Going to market with Mama
by Grace Young
Mama is an expert in the art of selecting (gan). It embarrasses Mama when I say this because she doesn't perceive her expertise as anything special. One of my earliest memories, involves going to market with Mama and watching her choose her produce. As with many Chinese housewives, every ingredient Mama has ever bought has been carefully chosen for beauty (gan langde). Whether it was several pounds of snow peas or a few delicate papayas, each item was individually examined for fragrance, ripeness, and blemishes. If I ever brought borne produce chosen without careful examination, her dismay upon discovering something that was blemished would be palpable.
Partially from my parents' training and partially because I am a food stylist, I, too, am very particular when it comes to fresh produce. I need to look at every fruit and vegetable stand along Canal and Mulberry Streets before I will make my selection. It upsets me to buy mangoes from one stand and then to see riper, more beautiful mangoes two stores down the block. My own perfectionism notwithstanding, it still astounds me how Mama will willingly walk to three or four markets until she finds bean sprouts that meet with her approval - plump, short, and never limp.

As finicky as I think I am, Mama has an altogether higher standard of excellence. She is totally energized by the adventure of shopping for produce. Despite the fact that I am nearly thirty years her junior, I often cannot keep pace with her as she whips in and out of markets on Stockton or Clement Streets, as if on a treasure hunt. In every store she seems to know who the owner is, greeting him, complimenting him on his outstanding produce, while often politely asking him to check his storeroom for specialty items. Every vegetable has criteria that must be met and an equally serious list of what to avoid. Regardless of my admiration of Mama's expertise, she, too, will occasionally buy produce that disappoints her. Perplexed, she will confer with friends, seeking tips and advice, ever ardent to master the art of produce shopping.
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Years ago Mama and Auntie Katheryn used to commiserate on how inferior American produce was compared to Chinese produce. "Everything is grown bigger but is less flavorful." When I was a child, they spoke of fruits and vegetables from China as though they were from a fairy tale. All fruits had a crispness (choy hul) that the Chinese prize -- from plums and peaches to Asian pears which, unlike many American varieties, are soft and without fragrance. In China, most fruits and vegetables are picked before dawn and delivered to the markets early in the morning. Mama and Auntie Katheryn tasted that rare sweetness and crispness of just-harvested produce. Today, the quality of Asian produce available in America has improved tremendously because of the influx of Asian farmers. The variety and quality of produce is a far cry from what was available when we were growing up. In addition, the more exotic vegetables and fruits of China and Thailand, like lotus root, fresh lichees, and durian, are flown in when in season.
Sometimes as we race through the open-air markets, Mama will spot some farm-fresh produce, like bitter melons, that have just been brought out to be sold, and she will linger in front of the stand wanting to buy. I remind her we still have three in the refrigerator, which she is fully aware of, but flawless produce is hard for her to resist. Reluctantly she walks away explaining to me how perfect those bitter melons were -- light colored, fat, yet tapered like the shape of a rat, with the proper thick ridges. "Not," she says, "like the flavorless, skinny, dark green, bitter melons." Still, as particular as she is, she will not shop for anything she feels inexperienced at choosing. Fish and meat are Baba's domain and she will not risk wasting her time buying them. There are also certain vegetables she is less familiar with, like taro root, which she is reluctant to purchase.