Sunday, November 19, 2006

business time continues

i'm not really sure how i managed it, but i somehow haven't been to the market in 2 weeks. note all the instances of kimchee. just.. two more weeks to go.. gah! super-crunch time = more strange semi instant food concoctions.

on top of rice: some prepared marinated kelp bowties from 99, some kimchee, some ong choi (hollow heart vegetable) i stirfried with fermented shrimp paste and garlic.

20061031_0112

yeah, so i don't really care about presentation, and i like all my foods to be separated, so uh, it always looks bad. i bought this chicken from costco who lasted me almost a week in several reincarnations. ah, the dear soul. this was her first appearance at the dinner table. that grey mass is eggplant sauteed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a pizza packet of red pepper flakes, and garlic. not much to look at, but it was tasty.

20061103_0113

i got hungry.. so i decided to have a midnight "snack" of that poor rotisserie chicken, kimchee, stircooked lotus root, and yu xiang egglant.

20061109_0116

a meal made with leftovers. a previously frozen peach bun from someone's wedding. and some more kimchee. i have a large jar of it, and must consume it so it stops stinking up the fridge for the roomies. also needed some more veggies. kimchee's a veg! kind of. see The ABC's post. that goopy vegetable stuff had gai lan in it. i was very disappointed though.. limp and overcooked. and in goopy sauce! i hate goopy sauces!

20061113_0118

gai lan.. chinese broccoli.. is my favorite vegetable of all time. sliced into scallop egg white fried rice and just plain boiled/pan cooked with a dribble of oyster sauce on top is the best. regular broccoli stems taste a bit like it. it's almost never on sale though =(

20061114_0120

i stayed up most the night studying for exams. bad, i know. anyhoo, i finally went home in the morning to eat breakfast which consisted of coffee, some multigrain hot cereal, and a tin of smoked herrings before leaving immediately for school again to take a test. that's right. herrings. don't think i drank much of the coffee, but it was nice to have around smelling good and warm even though those tiny little pull-out desks barely have room for a sheet of paper. a cup of coffee is like my security blanket during crunch-time in class.

20061116_0126

udon, gai lan with oyster sauce, kimchee, and some frozen bourbon chicken my roomate didn't like. mmm.. free protein... this was actually my second dinner that night. i'd had a can of chef boyardee beef ravioli (mm.. reminds me of elementary school hot lunches) an hour earlier b/c i was HUUUNGGRRRRYYY at school. i keep all sorts of instant food in my locker just in case, along with a can opener. i think there's also half a dozen bagels in there right now...

20061117_0127

it's the biscuit stick man! this guy, and his band of gun-slinging brothers, traveled all the way from Hong Kong to get eaten by me. the japanese says.. bisuketto! i cannot read the chinese, alas.

20061117_0128

my teeth (and dignity) hurt

i've always wondered what Grapenuts cereal was like. so i bought a box of generic Nutty Nuggets right next to it on the shelf. the name was a warning. it was health-packed, but it tasted like cardboard and reminded me of super extra hard bread crumbs. even BBQ sauce failed to make it better. i'm not quite sure what to do with them now. i wonder if it'll work in meatloaf? or perhaps i'll feed the birds..

20061022_0084

fried rice with lap cheong, broccoli, eggs, green onions. it's brown 'cause i used lotsa that thick sweet soy sauce.

20061023_0085

udon, cabbage, and a fried egg.

20061024_0086

part of a dried preserved duck leg that i reconstituted in the rice pot.

20061027_0087

more ong-choi (insert boring picture here)

egg flower soup. 2 eggs whisked into my boiling soup. my standard 1 can chicken stock, 1 can ceramed corn, 1 can water recipe with a bit of corn starch for the thickener. top with green onions (not shown).

20061028_0088

i usually only eat it at home, 'cause i can't finish it fast enough, but i hadn't been home for months so i'd been craving roast duck for weeks. positively dreaming about it. ok, never ever ever ever go to sam woo in san diego for roast meats ever again. i went tehre to get my duck when i went grocery shopping b/c it was convenient. they have horrible service. first, the roast-mastah wouldn't let me get the duck i wanted, then he berated me for only ordering half of a duck, and as a final insult, he skimped and didn't give me the whole half a duck! i didn't notice the last insult until i went home and found that there were no parts above the shoulder. when i was there too, i wasn't watching carefully enough... he had another duck on his chopping board so i thought some of the pieces were someone else's. i'm pretty sure he did it was because i was young or thought i was some spoiled rich kid. b*****d. however, the quacker was tasty.

20061030_0097