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SUPER market and flap steak

Kim and Barb

At the beginning of June, Kim, Barb and I took a field trip to the new AZ International Marketplace on the corner of Dobson and Broadway Roads in Mesa.

flap steak

I meant to blog about it back then, but then … I didn’t. When I was making room in my freezer to freeze the rosé wine for the Frozé cocktail, I came across a package of flap steak (also known as Bavette steak) that I bought at the Marketplace. No better time than the present to cook up the beef and blog about the store.

mushrooms

When I go shopping to check out a new place, mainly when it’s far out of my neighborhood, I call it a Field Trip. This was an especially good one! There were plenty of the things you would expect to find. Such as shelves upon shelves of dried mushrooms.

noodles

Aisles upon aisles of noodles, rice sticks, rice paper, and the like.

interesting

And of course, many interesting finds – “Hello Kitty” seaweed anyone? (Oh, and we’ll be talking about that popcorn later, believe me!!!)

laxitive cookies sweets

There were sweets of every variety, plus corn starch in lovely old-fashion boxes and even cooler-looking boxes of psyllium husk. Love the packaging on that, even though I had no clue what it was used for. Turns out it’s a laxative. Well then, there you go!

dragon fruit and rambutan

The produce department was the most fun!

banana

So many exotic and tropical items to tempt you.

jackfruit

Kim and I were extra excited about the jackfruit. Some of them are triple the size of your head! No joke! What to do with all that jackfruit? I have no idea. Before I go back, I’m going to figure it out and buy one. For sure.

full cart

Not to worry, I still filled up my cart. Here is what I brought home on this first trip.

coconut milk water

A wide range of coconut waters and kinds of milk. Some are roasted, others have pulp, and all were delish.

scmilk, fish sauce milk tea

A can of sweetened condensed milk with a pretty label, fish sauce in a smaller bottle than you’ll usually find, and three interesting drinks; Korean ginseng drink with root, royal milk tea, and macadamia nut iced coffee. Thus far, I’ve only tried the milk tea. It was good and how cute is that blue can?!?

fun stuff

Cool triangular-shaped rice paper, Chinese honey in a sweet little glass, chrysanthemum drink, super cheap thin white candles, candied ginger, and three pretty little boxes of ginger candies. I haven’t tried the chrysanthemum drink yet, I haven’t been brave enough. The candies are good though. 😉

curry and coffee

Two flavors of sardines (for my dad) a lovely can of Café du Monte coffee, a large tin of Madras curry powder, Korean BBQ sauce, green and red curry paste, and sweet chili sauce. One can never have too much sweet chili sauce!

common

An inexpensive jar of tahini, garlic hoisin sauce, extra-thick noodles, and panko.

sriracha popcorn

Next up: A cheap hat for yard work and the pool, a cool “ice stick” ice tray (which I used along with the candied ginger for THESE Peach Mules), and the very best thing that I bought – SRIRACHA POPCORN!  It is amazing! I can’t wait to go back and buy a case of it! Seriously addicting! A case may not be enough! I may go out there this week since now I can’t stop thinking about the popcorn!!! Does anyone want to take a field trip with me?

dumplings and flap steak

Finally, the last tray displayed my purchases; frozen dumplings and pork buns. These were nothing special, I’ve found similar items at Trader Joe’s and they were about the same. And the flap steak.

Here is a great recipe for flap steak. I did not create it, it comes from one of my all-time favorite chefs and cooking teachers, John Ash.

john ash flap steak

Chef John Ash’s Grilled Flap Steak

  • 2 tablespoons green curry paste
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce, or more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, or more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons coconut milk
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Pinch ground cayenne pepper
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 pounds flap steak, trimmed of fat

flap marinade

whisk marinade

Whisk curry paste, fish sauce, rice vinegar, coconut milk, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a large shallow glass baking dish.

add beef

Add the flap steak.

toss to coat

Turn to evenly coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours.

Remove the flap meat from the marinade and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade.

Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat and lightly oil the grate.

grilling flap steak

Cook the flap steak on the preheated grill until it starts to firm and is reddish-pink and juicy in the center, 2 to 3 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees.

If your steak is as thin as this and your grill is smoking hot, by the time you place the last piece on the grate, the first piece you set on will be ready to be turned over. It cooks FAST!

guess where

Transfer meat to a board to rest for at least five minutes before slicing against the grain. Can you see where I enjoyed our flap steak dinner? Here I’ll pan out…

enjoy pool side

That’s right, at the swim-up bar in the pool with a cold glass of rosé. Life is good.

Serves 4

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9 comments

1 Tram Mai { 08.24.16 at 6:51 AM }

So awesome you made that field trip!! We’ve been meaning to go too!!! Love all the goodies you bought!!!!

2 Lori Vento { 08.24.16 at 8:45 AM }

Very cool . . . . . but some on these pictures remind me of trying to shop in the Japanese grocery stores. PTSD!! xoxo

3 Amy { 08.24.16 at 9:27 AM }

I love field trips! I especially love field trips with my favorite chef, neighbor, friend ??

4 barbara fenzl { 08.24.16 at 10:09 AM }

What fun it was to explore that incredible market with you and Kim! Let me know when you buy the jackfruit and what you do with it. Love ya –

5 Linda Hopkins { 08.24.16 at 6:38 PM }

OK, I’ll be blogging about this at some point, but since I wrote this post, I looked up jackfruit and it sounds absolutely disgusting! lol!

6 Marissa { 08.24.16 at 7:38 PM }
7 Linda Hopkins { 08.24.16 at 7:55 PM }

How funny, I found a similar recipe here: http://minimalistbaker.com/bbq-jackfruit-sandwiches-with-avocado-slaw/ and this is what I was going to blog about and try. Problem is, she used jarred jackfruit and I want to buy the fresh. But I’ll still try it. Here is what else I read about the disgusting part of Jackfruit: A jackfruit is a huge, spined, oval fruit that is believed to have been first cultivated in Indian rainforests. It’s mostly grown in tropical climates, and is the largest fruit in the world, weighing up to 80 pounds (about 36 kg) with a length of up to 3 feet (0.91 m). Though it has a notoriously bad smell when ripening, the flesh and the seeds of the fruit are edible. Since it’s an acquired taste, the fruit isn’t much of a cash crop, but some people do like to serve it in desserts and curries. It’s also the national fruit of Bangladesh.

8 Janis { 08.25.16 at 9:56 PM }

Great blog Linda, love John Ash. I have gone to Lee Lees, Then Mekong, and now World Market with my cooking school partner Linda Miritello. There are so many amazing places in that hood. Great noodle maker, Korean BBQ, Pho, had a field trip with Gaye and Gwen some time back. So fun. Loved your pics from your amazing trip. Best Janis

9 Linda Hopkins { 08.29.16 at 8:40 AM }

Janis, you and I need to take a field trip of our own! xoxo

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