In my house Sunday’s breakfast and dinner are Thanksgiving meals. On Sunday’s everyone must eat together as a family. Nothing absolutely nothing is better then waking up to the scent of roasting breadfruit in the oven on a Sunday morning. The sweet scent lingers from the kitchen to my bedroom, smothering my nostrils. My mom always cooks ackee and saltfish alongside the breadfruit. I’m salivating at the mouth just thinking of it. I am of Jamaican descent; this is a traditional Jamaican dish. A lot of things can go wrong with this dish; the breadfruit can be bitter or too ripe. I like when it’s partially ripe. The saltfish can be too salty (not boiled in water long enough) or not salty enough (boiled in water too long). This dish is all about precision; everything must be made just right to efficiently compliment all the different flavors.
This has always been my favorite meal because it’s always a special treat. It brings me such joy each time because it’s not something I have everyday. However, on those random Sunday mornings when my mom is up for it, it is a welcomed treat. I don’t think I could ever make it the way she does. I speak of precision but my mom doesn’t use any measuring utensils, she uses her eyes to measure and instinct. She is a cook not a chef. The intoxicating, luxurious smell of ackee and salfish infused with red and green sweet peppers, white onions and other bottled spices as you uncover the pot lid make my stomach weep for more. The mouthwatering aroma of the breadfruit perfumes the air as my dad peels the skin and carves it like a turkey makes me pant like a dog. The polychromatic combination of the breadfruit with ackee and saltfish is appetizing in the display alone.
I remember being served dinner every night by my mother. She would grab the bowl of delicious, hot rice and put a couple spoonfuls of it on my plate, and then she’d get the bowl of salad covered in vinegar and olive oil and put it right next to my rice and than place some nice, tender meat of whatever, chicken, beef or pork and I would enjoy every bit of it. But then staring me down menacingly from across the dinner table, are the wet little lumps drowned in some bubbling, brown liquid. She would grab them and dump a disgusting load of it right on top of everything and I could almost feel my appetite fly right out of me and vanish into thin air. Beans. These dreaded beans are ruining my dinner and ruining my life.
I can’t stand this miniature orbs of pure disgust and evil. If I would guess what beans are made out of, I would say a key ingredient for them are pretty much everything that’s gross and abominable on this planet. And it’s shame they even exist. I love Mexican food. Mexican cuisine is one of my favorite kinds of food in the world. And it’s really a shame that such a great variety of Mexican food is ruined by these repulsive little things. I eat Chipotle like at least once a week and I never ask for beans in my burritos. If I see one bean, even a little drop of bean sauce, on my burrito I will make them take it back and make me a fresh one.
I really can go on forever on my hatred on beans. My father loves them and has always tried to force feed them to me. “They’re filled with iron and protein Ivan” he says. Yeah, I don’t care. If you consider these abominations food and nourishment, then I guess I’m the most malnourished person in the world.
Definitely on the top of my list of worst things ever. Hell is a close second.
If I were to eat one meal for an entire month, it would have to be chirashizushi.
Chirashizushi (ちらし寿司) is one my favorite Japanese meal. Chirashizushi means “scattered sushi”. It is a bowl of sushi (seasoned) rice topped with a variety of sashimi and garnishes. There is no set of ingredients for the toppings, usually it is the chef’s choice. Due to the various toppings, this meal allows you to have more than just one taste, one flavor, and one experience. There is honestly no way, I can describe the oishi-ness (deliciousness) of this meal. You’ll just have to try it for yourself and experience the bowl full of flavor.
I came across this dish while eating at a sushi restaurant with my sister. She ordered the Chirashizushi and when it came, I just didn’t want my shrimp tempura bowl anymore. She explained to me that it is a bowl of seasoned rice with an assortment of sashimi on top. The variety usually consists of salmon, tuna, yellow tail, ikura (salmon roe), eel, and tamago (egg). Based on the size of the bowl, it was obvious that chirashizushi meal is meant for one. Honestly I love sharing food, but sometimes there are just some times when it’s so good, that you just don’t want the experience to ever end. There are some things you just don’t want to share. With this new discovery, I order Chirashizushi whenever I’m in my selfish mood.
As of about a year and a half ago, and many stomach aches/weird ailments/and sleepy days later I discovered that I am gluten intolerant. A blessing in disguise, kind of; with the exception of a weakness for sugar cookies. How could one ever recreate the deliciousness that is a sweet, buttery sugar cookie with anything other than regular old wheat flour? Well, the wonderful folks at Gilbert’s Gourmet Goodies have not only figured it out, but have upped the bet by not only making the most delicious gluten free sugar cookies; they are also nut, dairy, soy, corn, and trans-fat free!
Basically, they are a person with food allergies dream. The only thing they are not, is vegan, as they do contain eggs.
If you happen to be rife with food allergies the way I am, you know that finding an equal (if not more delicious) substitute is a challenge. Even with all the new-found gluten free options seemingly coming out of the woodwork for people who think this is a passing fad (let me assure you, it is not – those of us who truly need to eat gluten free are more excited than we should admit to for these new arrivals), it is not always easy to find one that is delicious! Some are dry, some have a funny texture, some taste absolutely nothing like what they are supposed to be replacing, and some are just downright awful, so when you find one as good as these sugar cookies are you sing a little food song and thank the gluten free gods of the universe that someone was able to figure out how to take a delicious staple and make it allergy acceptable.
For those of you are not as married to sugar cookies as I am, but still can’t have gluten, they also make Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Simply Chocolate, and Double Chocolate Brownie flavors!
Now some people might think of Chinese food as being General Tso’s Chicken and fried rice. I love those dishes but they aren’t your traditional Chinese cuisine. Being raised in the Chinese culture, I grew up eating foods that some people have never heard of in their lives. This is one of them.
This dish is called Churng Fun Udon and words cannot explain how much I love this dish. It is made with thick rice noodles and fish balls smothered in peanut sauce, soy sauce, and hoi sin sauce (another type of soy sauce). Add some hot sauce and you’re in food heaven. There isn’t any magical cooking process and it wont win any style points but its a one of a kind meal. I have asked friends who have been to other parts of the country with Chinatown areas and they have all told me NYC is the only place that serves this delectable dish.
The texture of the noodles are pretty firm to withstand the dredging of the sauces. Scallions and baby shrimps are encapsulated inside the noodles but I prefer mine without those garnishes. I have made an art out of using a fork and picking the shrimps and scallions out of the noodles which just makes the prize even more desirable after the work is done.
A simple dish but it has brought me years of happiness and joy throughout my childhood. As a kid going to daycare, I remember eating this tasty treat before I began my day. It is typically a breakfast food but, now that I am grown, Ive had it for lunch and sometimes even dinner! There would be one main street vendor that everyone went to and the line would be down the block at times! Churng Fun Udon is definitely a hidden gem in the humongous food culture that is Chinese.
Catch the fish, put it in a bucket of salt, let it stay there for 3 days, then soak it and hang it for at least a couple of days and then, voila, it is ready to eat. I know to a non-Russian it may sound quiet weird, eating a basically raw salty fish, but we love this, especially with beer.
I used to do it myself when we had a house on the river. It is fresh, organic home-made food, nothing can be better. My parents send me a bag of dried river fish twice a year, because the fish bought here, even if it is bought in a Russian store, is still different.
This type of activity is very popular where I come from, people even make their living this way. Many fishermen can give you some pieces of advice on that.
You have to watch the flies though and not let them get into the fish, since they can lay eggs inside so that later in may be contaminated with worms. So to avoid this, wrap the gauze around the fish.
Otherwise, it is very healthy and delicious, you should try it if you havent yet.
I don’t believe in being forced to choose between great things. This is why I don’t have a favorite type of cuisine or even a favorite food. Maybe there is a different way to look at this, perhaps from a vehicular stand point.
In warmer weather I will still enjoy soup, although it will probably be a cold one and few and far between. The sunshine, availability of various fresh ripe produce, and access to grilling will make me crave just that- grilled food. Whether you are an Omnivore or have limitations to your dining habits the grill works for just about anyone and anything from salad to seafood to meat.
Another great vehicle is Bread/ Dough. This encompasses Pizza, Sandwiches (Various Bread), Panini, Wraps, Tacos, Burritos, Gyros, Crepes, Tarts and the like. The possibilities are virtually endless. Whether they are served hot, cold, open, closed, folded, rolled, sweet, savory, with various texture (such as crunchy and soft) or not, it is a canvas, a vehicle sure to please and open to any and all cultural interpretations. The fillings will be the varying factor, this vehicle is good year round.
You can lean one way more than another but I definitely encourage a limitless outlook. If you have access to various foods and styles of preparation then try to enjoy them all for their own particular value in your eyes. Today may be chinese take out and tomorrow, crepes with fresh blueberry filling. Why? Because you can enjoy both without having to choose.
