stuff at Your Local Asia-town, Part 2

More kitchenware today.

Nobilta food storage containers! They are hand-made, hand-painted stoneware containers with plastic lids with a little hole on top you can open and close, so you can microwave with the lid on. What's unique about the Nobilta is that you can actually cook food in it, instead of merely reheat!

I didn't buy them to cook with them, actually. I bought them because they are so cute and will look pretty on the table. And because they are stoneware, they won't transfer weird molecules and hormones into the food like plastic allegedly does, and now everyone is scared. (So all that Tupperware I've been eating off of the last 20 years has been leaching toxins into my body. Great, thanks for telling me.)

Anyway, I usually avoid microwaving anything if I can help it. Microwaving is fast and convenient, but the food always tastes a little weird - soggy and rubbery in all the wrong ways. But recently I microwaved some leftover dumplings in my new Noblita, and ... wow! The dumplings were nicely warmed as if I'd re-steamed them.

The reason it works so well is because the Noblita is stoneware that gets very hot in the microwave - much like a dutch oven on your stove. And the lid helps seal in the heat. The Nobilta does get hot, though, so you may need oven mitts, but it's worth it.

So the Nobilta is my new favorite thing in the kitchen. I've cooked Korean-style egg custard in it - and after 4 minutes on high, it came out delicious. It normally takes about 20 minutes in a donabe over the stove. Egg custard is a great little side dish or snack, and now I can make it really fast. Happy!

A big Nobilta costs about $8-12, a medium one about $6-8, and a little one about $4-6. Even if you don't cook with it, it's still a pretty and useful container.

Speaking of replacing Tupperware, Glass Lock bears mentioning:

They are glass food storage containers with plastic snap-on lids. They are similar to Lock-n-lock containers which are really popular now in the U.S., and sold everywhere from Target to QVC. But I've only seen the Glass Lock containers in Asian shops. Glass is great because it doesn't stain, retain odors, and you don't have to worry about anything leaching into your food. Also, the silicone seal on these "lock" containers is very airtight. I just love these things.

Koreans do love their many side dishes with the intense flavors and colors, so leave it to them to come up with the best food storage receptacle.

Good Stuff at Your Local Asia-town, Part 1

Good stuff at your local Asia-town! These posts are going to be about the stuff that I buy from China-, Japan-, or Korea-town, that are

- not easy to find
- or can't be found
- or cheaper
- or better

than ... anywhere else in the U.S.

This first post will be about kitchenware.

Since I've recently switched to enameled cast-iron and tri-ply pots in the kitchen, I've become particularly attuned to the wonders of even heat distribution.

Also great for even heat? Asian clay pots that can be used on a stove top.

Asian clay pots are a great cooking vessel for most liquid-based cooking, i.e., soups or broths. It conducts heat evenly which reduces the necessity of stirring, and also retains the heat very well. You can't sautee or fry anything in it, so it won't replace your other pans, but it's still a great, versatile pot to have in a kitchen. With the even, mellow heating you can cook a egg custard on low heat without scorching the bottom.

Most Asian cultures incorporate clay pot cooking, so you can probably find them at any Asian shop that sells kitchenware.

Japanese "donabes" are often very pretty, with beautiful designs painted or etched on the exterior. They also tend to be wider and shorter, so the bigger ones can be used for communal meals like shabu-shabu.


Isn't that pretty?

"Tukbagee" is a Korean clay pot. They are deeper than donabes and are usually glazed with a very dark brown color. If you've ordered jjigae (soup) in a Korean restaurant, you may have had it served to you in a tukbagee taken right off the fire, with the soup still bubbling on the table. Tongue-burning hot! That's how Korean people like their soups.

Some come with decorative ceramic lids, like this one.


Another reason clay pots are awesome is that they are not that expensive - the most you would pay for a big donabe is about $50. You could pay even as little as $2 in some places. And a tukbagee costs about $5-15, maybe up to $40 for a big fancy one.

I have a couple of small donabes, with which I can make individual servings of soon tofu, and one big one for oden. I've also got a big tukbagee that I use all the time for jjigae. I paid about $11 for it. And the jjigae really tastes better than in a regular stainless steel saucepan.


Where I bought my donabes: Utsuwa-No-Yakata and Marukai

Where I bought my tukbagee: Kitchen Plus at the Koreatown Galleria