ANNIE CHUN'S GOURMET FOODS, INC.

The food world has seen an enormous influx of Asian cuisines over the past 10 years alone. We've come a long way from the bland, over-cooked Chinese foods in past decades, unless you are lucky enough to live in a city that has a Chinatown community. There you are always assured to find authentic Chinese foods.

I met Annie Chun (yes, she's a real person!) at this year's Fancy Food Show in New York. She's not only a delightful person, but she is also the ultimate entrepreneur. Born in Seoul, Korea she moved to Northern California in 1976. Her family has a restaurant in San Francisco which she helped to develop and in 1991, she founded Annie Chun's Gourmet Foods, Inc.

Since that time, her business has flourished and the line of foods has expanded to include flavored rice and chow mein noodles. There are four flavors of the Maifun (very thin) rice noodles; Original, Thai Basil, Hunan, and Mushroom/Roasted Garlic. There is also a Pad Thai rice noodle (like fettuccine) in Original and Thai Basil flavors. Rounding out the line are Chow Mein (Udon) noodles in Original and Spinach flavors and Soba noodles which are the traditional Japanese buckwheat noodles. All noodles are made in California.

The sauces however, are what impressed me most about Annie Chun Gourmet Foods. The flavors include: Shiitake Mushroom Sauce which is fat free comes in regular and spicy; Thai Peanut Sauce; Sesame Cilantro Noodle and Salad Dressing which is my favorite so far, Teriyaki in regular and spicy; Lemongrass Herb Marinade and Dressing, and Black Bean Sauces in two flavors - Shiitake Mushroom and Spicy Garlic.

These sauces are so natural tasting, you'll think you made them yourself. They are either low fat or fat free and contain no preservatives so the need to be refrigerated after opening. There are suggested recipes on the bottles themselves, recommending which style of noodle to use for each sauce. In addition there are recipes on their user-friendly informative web site (see top of page for web link).

Annie Chun's Gourmet Foods can be found nationwide in specialty and natural foods stores. Here is a list of retail stores in the Tri-State area:

New York City:
Citarella Fine Foods
Fairway Market
Vinegar Factory
Zabar's
Grace's Marketplace
Jefferson Market
Food Emporium supermarkets (chain-wide)

New Jersey:
Fort Lee -- Cafasso's Fairway Market
Marlton -- Zagara's
Paramus -- Chef Central
Princeton -- Wild Oats
Kings Supermarkets (chain-wide)

Connecticut:
Bristol -- Supernatural
Hamden -- Time and Season
Hartford -- Cheese and Stuff
Waterbury -- La Bonne Epicure Market
Fresh Fields (chain-wide)

The sauce and noodles packaging have recipes printed on them, but just to give you a head start on cooking with these great products, here's a recipe from Annie Chun's Gourmet Foods for Pad Thai Noodles -- a traditional Thai noodle dish.

Pad Thai Noodles

For Sauce

Mix sauce ingredients together to create the Pad Thai Sauce

Garnish:

Heat a wok or a stir fry pan over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, the garlic and the shrimp. Stir fry the shrimp until they are opaque, remove and set aside. Add remaining oil and reduce heat to medium. Pour beaten eggs into the wok and twirl the pan to distribute the egg into a thin sheet of egg. Cook until egg is set. Remove from wok and slice into thin strips. Add sauce and noodles to wok and toss together for 3 minutes until noodles are coated. Return cooked egg, shrimp and add bean sprouts to the wok and toss together with the noodles. Transfer mixture to a serving platter and garnish the noodles with the cilantro, peanuts, scallions and lime wedges. Serves 4.

_{Copyright © 2006 Ann Hall Every, CCP}