Will I find these ingredients for Asian food in Bolivia?

Hi! I'm a big fan of Thai and Indian cuisine. And I like cooking those foods. I'm moving to Bolivia in November and I'd be happy if someone could tell me if it's possible to find these food items in Bolivia:


-Canned coconut milk
-lime leaves
-lemon grass
-fish sauce used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking
-fresh ginger
-Spices used in Indian cooking
-basmati rice

And do you know if there are some restrictions (concerning food items) to what I'm allowed to bring to the country with me?

Thanks a lot,

-Rebecca

Comments for Will I find these ingredients for Asian food in Bolivia?

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Aug 28, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		Ask Japanese in Bolivia
by: Anonymous

There is a huge Japanese community, many Koreans and Chinese as well, living in Bolivia. You might consider asking them (most of the Japanese and Chinese restaurants are authentic and owned by Japanese and Chinese families). They must be getting it somewhere...
Aug 28, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		oyster sauce and black bean sauce
by: Anonymous

You can find bottled oyster sauce and black bean sauce at Hipermaxi supermarkets. Also in the Okinawa supermarket.
Aug 28, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		availability in Bolivia
by: Anonymous

I check a couple of weeks ago for fish sauce and I could not find any in Santa Cruz after going to about 8 different stores including the Asian specialty store in Los Pozos but it was available at one time, I have not seen lime leaves and further more do not know what they are used for, the rice you wanted is available at IC norte, plenty of coconut milk, and Indian spices. I have found that here in Bolivia if a specific item is not available most of us will find a workable substitute that satisfies the recipe or tatse. If you are completely dead set on using a specific brand or spice you might consider bringing some of your own as I did.
Aug 14, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		You will find some of these ingredients
by: Anonymous

Fresh ginger is available widely, coconut milk can be found in some supermarkets. You may be able to find lemon grass in some of the specialty stores, but maybe you could grow some yourself too. The open markets generally have lots and lots of spices to choose from. They sell them by the gram.
Aug 13, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		There are some good Indian restaurants in Bolivia
by: Anonymous

I'm sure the Indian ingredients must be available somewhere because the Indian restaurants in Bolivia are very authentic and they find them somewhere. Or maybe they import them themselves, in which case maybe they'd be happy to import some for you or sell you some...
Aug 13, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		You can find some of these in Santa Cruz
by: Anonymous

You don't mention which city you will be moving to, but in Santa Cruz there is a big Japanese population and they have a really large supermarket called the Supermercado Okinawa where you can find many of these ingredients. Some of them, such as canned coconut milk, can be found in other supermarkets too. The IC Norte supermarket also has a pretty big section of international foods. They might have some of these things.

Again, this is in Santa Cruz. Not sure which city you'll be in.

Also, more and more Chinese are moving to Bolivia, so I expect more of their ingredients, which may in part be similar to Thai or Vietnamese, may become more available as time goes by.

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