Chinese have a truly vast variety of ingredients. Nobody in the world comes close. Japanese and Korean have a mere fraction of their menu. Because, thousands of years ago, the ancient Chinese seers analysed everything in nature and its affect on the human system. NOTHING WAS TABOO. If it could not be used for food, it would be used for medicine. Every plant and animal was documented and categorized in ancient texts according to its qualities and usefulness. And, the roots, stems, branches, twigs, leaves, inner and outer barks and flowers, were micro-studied because different parts of the same plant or tree had completely different properties. BIG JOB. But, back then, life was lived with a sense of awe, admiration and privilege to be human. Their ancient culture was truly profound with respect to understanding unity in complexity.
Back a while, I was mongering in Manhattan Chinatown, and there was a store that could be entered on Elizabeth Street and exited on the next street over going towards the bridge, along Canal Street. I was shocked to see a half butchered aligator. Fricken thing was scary looking, with his massive arm freshly severed off at the shoulder, revealing all the ligaments, bone and fresh, rich red blood. It was probably used more for a medicinal and nutritional dish for asthma.
Back around the early 2000's, when my kids were young and I used to take them and their friends into Flushing, Chinatown to tour the food stores because you would see live animals there waiting to be butchered that you would never see in a local zoo. Wood crates with massive rare types of flat turtles, pigeons, bullfrogs, snakes, reptiles, rare birds. There were almost no restrictions back then. It was a wild scene, and there were many live poultry houses in the area where you pick out your chicken or fowl and they would kill it, defeather it and gut it. They were almost trying to duplicate the famous China wet markets in New York. And, in a Chinese wet market, ANYTHING can be gotten, including, cat, dog, rat, bat, bear, wolf; you name it. Nothing wrong with it. It is just a carry-over from a truly ancient unbroken culture. Back then, the variety of vegetables they carried in Flushing was unbelievable. I could not name 70% of them.
But, Japanese and Korean, tempered by Buddhism, cultivated more simplicity, and it is reflected in the H-Mart style. and, it is a beautiful simplicity.
Some of you might remember, before H-Mart, the much smaller chain in Flushing and Manhattan that served the Korean community was "Sam Bok," and Kwon's on Union Street. The Korean Sam Bok Market on Main Street Flushing became, I believe, the Chinese "Kam Sen" Market, when Flushing was more an equal confluence-- in the early 80's, after the Japanese decided to depart for Fort Lee, New Jersey-- of mostly Korean and Taiwanese culture in the central hub. Soon thereafter came the huge migration from mainland China to Flushing center and the Koreans took up Northern Boulevard right through Queens, into Long Island.
(ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT PUNISHMENT AND HATE MAIL AWAITS ME FOR THIS RANT!!!)