Chinese sandwich buffet
Look throughout the store for ready-to-serve foods
For an Asian spread, offer barbecued pork and roast duck as the main meats, with buns or pancakes to hold the sandwich fillings. (If you’re shopping at a supermarket, buy roast chicken or pork tenderloin and serve the meats sliced, with hoisin sauce and green onions.) Set out a selection of snack foods, dim sum items (purchase them frozen or buy them from a local restaurant), and fresh vegetables. Accompany the menu with imported Asian beer, rice wine or sake, and tea, and finish with cookies or candy. Here are some choices to seek out ― and where in the store to find them.
SNACK ITEMS
On the shelf: Wasabi peas, seaweed rice crackers, roasted watermelon seeds, roasted mixed nuts, and fried peanuts
VEGETABLES
In the refrigerator case: Fresh soybeans ( edamame), kim chee, pickled ginger, and pickled daikon
At the deli counter: Cantonese pickled vegetables, seaweed salad, and soybean-mustard green salad
On the shelf: Canned assorted pickled vegetables, such as onions or mustard greens; baby corn
BREADS
At the deli counter or in the freezer: Sesame buns ( shao bing), steamed rolls, green onion cakes, steamed green onion knots, and Mandarin pancakes (sometimes sold as spring roll wrappers; choose those with a crêpelike texture)
MEATS AND TOFU
In the refrigerator case: Fried tofu puffs (drizzle with Thai sweet hot chili sauce or peanut sauce)
At the deli counter: Barbecued pork ( cha siu), roast pork, ribs, roast duck, soy sauce chicken, and barbecued chicken wings
On the shelf: Sweet dried beef and pork (jerky) and Chinese sausages (may be found in the refrigerator case)
SAUCES AND CONDIMENTS
On the shelf: Hoisin, satay, ponzu, teriyaki, barbecue, plum, and peanut sauces; chili sauces and pastes; and miso and sesame dressings
DUMPLINGS
At the deli counter or in the freezer: Potstickers or gyoza, wontons, spring rolls, steamed meat- or vegetable-filled buns, and steamed seafood and meat dumplings
SWEETS
In the freezer: Mochi ice cream balls; coconut, green tea, or mango ice cream
On the shelf or at the bakery counter: Almond cookies, sponge cakes, sesame or peanut crunch candy, fortune cookies, and candied ginger and coconut
