More from the market…


Ok, my latest market hauls are starting to get ridiculous! For what you get for the price I mean, and the freshness and tastiness of the produce. I posted a while back about what US$1 will get you at a market in Saigon and since then, I’ve been more and more overwhelmed at the amazing array of fresh food I can buy at such a great price – this despite the fact my local coffee shop owner insists I’m being totally ripped off!! The other day, I bought the following for the grand total of US$3.50:

  • 4 potatoes
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 5 passionfruit
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 1 green capsicum
  • bunch of shallots
  • bunch of coriander
  • 1 small pumpkin
  • 2 big carrots
  • 1 eggplant
  • 6 limes
  • handful of green beans
  • 1 expertly carved whole pineapple
Most have been devoured already – I roasted most of the vegetables in a dressing (olive oil, balsamic, dijon mustard, garlic, dried thyme/rosemary/basil, salt, Cambodian pepper and a squeeze of lime) and the fruit has mostly been used up in breakfast smoothies. Now why am I sometimes so lazy I order pizza for dinner I wonder…maybe I should print this out and stick it on the fridge!
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5 Responses

  1. one.year.trip August 6, 2009 / 3:13 pm

    I guess my real question is: You trust the vegetables? My travel doctors, and other tales I’ve heard, said you should never eat the vegetables – although I wondered if that was just at restaurants due to handling?

  2. Vivian August 6, 2009 / 4:38 pm

    oh. my. goodness!!! all that produce, for so, so cheap! that’s heavenly! it’s great you’re taking advantage of it. unfortunately, in the northern Asian countries (Japan and SK), fruit and veggies are ridicuously expensive… so I was happy to be back home to enjoy all the cheap options 🙂

  3. A Girl in Asia August 7, 2009 / 2:55 am

    One year trip – oh my god, what?! Of course you can eat vegetables here! (Who do you trust, your doctor or me? I vote me!!). There’s no difference between a vegetable here and a vegetable anywhere else (except it might be fresher and tastier here!). And Vietnam exports alot of its produce grown in the Mekong Delta, so chances are you’ve tried a Vietnamese-grown vege already. You’ll be doing yourself a huge disservice by being to too paranoid about food in Asia, and will miss out on some potentially fantastic meals. FYI – I’ve never once been sick while living in Vietnam! Anyway, I could rant on and on but I think you get the point :-).

    Vivian – yes it must be good to have cheaper options if northern Asia was so expensive!

  4. Ba August 10, 2009 / 4:48 pm

    Veggies are not safe to eat anywhere if you don’t wash them good. Wash them good and enjoy all the vitamins they offer.

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