By Nina M. Scott and
Katy van Geel
Since our Five College Learning in Retirement course was dealing with ethnic cuisines, we decided to take field trips to three local ethnic markets, all in Hadley: Tran’s World Food Market, the Ecuador-Andino Market and Maple Farm Foods.
We started at Tran’s (50 Russell St.), which began in a smaller store nearer the Coolidge Bridge, moving to the present site 10 years ago. Their former landlord helped them find the property. Owner Johnny Tran’s stepson, Saka Son, manages the store.
While Tran left Vietnam in the 1970s, Son was born in Thailand and came to the United States at the age of 2. It was he who reconfigured the interior of the store, formerly a garage. His wife, Ngoc, is Vietnamese and speaks little English; he speaks both. They have a toddler son, Oliver.
For those unfamiliar with Asian foods, the store is like a museum with many exotic items: lotus roots, banana hearts, curry leaves, burdock, dragon fruit. There are many teas, both green and black, and black bean ice cream bars. Some packages have suggestive titles such as “Love Tonics for Men and Women.” (Son explained that these were essentially energy foods.)
His shelf of rice noodles is immense. Son carries many brands, because, he says, his Asian customers are specific about the ones they buy. The market also supplies area chefs with Asian ingredients.
Son is a trained cook, who can orient newcomers to ingredients and cooking techniques. He is enthusiastic about getting people unfamiliar with Asian food to try to cook it at home.
“It is so much cheaper if you fix it yourself and can be as good or better than in a restaurant,” he said.
OK — so what do you do with those red banana hearts? He explained that sliced raw banana heart is often served with curries and that it gives crunch to a variety of dishes. I found online directions about how to get at the heart, a process that reminded me of accessing artichoke hearts.
The Tasting Circle group was fascinated by Tran’s and all it had to offer. We also found more-familiar produce, such as lemons, limes, dried beans and stick cinnamon at much-lower prices than in area supermarkets. Definitely a must-return destination.
Nina Scott, a retired UMass Spanish professor, and Katy van Geel, a retired librarian and CPA, both live in Amherst.
Next month: the 5CLIR tasting class visits the Ecuador-Andino Market at 41 Russell St. in Hadley