It was a sweltering day in the city yesterday but I had a bee in my bonnet about getting down to Chinatown to score some young ginger. I was so inspired by this post but I despaired of getting my hands on the right ginger, and then a Japanese friend told me the Chinatown street vendors had it. Having lived in close proximity to New York City's Chinatown in my time, I'm quite familiar with how the heat ratchets up its already heady perfume and by midday it was quite ripe. But so were the beautiful tropical fruits!

It's been two years since I was in Asia (remember?) and I yearn to traipse through sultry streets to foreign markets where unknown produce is piled high and the sweet scent of tuberose mingles with those of smoke, sweat and cooking. How amazing it is to feel like a visitor in an exotic land just walking up and down Canal Street. If you've never shopped for mangoes, yellow chives or fresh lychees down there, you must treat yourself to the experience.

The young ginger was the first thing to go into my bag. You can see how its tender golden flesh peeks through ruddy skin that is suprisingly thin and papery. It's much more succulent than older ginger. I can't wait to use it in everything! I may pickle some for this salad.

G is mad for rambutan, the juicy and translucent white fruit hidden beneath a hairy reddish skin. They taste of the tropics, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor not unlike grapes. Inside is a single glossy brown seed that can be eaten raw or cooked, though we never have.

My personal favorite is the fresh lychees, which I love icy cold. The rind is bumpy and leathery—almost reptilian—and the flesh is pale and translucent, much like that of the ramubatan, though the flavor is much sweeter and more floral. For thousands of years lychees were the great favorite of Imperial China. Lie back popping them into your mouth on a summer's eve and feel like a pampered concubine.

Canal Street also has many seafood purveyors and this seems to be a moment for crabs! I was fascinated by the blue-clawed beauties with their egg masses exposed. I never buy anything here any more because the provenance seems very unclear and I have become quite picky about that sort of thing.

I will say that these king crab legs and much of the other seafood looked and smelled very fresh.

I almost always discover something new when I venture into Chinatown. Yesterday, it was these fascinating wax apples (Syzygium samarangense), native to Malaysia and prized all over Asia and India. Transfixed by their lustruous sheen, I bought just one for a taste. (75 cents) It looks like a cross between an apple and a pear but is like neither. Inside it has very crisp, watery flesh that is a bit spongy like a watermelon. It is not sweet but has a pleasantly refreshing quality. I crunched my way through one but didn't buy more.

Jackfruit is actually related to the mulberry family. It bears a light similarity to the very stinky durian but is actually a totally different fruit. Beneath its thick pebbled skin is a starchy, fibrous pulp that tastes something like a banana, pineapple and apple combined. It can be cooked when young, but ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet and is often used in desserts. 

Lots of people were buying cherries, shipped in from California, but I will try to wait for our local ones in July. (If I can bear it.)

I was thrilled to come across a shop selling these dried shrimp. There were several bins of them out front, each holding different sizes of them. I like the ones that are about as big as my thumbnail. They are perfect for green papaya salad and for adding a bit of savory funk to stir-fries and other Southeast Asian dishes.

A vast assortment of greens includes different kinds of spinach, bok choy and watercress, and there are usually gorgeous long beans and herbs.

Bundles of steamed rice and bags of fried tofu are the closest thing you will see to fast food here. I've been known to pop into one of the bakeries for shrimp chips or a rich and filling pork bun, but these days that's not my thing. Too worried about where that pork comes from.

Besides the ginger, I'm most excited about coming across these fresh water chestnuts. Always a fan of the canned variety, I can only imagine these will be crisper and more delicious! It's amazing what you can discover when you venture beyond your usual haunts. Most cities have a Chinatown, so I recommend a visit soon to expand the possibilities in your kitchen. Or at least so you can feast on fresh lychees!