One-stop shop for chinese ingredients?

[JaneDoe]

A lot of my chinese ingredients (bought before coming to SG) are running out and I need to replenish my cup***. Any tips on a good one-stop shop with every thing so I can do the shopping in one go? I'm in Clementi BTW.
TIA!

[complexbeing]

You will find a lot of Chinese in the HDB heartlands.

[EarthquakePeet]

You best bet will be any of the Fairprice NTUC. I believe there is one by the Clementi MRT station- HDB area. One of the bigger ones is Bukit Timah Plaza. Will have most of what you will need, but no guarantees on the brands that you like.

[JaneDoe]

Hey Pete, tried NTUC Clementi, the range is not very large at all. Been looking in vain for several ingredients, so I'll give the Bt Timah Plaza one a go, forgot about that one, thanks!

[just a thought]

what are you looking for and we might be able to help out?

[Jane Doe]

Ok, here goes:
dark soy
light soy
soy for sashimi and sushi
fish sauce
oyster sauce
veggie stock concentrate msg-free
various dried mushrooms and fungi (wood ear, snow, shiitake, floral)
sesame oil
peanut oil
black vinegar
sweet pickled veggies chinese style
various bean pastes and spice pastes Lee kum kee brand
chili paste sweet
dried chilis sweet
canned stuff of various kinds (baby corn, bamboo, lychees..)
dried seaweed (yeah, I know its japanese)
dried peanuts and cashews
teriyaki marinade
noodles.. (udon, soba, glass, egg)

Hence the request for a one-stop shop so I can shop until I drop!

Question: I have recipes that call for sweet soy and thick soy - are these very different from light/dark soy? Can I substitute something else and get the approx the same taste?

[just a thought]

Sorry but I don't know of a shop that sells all of those things.  Perhaps a shop in Chinatown.  Carrefour and Cold Storage sell some of them but you probably already know that!!

I think the sweet soy sauce may be kecap manis as that it what it says on the bottle I bought.

[all of your ingredients]

can be got at Clementi NTUC.

It's where I shop.

[JaneDoe]

Thank you, will take my list and give NTUC Clementi another go!

Do any westerners out there use kecap manis (sweet soy) and thick soy? Are they very different to regular soy? I'm experimenting with new ingredients from the endless variety I see at supermarkets etc. I add a new one every so often, but these two are completely new to me and I'm chary about buying them for the sake of one recipe that I may or not like. Cup****** are bulging already so space is also a problem.

Would also love to hear about the asian products you could not live without.. help me broaden my horizons please!

[groceries]

All those items can be found in the supermarkets like NTUC, CS, Carrefour, Giant, Liberty and those heartlander stores as they are items commonly used for cooking here.

[Also can can]

I would recommend any supermarket which also has a Japanese food aisle.

Not all NTUCs have an additional Japanese aisle, so a place like Cold Storage is a safer bet because they will have both the Chinese condiments and the Japanese condiments under one roof.

Peanut oil seems to be tricky to find. I tried looking the other day but had no luck.Sorry.

Dark Soy is not as thick as thick soy. Thick soy is a lot more concentrated and we use it for homemade chicken rice.

Sweet soy is indonesian made kicap manis -- we use it with our belinjo nut crackers -- the bitter ones.

Marinades I could not live without are :

- Kee's Black Bean Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Kungpo Sauce and Sesame Oil.

I combine them with chopped up garlic and rub onto pork chops, sear both sides and bake in the oven. Really nice flavour.

[GHM]

Peanut oil = Ground nut oil.  You will be hard pressed to find anywhere in SE Asia that sells rice that also does not sell peanut/ground nut oil!  Ergo you can get it EVERYWHERE.