The 6th Spice Girl Should be Asian Spice

Asian supermarkets really have it all, don't they? You get great samples, boxes of instant ramen (the good kind), groceries for dirt cheap that make me feel like I'm probably taking advantage of some illegal immigrants somewhere, but most of all there are those hard to find Asian flavorings that you just don't see anywhere else (dried fish shavings anyone?). So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that after a glorious return from the "neighborhood (hey it's just down the street!)" 99 Ranch Asian supermarket this past weekend, Steph, Kevin, and I excitedly decided to put our recent acquisitions to good use immediately and make something with Asian flavors for lunch.

We started with the fresh thick noodles that Kevin had just purchased. And, in the good 'ole cooking from the heart style decided to just let our whim and fancy dictate what else would go in to it. Ultimately, we decided on using chopped garlic, green onions, and white onions to flavor the oil, adding in soy sauce, to make that archetypical "Asian flavor". Sadly, we had decided to forego buying the MSG we saw on the shelves at 99 Ranch, otherwise we could have had an authentic umami experience. We topped the noodles off with some bok choy, bean sprouts, and ground pork fried with various seasonings that we added on whim.

One of the first problems we ran into was opening the soy sauce bottle I had just bought. Kevin, with his arms of STEEL, ripped the little knob that was supposed to open the bottle right off. So, to remedy this, we skewered the plastic through with a chopstick, leaving a small opening. Hence, I was able to feel like a real pro as a shook the upturned bottle of soy sauce vigorously over the meat: BAM! Ya like that, Emeril? Steph was not quite as amused and finished chopsticking the hole in the top of the bottle, making it bigger.

Another problem was the noodles. Poor Kevin and Steph spent what must have been 15 minutes peeling each noodle individually and putting it into the pan. Steph's suggestion of putting water on the noodles first fell on deaf ears, and the two continued their laborious task. It was decided that little kids would probably enjoy the process. Isn't this how justifications for indentured servitude always begin? Alas, the noodles that were so meticulously separated STILL happened to stick together during the frying process. Interviewed after the fact, Kevin only commented that he used to cook on the streets and it got so competitive that one time he saw a guy get so angry he threw a wok and it went through his friend's heart and he died at the sink. Leung added, "Say Queensbridge, ey!"

In the end, the noodles turned out wonderfully. We were worried with the lack of salt available to us that seasoning would be a problem, but the dish was quite flavorful. The noodles were a great texture and took in oil and spice well despite sticking, and the pork really added good taste. Altogether I think it was a massive success. And, of course, what was most important, was that the three of us were able to all get together and whip something up together. Our ability to step over racial boundaries (Chinese, Singaporean, Canadian) and just cook some good Asian food was really commendable in my eyes. Next time, I might even suggest we get some Japanese and Korean friends in on it!