I blogged about this about a year ago, this great Spanish spice called Pimentón, a smoky hot paprika used in Chorizo, but I have become so fond of it, I use it on all sorts of foods. It’s good on beef, chicken, gyoza, eggs–anything you can imagine that could take a hot spice. The problem is getting the right stuff. I first found out about Pimentón when I went to Spain and asked where the taste of Chorizo comes from. I brought back to Japan with me three 175-gram tins of the spice under the La Dalia label, and when I visited the U.S., I found a few other different brands, Chiquilin and La Chinata. But La Dalia beats them easily–much richer flavor.

The problem was, I was not sure how I could get some, especially from Japan. A friend found some pimentón advertised for sale here, but the price was exorbitant. But as my supply dwindles, I started looking on my own–and found a few different ways to get some. I found an import company in Naka-Meguro called Serrano, and they sell it by the 1-kg bag (and I was just in that neighborhood today, before I found out–dang!). They sell the 1 kg bag for ¥4410, which is $10 higher than quoted in other countries, but considering shipping costs, may not be bad at all! The shop will be open through Monday August 9th, then be on vacation through the 15th, and will re-open on the 16th. Alas, I am too tired to trudge back into town again, at least not today, and am going in on the 10th to get my tourist visa and a dental exam, so I might not get to them until after mid-month.

Yahoo’s ChefShop sells it by tins, but I’m not sure how hard or expensive it would be to have them ship it internationally.

And then there’s the company itself, La Dalia, which has an English version of its site. I am asking them if they can ship and if so, how much it will cost. They list international distributors, but the closest is in the Philippines.

I’ll let you know what comes up, what is the best way to get it, and how much it’ll cost.