WRITING CULTURE 2012: Film, Food & Beyond

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!

Credit to LauHound.com

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.