Window shopping at pricey Mitsuwa, stocking up at Korean markets

The belly meat of even farmed blue-fin tuna goes for $79.99 a pound at Mitsuwa Marketplace, the Japanese supermarket and food court in Edgewater. The portion shown here is only 1.6 ounces and costs $8. Meanwhile, store-made sushi rolls contained added sugar and some salad dressings I saw listed high-fructose corn syrup as an ingredient.

Wagyu Beef, named for a Japanese cattle breed, is heavily marbled with flavorful fat, and priced at $44.99 a pound.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On my rare visits to one of North Jersey's most expensive supermarkets, I buy cheap sake for cooking and a couple of over-sized cans of Japanese beer.

But I spend most of my time gawking at the ridiculously high prices Mitsuwa Marketplace shoppers pay for what is billed as premium fish and beef.

Anyone who thinks Whole Foods Market is expensive will get a reality check at Mitsuwa.

Over the years, I've splurged at this Japanese supermarket on ices delicately flavored with fruit and mackerel sushi rolls imported from Japan.

On Friday night, I picked up a 1.5-liter bottle of Yaegaki Sake brewed in California ($6.99), a 25-ounce can of Kirin Ichiban 100% malt beer ($2.99) and a 1-liter can of Asahi Super Dry ($3.49).

I briefly contemplated going to my favorite Japanese restaurant, Hiura on Main Street near Anderson Avenue in Fort Lee, with the giant can of Asahi, but then how would I drive home after consuming all that beer?

Mitsuwa Marketplace, 595 River Road, Edgewater; 201-941-9113. America Express credit cards aren't accepted. 

In contrast to Mitsuwa's prices for raw fish and meat, stands in the food court offer complete meals for under $10, above and below, and seating at tables with a view of the Hudson River and upper Manhattan.

Plastic representations of food-court meals look good enough to eat.

Shoppers at Mitsuwa Marketplace have the Hudson, but at H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday, customers found a flooded parking lot entrance full of hidden potholes.

From the Hudson to the Hackensack

At the customer service counter of H Mart in Little Ferry, the young woman apologized for the flooded, potholed parking lot, but said the Korean supermarket chain has no plans to fix it until spring.

I've spoken to other customers who believe the shabby store, which occupies less than half of a large, otherwise empty building near the Hackensack River, will be torn down eventually.

Meanwhile, the store offers some of the best free samples on weekends, making lunch unnecessary.

On Sunday, I tried three or four kinds of fresh and dried fruit, a seafood pancake, cooked octopus slices, green tea noodles and fish cake in hot broth.

I picked up a box of Shin Ramyun, a spicy instant noodle soup, with 16 4.2-ounce portions for $9.99 with a store card, a savings of $7.

Two big heads of leafy baby mustard greens were on sale for 88 cents a pound (regularly $1.69 a pound).

H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry; 201-814-0400.

Arirang Kimchi 

From H Mart in Little Ferry, I drove to Arirang Kimchi in Ridgefield, and purchased a 64-ounce bottle of Mahk or Cabbage Kimchi ($10).

Arirang is in the small H&Y Marketplace shopping center, where I picked up Marinated Tofu ($4.99) and Jun's Wild Sesame Tofu ($5), both made in that Korean supermarket.

Red bell peppers were on sale for 79 cents a pound.

H&Y Marketplace (Han Yang Mart), 1 Remsen Place, Ridgefield; 201-943-7100. Free food samples on weekends.

So Gong Dong, a popular soft-tofu restaurant where a complete meal costs $10, is on the second floor of this Broad Avenue building in Palisades Park. My final stop on Sunday afternoon was to pick up takeout for dinner.

Fruits of my Korean food odyssey at my front door on Sunday.

New at Costco: Fresh troll-caught wild king salmon

Wild-caught king salmon with diced tomatoes, sake and Dijon mustard.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I went looking for more fresh Copper River salmon at Costco Wholesale on Monday and landed a real treat: Fresh troll-caught wild king salmon.

At $14.99 a pound, the king salmon was a dollar more a pound than the fresh wild Copper River sockeye fillets that also were available.

But it's clear these thicker fillets came from a much bigger fish.

The label says, "Product of USA."

I wanted to prepare them with ripe peaches, tomatoes and capers, but couldn't find any peaches at my Hackensack warehouse store.

When I got home, I emptied a can of Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes into a non-stick pan and added several ounces of sake and a little fresh lime juice.

I brought that to a boil to cook off the alcohol, then turned down the flame and added a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, mixing it in well.

I cut the 1.6 pound king salmon fillet into pieces that varied from 2 inches to less than an inch thick, added ground Aleppo pepper, placed them into the pan, covered it and turned the flame to medium.

I cooked the salmon for 8 to 10 minutes.

I removed and ate the thinnest pieces first, spooning sauce over them and adding chopped fresh mint and oregano from the garden.

King salmon with ground Aleppo pepper poaching in a sauce of organic diced tomatoes, sake, lime juice and Dijon mustard.



I wanted to serve the salmon over organic quinoa prepared in an electric rice cooker, but it wasn't ready in time and I had to have the nutty whole grain as a second course covered with diced-tomato sauce from the salmon.

Next time, I'll use less fresh mint or none at all, because the peppery herb tended to distract from the rich taste of the salmon.

Troll-caught signifies the king salmon are caught by small boats trailing as many as 50 lines with hooks, allowing crew members to throw back fish that are too small or which they didn't want to catch.

Great fish section

H Mart in Little Ferry had more than 20 different kinds of whole fish on ice when I visited last night, casting my net for a wholesome dinner.

I picked a two and a half pound fluke ($4.99 a pound) covered in ice and asked the fish monger to clean it and cut it into steaks. Fluke is delicious raw as well as cooked. I've enjoyed fluke shashimi many times as an alternative to tuna, which can have a lot of mercury in it.

I poached my fluke steaks, head and tail in sake, fish sauce, sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce and garlic for 15 to 20 minutes, and served it with steamed rice and okra with diced tomatoes, onion and garlic.

H Mart in Little Ferry also offers fillets from six or seven kinds of fish and although I have usually found them to be fresh, ocean perch fillets I bought last week had seen better days. They cooked up OK, but I will be sticking with whole fish from now on, and if I want fillets, ask the fish monger to cut them from a whole fish.