Ciao a tutti!

[Serx]

Hi everyone,

I would like to introduce myself as I recently joined DC . I am originally from Naples (Italy) and now leaving in the French Alps (not far from Grenoble).
At home, I love cooking for my fiancée (who is french) many recipes from Italy and the region I am from.
Lately i have been more and more attracted by the idea of cooking more recipes from other countries and culinary traditions (particularly asian atm), but I sometimes struggle to find an authentic source.

Do you guys ever struggle with that ? Very curious to hear your experience and on which cuisine


Have a great day !

Cheers,
Sergio

 

[dragnlaw]

Ciao to you as well, Serx. Welcome to DC!

Living near a large city, getting ingredients from different cuisines, for me, is not usually a problem.

But if ethnic groups are not prevalent in your area, who might have shops of their own traditional ingredients, check to see if there are some ethnic restaurants around you.

I have found when asked they are proud to talk about their ingredients and you could ask how they get them - or even if you could buy a small amount from then to try.

Then if you think you could use larger amounts - Amazon is one source, there are also many spice sellers on line - many of our members purchase thru them.

Fresh ingredients might be a problem - a trip into a big city perhaps. Then again, you can always Google the fresh ingredient, read up on it and then ask to find a substitute.

Wecome Again - post some of your experiences - love to hear them!

 

[Andy M.]

Welcome to DC, Serx!

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

Dragnlaw stated most of the ideas I was thinking of while reading your post. While I'm not sure what is available in your area online, one place I have obtained some unusual ingredients is ebay. I have gotten some ingredients from India, which I could not find even in a large Indian supermarket in my area, and the prices were so low I would have thought that the shipping would have been more! So places like that I'm sure would ship to your area.

I'm not sure if this would be an option, depending on where you are living, but you may be able to grow some of these hard to find ingredients. I grow Thai and regular basil, and many others outside in the spring and summer, and switch over to growing in hydroponics, for the off-season. And some large potted plants that I bring indoors when the cold hits - a curry tree, kaffir lime tree, and bay laurel. Of course, you'll have to find seeds or plants for these things, but again, just about anything can be obtained online.

 

[taxlady]

Ciao and welcome to DC Serx.

I find authentic sounding recipes on the internet. I assume they are authentic when they are posted by people from the country that the cuisine comes from. Lots of people are posting YouTube videos and sharing blogs in English, even though the cuisine is not from an English speaking country. Sometimes the video is in the language that matches the cuisine, but there are English subtitles.