I need to find Thai ingredients near either New Haven or Hartford CT. any ideas?

[amandachef]

I need Thai basil, curry paste, fish sauce, lemongrass etc in the new haven or hartford area??

[mels]

I agree with others, you'd be silly to miss A Dong in West Hartford. It is about the size of a Stop & Shop and should suit all of your Asian food buying needs:

[amandachef]

Thanks for the replies - I am an hour from West Hartford so next time I am in the area I will check it out. For where I am Fromage turns out to be the best place although over-priced. Oh well.

[magiesmom]

A Dong is well worth an hour's drive; it is an afternoon's entertainment

[rubrifolia]

A Dongs in the Shield St shopping center off of New Britain Avenue is like our very own little Asia. Absolutely everything you could want

[ratbuddy]

Appletree on New Park in West Hartford has great produce, and a somewhat recently expanded Asian foods selection. Anyone who's never been should definitely stop in at least once. It's across from the Home Depot/BJ's plaza.

[DonShirer]

Try specialty food shops. Fromage in Old Saybrook carries all of these—that's where I get them. Stop & Shop also has many.

[debvil]

there is a tiny thai market (just changed names/owners) on route 80 on the new haven/east haven line. In the same strip mall as dominos pizza about 1/4 mile east of the aldi. They specialize in thai ingredients.

Hong kong market in New haven is pretty good too.

[magiesmom]

A Dong in West Hartford is a giant comprehensive Asian market, not to be missed.

[AdamD]

THIS

[dfrostnh]

The ingredients that are carried by Market Basket are in addition to the Thai Kitchen ones. I can't remember what brand of fish sauce they have by the seafood dept . It might be the squid brand and that might not be Thai. Maybe once farmers markets start up again in the summer, someone will have Thai basil. It's just as easy to grow as Italian basil. Manchester NH and Nashua each have a large Asian supermarket (Saigon Asia) and the tiny grocery near the Fox Run Mall in Newington/Portsmouth NH has things like fresh limes leaves and turmeric root. I'm surprised there's nothing like that in the Hartford area.

[dfrostnh]

Well, I guess it depends on which Market Basket! I went to a different one near home and there was a much smaller Asian section and no fish sauce, siracha, etc near the seafood dept even though it was a largeer store. Glad others have spoken up with specialty stores in Ct.

[dfrostnh]

You might actually be able to find these in a large local supermarket. Here in Concord NH, Market Basket carries fish sauce, both fresh and tube lemongrass (fresh produce section), and maybe curry paste. The curry paste comes in different flavors - i.e. Massaman, Red, Green, and I've sometimes found the little cans in the foreign food aisle of the health food/food coop store. Thai basil has a nice flavor and is different from Italian basil but you can sub fresh basil. Surprisingly, the fish sauce and some other Asian sauces are near the seafood dept over the frozen shrimp freezer but start looking in the Asian food section of your supermarket.

[amandachef]

Yes I know about the Thai ingredients in the markets and was looking for more authentic from Thailand stuff. I found most if it in New Haven at Hong Kong market and alas did not find Thai basil.
The Thai classes I teach rely on the best products and Thai kitchen is not really right as its Americanized. Anyway, the class is now over and we did well even with Italian basil and had to substitute lime zest for kaffir lime leaves.
Thank you for the input!

[chefstu]

Go to the market on Rt. 80, they have the most varied Thai ingredients and the place is owned now by Thai restaurant owners who could probably get you anything.