I'm not talking about the kind that is served at a place like this:
(I don't want to bite into an egg roll and see bavarian cream ooze out, nor do I want rainbow sprinkles floating in my wonton soup.)
I'm also not speaking of truly authentic Asian food such as these "1000 year old" eggs:Nor this plate of duck tongue:
No thanks. Just give me a bowl of rice or noodles with some nicely seasoned meat and a fresh veggie or two.
Not being able to afford to eat out at PF Chang's and Pei Wei's several times a week, I have experimented a bit with various recipes with very little good fortune.
Available at local markets are ingredients necessary for Asian delights like these noodles:
Unfortunately, there are no instructions as to how to cook them.
Or if there are, I can't read them.
I think that bottom line in Vietnamese says, "Ha ha ha, just go to the restaurant already!"
I've purchased and prepared many different types of Asian noodles over the years and they just don't turn out right. Some batches have been okay and others have been downright nasty.
I've found there's one product I can always count on:
Now these are instructions I can read:
Actually, I haven't read them in years, but if I ever forget how to boil noodles for three minutes and then drain them, I'll know exactly where to look.
Yes, I realize that these things are virtually void of nutrition, but so is a big bowl of white rice that I could serve instead.
Isn't the main nutritional horror about these orange packets actually the little silver packet hidden inside?That's where all the sodium, mysterious chemicals and most of the fat is contained, right? So if I use only one silver packet for every four packets of noodles then I'm not technically poisoning my family, right?
AND...if I pile a bunch of lean meat and fresh vegetables on top...
...then I'm kinda, sorta nourishing my loved ones, right?
Right?!?!
Yes, I realize that I began this post with the words, "I LOVE good Asian food" and I'm ending it with a confession about how I dish out ramen to the innocents in my care.
Feeling better about yourself yet?
4 comments:
Ed wanted to share that those 1000 year old eggs are delicious if you dip them is a mix of soy sauce and sugar. Personally- I can't get past the smell or the consistency. They are not really THAT old- just soaking in nitrates for a while... weeks....-
FYI-Ed's mom eats ramen too. Nothing to be ashamed of!
Jeanne- Tell Ed he can have my share of the eggs and I'll take his portion of the Mongolian Beef. ;) Oh, and I'm glad to know that a genuine Asian eats ramen, so thanks for the vindication.
One word for you....."Blah!!" LOL!
ok you need to google some PHO soup recipes. I think Elisabeth has one she uses. super yummy and u can use those noodles that u can't read the directions. oh oh better yet google has thingy that you can put in (different languages) words and they loosely translate it for you! John uses it all the time ;-) and thats my piece of advice for the day. Goodnight!
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