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News
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Volume
14, Number 18 |
Also
in this section: Fruteria
Mini
Max in Paitilla
by Eric Jackson Working on some friends' computer in Paitilla and dinnertime plus a continued work marathon loom ahead. What to do? Well, she can't deal with gluten and I'm in a mood to eat reasonably healthy stuff too. That goes for work station munchies too. Well of course! We're not far from the Fruteria Mini Max in the Bal Harbour shopping center. OK, first things are the munchies, just inside the door. Those dried fruit look yummy but they're labeled only in Chinese so I will pass. I could cite a consumer law but the basic thing is that aspartame tastes like this toxic chemical to me and a lot of these Chinese plums have that ingredient, so no sale on those. Ah, but the roasted pumpkin seeds do work for sitting at the computer munchies. Now, to the veggies --- but first, past the veggies to the noodles, to make sure I can do what I want. Yep. There are the wide rice noodles, which, unlike their wheat cousins, have no gluten. And back by the noodles there are the sauces and condiments and stuff. Now I might like the flaming stuff but my friends don't, so no Szechuan noodles tonight. I picked up a jar of fermented bean paste. Back to the vegetable selection. Authenticity? What's that? I got some Brussels sprouts, a leek and some Chinese-style baby corn. Then back to the freezer section. I'm the guy who gets gout attacks, so I'm allowed to stray from common sense as it affects me. Do I want to roll the dice? Depends on what's there. I did gamble, buying some frozen Japanese shrimp balls (pink) and squid balls. On that side of the store there's all the fruit, some of it dried locally, much of it fresh, to add to the computer munchie selection. So, rice noodles with leeks, Brussels sprouts, baby corn, shrimp balls and squid ball for dinner. (First you chop up the leeks. Then you boil the noodles and then rinse them under cold water. Then you get the skillet --- didn't have a wok there --- hot, squirt in some appropriate oil (peanut oil is best), start stir-frying the leeks, toss in the Brussels sprouts next, then the baby corn and shrimp and squid balls. Before all of those are done, you add the noodles and stir fry at high heat. When things are starting to get about done and crispy, throw in several dollops of the bean paste and get that well stirred into everything else.) Et voila (don't know how to say that in Mandarian or Hakka), a variation on chow fun. I never go into the Mini Max with a shopping list. I see the things that are fresh and work from there. They always have lots of good fresh fruits and vegetables, some of which you won't easily find anywhere else in town, and an interesting and international selection of Asian ingredients. It's one of the little shopping treasures of life in Panama City. Also
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