Columbus markets satisfy taste for non-Western cuisine

Fort Benning, more than any other institution, has had a cosmopolitan effect on food in Columbus. Soldiers who’ve served all over the world bring back tastes they hope to satisfy here. Immigration has had the same effect, especially from Latin America and Korea.

The choices include Southeast Asian — Korean, Vietnamese and Thai — as well as West African, Indian, and Latin American in mom-and-pop stores where Spanish is the first language.

Here as elsewhere, cooks who aspire to prepare non-Western cuisine struggle to find authentic ingredients.

That’s no longer a problem in Columbus.

From the large, chain supermarkets to the mom-and-pop ethnic shops, ingredients abound. Whether it’s fresh vegetables, dry ingredients, prepared flavorings or frozen, it’s available for Asian, Indian, Latin American and African cuisine.

Here’s a quick rundown, developed for the travel site, 36hoursinColumbus.com:

African

Emerich African and Tropical Market, 2038 Fort Benning Road, features mostly dry ingredients for the West Africa cuisine of its owner, Nana Appiah. Up and down the aisles are flours, beans, seeds, oils, spices and seasonings typical of home-cooked food in Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and other West Africa countries.

Ask Appiah to describe how people from Ghana, her home, make a drink from dried hibiscus flowers, Vimto, and strawberry flavoring. Appiah, who has run the grocery for seven years, also owns the restaurant next door, Normita’s. Try the goat soup.

Asian

Kap Kim’s Oriental Food & Gift store, 3656 Buena Vista Road, is a 30-year-old, full-service market supporting all Southeast Asian cuisine. You’ll find rows of dry, fresh and frozen ingredients, sourced from Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam. More than 30 percent of the store’s customers are Korean, Kim says, and the store caters to them.

Options abound for Korea’s national staple, kimchi. You’ll find earthenware jars (jahng dak in Korean) with lids as small as 12 liters, as large as 35. Fresh vegetables typical for kimchi — cabbage, radish, bean sprouts. And the flavorings, too: salt, red-pepper powders, ginger, chilies. Once mixed, kimchi is fermented for a week. Short on time? Mr. Kim has several prepared kimchis in the refrigerated case — his biggest seller. Mr. Kim’s seafood is frozen.

Want fresh? Squid, prawns, king fish and lobster are offered at SMART market, 1901 Manchester Expressway. The live lobsters, swimming in three tanks, typically sell for less than $10 — about a third less than the supermarkets. Live fish swim in tanks beneath the lobsters. Check by phone for what is fresh that day.

Indian

Sai Indian Grocers, 6381 Milgen Road, is the city’s long-established market for dry, fresh and frozen ingredients. Deep and Swad brands dominate. Extensive, targeted selection of fresh vegetables. You’ll find flours, rice and lentils. Dried spices. Prepared flavorings like tamarinds, masalas and pickles. Oils and butters.

Ria’s Ethnic Foods, 4848 Warm Springs Road, opened in late 2014, by Ann Rewatker, and is adding a dimension: lunch and catering. The focus is fresh, dry and frozen ingredients supporting north India cuisine. Also, after-school snacks. Like Sai’s, Deep and Swad brands dominate. Like on Facebook for updates on what’s fresh today, what’s new in the store. “We’ll get whatever people ask for,” a clerk said. Its newest attraction is a lunch-time café, with a different full meal on offer every day. The menu is at www.riasindiancafe.com. Catering, too.

Latin American

Super Mercado Las Americas, 4101 Hamilton Road, is a brightly lit, 10,000 square foot, full-service supermarket. Fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh fish and meat are offered. Of note are the selection of dried beans and rice, fresh tortillas and baked tostados. Ten varieties of cheese, both hard and fresh. The display of Mi Costenita-brand spices, dried chilies and edible flowers is the most-complete in Columbus: 150 different selections.

As the name implies, the store serves a range of Latin American tastes — not just Mexican — including family and household needs. Note, for example, the boys and girls soccer cleats sporting Honduran and Salvadorian colors. A family-style restaurant in the back attracts a strong lunch business.

Another choice is Brito’s Market, 2025 S. Lumpkin Road, a long-established, full-service market for Mexican cuisine. Note the selection of Tamilera steamers, indispensable for making tamales.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Columbus markets satisfy taste for non-Western cuisine."