La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I hope you’re not tired of Manhattan’s Chinatown because I have another selection of photos to share. After lunch, the cousins and I wandered around the neighborhood, browsing in shops and breathing in the frigid air. We spent a lot of time in Hong Kong Supermarket on Hester Street. An enormous market with lots of wonderful foods, some surprising or off-putting for me. But that was just me showing my ignorance.
The first thing I spotted in the fish market made me smile. Geoducks! Pronounceed gooey-duck, it’s a very large saltwater clam. The shell can be over 8 inches (2o cm) and the siphons (or as I call them, the horse penises) can be over 3 feet (1 metre) long. Geoduck is the longest living animal of any type, with a lifespan of around 140 years. San Geraldo had told me about them not long after we met. He used to go clamming when he lived in Seattle and they would catch them. The first time I saw one was our first trip to Seattle when we had been together about 10 months. Seeing them piled up on ice in Pike Place Market with their 3-foot semi-flacid siphons was eye-opening. The last time we were in Pike Place Market, in 2016, there were no piles of flacid geoducks to see. They were only available by special order. I wanted you to see what I saw that first time, so I shared a photo from the web (above). Please enjoy the rest of the photos from the market. I got carried away.
Espero que no estéis cansados de Chinatown de Manhattan porque tengo otra selección de fotos para compartir. Después de comer, mis primos y yo paseamos por el barrio, mirando tiendas y respirando el aire gélido. Pasamos mucho tiempo en el supermercado Hong Kong de Hester Street. Un mercado enorme con un montón de comida maravillosa, algunas sorprendentes o desagradables para mí. Pero eso fue solo una demostración de mi ignorancia.
Lo primero que vi en el mercado de pescado me hizo sonreír. ¡Geoducks! El geoduck (pronunciado gooey-duck) es una almeja de agua salada muy grande. La concha puede medir más de 20 cm y los sifones (o como los llamo yo, los penes de caballo) pueden medir más de 1 metro de largo. El geoduck es el animal más longevo de todos los tipos, con una vida útil de unos 140 años. San Geraldo me había hablado de ellos poco después de que nos conociéramos. Solía ir a pescar almejas cuando vivía en Seattle y ellos las atrapaban. La primera vez que vi una fue en nuestro primer viaje a Seattle, cuando ya llevábamos juntos unos 10 meses. Verlas apiladas sobre hielo en el mercado de Pike Place con sus sifones semiflácidos de 3 pies fue revelador. La última vez que estuvimos en mercado de Pike Place, en 2016, no había pilas de geoducks flácidos para ver. Solo estaban disponibles por pedido especial. Quería que vieran lo que vi esa primera vez, así que compartí una foto de la web (arriba). Disfruten del resto de las fotos del mercado. Me dejé llevar.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
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• Yemas de huevo.
• Cuando estamos en los centros comerciales estadounidenses, San Geraldo huele la tienda Cinnabon. No tenía idea de que podía conseguirlo en forma de pudín (que suena y se ve aún más repugnante).
• ¿Sabías que el SPAM viene en tantas variedades?
• ¿Aceitunas agrias? ¿Prometen? A mí me parecen otra cosa.
I must confess that I’ve never seen, or even heard of, geoducks before. Can’t say I feel deprived.
Debra:
SG said they were delicious.
So, do you think that “acid sweet taste” is meant to be “sweet and sour flavor” (for the ever popular jelly fish head)?
This is all new to me… dried scallops? sour olives? And, I don’t know what to say about those (possibly) 140-year old flaccid penis delights, trying to hide under their muchh-too-small shell. I guess they cut them up when they eat them? That would be kind of traumatizing.
Glad you had fun 🙂
Judy C:
Or maybe it’s citrus. Lost in translation? I for one will never know. I think the geoduck is supposed to be sliced thinly on a bias and sautéed with wine or something. SG said it was delicious.
I always enjoy going to markets and looking at all of the different types of foods. I must admit that the first photo might just turn me into a vegetarian.
Michael:
That first photo turns some people on. So funny. But I’m told it’s delicious… the geoduck, that is.
I don’t think I could eat it!
The things people eat; oy!
A geoduck? Never ever not even on a bet!!
And Cinnabon Pudding? Oh hell no.
And who knew you could just buy the yolks? Not me.
But I did know about all the varieties of Spam; I lived on Maui for a spell and Spam is the Number 1 Hawaiian import!
Bob:
SG said one of these days he’ll fry up some SPAM for me. I said, no thanks!
Boud here to report that I recognized the gooey ducks from reading Betty MacDonald many years ago, about living on an island off Seattle. She didn’t think much of them, especially considering how much digging it takes to get one. So that frivolous reading finally paid off.
Boud:
SG did tell me about the adventure of digging for them. But he said they’re delicious.
Horse penis is a good description. I’ve been to Pike Place Market, but it’s been a long time. Thanks for taking us with you to this supermarket through your photos. I can’t imagine how sickeningly sweet cinnabon pudding would be. The sour olives look . . . interesting.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
I had the same thought about cinnabon pudding. Blech! The sour olives look like they should be in a specimen jar in a lab.
I love exploring markets, and that looks like a great one. The television show “Dirty Jobs” did a bit on Geoducks harvesting many years ago. I have never seen one on the hoof. I am not sure how you would go about cooking one.
David:
There are bunches of recipes online for geoducks.
So… is the price on the dried scallops per pound or apiece?
Jssw:
Can you imagine?!?
What a market to explore!
Geoducks certainly are GIANT clams! Think I will stick to the smaller ones.
Jim:
I LOVE steamers. Imagine trying to suck a steamed geoduck into your mouth!
No thanks! lol
I have heard of and seen pictures of geoducks before but thanks for the reminder of what bizarre things there are to be found on our planet. Also, I had no idea they could live that long.
And honestly, I am not sure I could eat some of the things you pictured. But maybe? I don’t even know what Hawthorn burger is. No idea. And people eat jellyfish heads? People dry scallops? Why not? People eat Spam…
Thanks for the colorful little trip to a Chinatown market.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
I looked up hawthorn burger. It’s poorly named. It’s a sweet. Pressed layers of hawthorn fruit mixed with sugar and malt syrup. The dried scallops looked so unappealing but I love scallops. I wonder.
I had the same thought as you about the scallops. They might be good. I wonder what the reconstituted texture would be. I assume they are reconstituted before cooking.
Ms. Moon:
I only imagine them being very salty. I think I’d prefer them fresh.
I saw Geoducks on an episode of Chopped. It was nope and yuk then, it’s nope and yuk now, but the Cinnabon pudding looks like a winner.
Shirley:
Ooh, the Cinnabon pudding would be too sweet for me, I think. SG said geoduck was delicious.
The only things that looked appetizing to me were the Kumquats, til I realized they were egg yolks! And those sour Chinese olives look like dried testes… I guess it’s an acquired taste, but UGH!
Tundra Bunny:
Yes, he kumquats did look good! :). And that’s exactly what I thought the sour olives looked like. I’ll pass.
I watch enough Food Network to recognize Geoducks, which I will now forever think of as horse penises. I’m curious about the Chinese sour olives.
Kelly:
I don’t know if I could attempt one of those sour olives. As for geoducks, you’re welcome!
Invasion of the Body Snatchers comes to mind.
Kirk:
Yes, it does. Sour olives anyone?
“Bakery inspired!” Someone needs to close that bakery.
Walt the Fourth:
Yes they do!
Yes Asian markets to carry a lot of goods your regular grocery store don’t. Here in PEI they are reliable if you look for that special spice or product.
Laurent:
There were so many fascinating items that I don’t see anywhere else.
I feel sick reading this post!
Margaret:
Was it the Cinnabon pudding that did it?
wow! what fabulous foodstuffs!
Urpso:
Quite the variety. They had Walker’s shortbreads!