I'm so behind in a couple of my classes, and it's not easy to catch up. The Classical Japanese class is kicking my ass. I'm avoiding doing translation for it right now, but I can't do that for long. Got to get to class in a couple of hours.
Monday's Meals
Breakfast: "perfect" scrambled eggs (3) with chives & sundried tomatoes, two pieces of toast
Lunch: rest of curry with a small helping of mushroom orzo
Dinner: 12 gyoza (did I mention they were the best ever?) and a big salad
Monday's Exercise
Biked SS-UMD and UMD-SS (about 1.5 hours)
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Best Gyoza Ever
I made the best batch of gyoza ever last night. Maybe it was the freshness of the pork, or maybe it was the (too much, I thought after I poured it,) sesame oil, but they were awesome.
Gyoza
While it's boiling, chop up the green onions (mainly the green part is important, not the white part), the ginger, and the garlic.
Once the cabbage has boiled for a minute or two, remove from heat, drain, and rinse with cold water to cool down. Then drain again (I used our new salad spinner).
Add cabbage to bowl with ginger, green onion, and garlic, and then add the meat. There should ultimately be a nice balance of meat and cabbage, with just a little more meat than green stuff.
Add the soy sauce (a glug), sesame oil (less than soy sauce), and rice vinegar (about the same as the oil). Then mix with your hands.
Take as many wrappers as you think you're going to make from the package, and reseal the rest and put them in the fridge.
Set up your filling area with a bowl of water, a plate for the gyoza, a plate with the wrappers, a spoon, and your filling bowl.
Spoon a bit of filling into the center of the wrapper. A heaping teaspoon is all I can usually fit.
Wet your finger with the water and run it along the inner circumference of the wrapper.
Press the wrapper into a bulging semicircle. You should aim to crimp the edge together to form a better seal, like this person has done:
When all the filling is done, it's time to heat up your skillet. The goal is to brown the bottoms and then steam the inside.
Heat the skillet (I used cast iron) on about medium-high. Put sesame oil and maybe a little canola or other vegetable oil in there (not olive oil--it'll smoke).
When hot, add the gyoza in a couple of rows, touching each other. If they fry together, so much the better.
In a few minutes, the bottoms should be nice and brown. When this happens, you can flip them over or not, up to you.
When they are brown on one side, it's time to steam. I hope you have a lid that can cover either the whole skillet or just the gyoza inside it. I used a smaller-than-the-skillet lid that I just rested on the skillet's bottom, around the gyoza.
Pour just enough water onto the hot pan to get things nice and spattery and steamy. Clamp the lid down to make a nice seal. Turn the heat down to low.
After a few minutes, take off the lid and feel a gyoza. The filling inside should be firm and hot.
Remove from the pan. Serve with a dipping sauce of 65% rice vinegar, 30% soy sauce, and 5% hot oil.
Gyoza
- potsticker wrappers (circular, sold frozen or refrigerated, but not the same as wonton wrappers)
- chopped-up cabbage, boiled
- green onion
- a bit of ginger, minced
- a clove of garlic, minced
- ground pork
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- rice vinegar
While it's boiling, chop up the green onions (mainly the green part is important, not the white part), the ginger, and the garlic.
Once the cabbage has boiled for a minute or two, remove from heat, drain, and rinse with cold water to cool down. Then drain again (I used our new salad spinner).
Add cabbage to bowl with ginger, green onion, and garlic, and then add the meat. There should ultimately be a nice balance of meat and cabbage, with just a little more meat than green stuff.
Add the soy sauce (a glug), sesame oil (less than soy sauce), and rice vinegar (about the same as the oil). Then mix with your hands.
Take as many wrappers as you think you're going to make from the package, and reseal the rest and put them in the fridge.
Set up your filling area with a bowl of water, a plate for the gyoza, a plate with the wrappers, a spoon, and your filling bowl.
Spoon a bit of filling into the center of the wrapper. A heaping teaspoon is all I can usually fit.
Wet your finger with the water and run it along the inner circumference of the wrapper.
Press the wrapper into a bulging semicircle. You should aim to crimp the edge together to form a better seal, like this person has done:
When all the filling is done, it's time to heat up your skillet. The goal is to brown the bottoms and then steam the inside.
Heat the skillet (I used cast iron) on about medium-high. Put sesame oil and maybe a little canola or other vegetable oil in there (not olive oil--it'll smoke).
When hot, add the gyoza in a couple of rows, touching each other. If they fry together, so much the better.
In a few minutes, the bottoms should be nice and brown. When this happens, you can flip them over or not, up to you.
When they are brown on one side, it's time to steam. I hope you have a lid that can cover either the whole skillet or just the gyoza inside it. I used a smaller-than-the-skillet lid that I just rested on the skillet's bottom, around the gyoza.
Pour just enough water onto the hot pan to get things nice and spattery and steamy. Clamp the lid down to make a nice seal. Turn the heat down to low.
After a few minutes, take off the lid and feel a gyoza. The filling inside should be firm and hot.
Remove from the pan. Serve with a dipping sauce of 65% rice vinegar, 30% soy sauce, and 5% hot oil.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Interesting Things I Learned Last Week
I'll try and post some interesting nuggets gleaned from my renewed education each week. This is the first post of such nuggets.
- Ironic: The American whaling industry is partly responsible for encouraging America to engage in trade with Japan--having drained the Atlantic of whales, Americans wanted access to Pacific oceans and the oil within them. Now, American whale protectors lambast Japan for its whaling practices and even ram their boats into whaling vessels.
- In German, they call Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally and other such mnemonic devices Eselsbrücke or a "donkey-bridge." Such a more colorful expression than "mnemonic device."
- Japanese Noh theatre is 600 years old. It is called by some "the art of walking." I understand this completely: the way the actors walk is slow, methodical, and really beautiful. I wish this picture of mine did it justice:
- As for Kabuki, the guy with red makeup is the hero, the guy with indigo makeup the villain. Color-coded.
- I found out it's easy to rent Japanese VHS tapes from Daruma Market in Bethesda, but you need to pay $10 to get a member's card. I feel like I'm betraying Hinata, though...
Bored With It
I'm getting a bit bored with detailing all of my meals, so I guess the Readers are, too. (I know my so-called co-blogger is.) I apologize, but I'm not going to stop yet. Knowing I'm going to record and transmit what I eat and do makes me more careful about eating choices and more likely to push myself to exercise.
I guess the only way to keep doing this is if the Hatandcoat blog has more content than just my mastications and physications. Ideally, this would be partially the responsibility of my so-called co-blogger. We all know he's not up to the task. So I'll try to offset these kinds of posts with better content inbetween.
(I should be studying, it's true. Actually, I'm studying while typing this: I'm practicing my listening. I've got a Japanese historical drama on in the background.)
Today's Meals
Breakfast (10:30 am): banana, a bowl of Kashi GOLEAN and fat-free milk
Lunch (2 pm): a biggish bowl of leftover orzo, a biggish bowl of salad w/balsamic vinaigrette
Dinner (7pm): a bowl of half-curry, half-orzo leftovers, one cup of yogurt
Today's Exercise
4:05-4:45 pm: a walk around the 'hood.
UPDATE: HOLY CRAP
I completely forgot to tell you about how I cheated today. I had around 30 Jelly Bellies between Breakfast and Lunch. They were from my roommate, who handed out valentines to me and the others here in the house. I thought about throwing them out or giving them away, but didn't. Instead, I devoured them in about five minutes.
Like Jacques the cleaning shellfish in Finding Nemo, I am ashamed.
I guess the only way to keep doing this is if the Hatandcoat blog has more content than just my mastications and physications. Ideally, this would be partially the responsibility of my so-called co-blogger. We all know he's not up to the task. So I'll try to offset these kinds of posts with better content inbetween.
(I should be studying, it's true. Actually, I'm studying while typing this: I'm practicing my listening. I've got a Japanese historical drama on in the background.)
Today's Meals
Breakfast (10:30 am): banana, a bowl of Kashi GOLEAN and fat-free milk
Lunch (2 pm): a biggish bowl of leftover orzo, a biggish bowl of salad w/balsamic vinaigrette
Dinner (7pm): a bowl of half-curry, half-orzo leftovers, one cup of yogurt
Today's Exercise
4:05-4:45 pm: a walk around the 'hood.
UPDATE: HOLY CRAP
I completely forgot to tell you about how I cheated today. I had around 30 Jelly Bellies between Breakfast and Lunch. They were from my roommate, who handed out valentines to me and the others here in the house. I thought about throwing them out or giving them away, but didn't. Instead, I devoured them in about five minutes.
Like Jacques the cleaning shellfish in Finding Nemo, I am ashamed.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Oozing with Orzo
I slept really well last night. Finally. I woke up and did my taxes. I went to Wegman's (my first trip there). I went to H-mart. I got home, filed my FAFSA, watched the rest of Slings & Arrows, and cooked Creamy Mushroom Orzo. (It's a Rachel Ray recipe from a book I found in my place. It made way more than it claimed to make, and it took a lot longer than 30 minutes. Shame on you, Rachel Ray, shame on you and your EVOO.)
I didn't study at all today, to my shame. Still, got a lot done.
Today's Meals
Breakfast: steel-cut oats with too much maple syrup, two hard-boiled eggs with menmi, about half a cup of grapefruit juice.
Lunch: an assortment of snacks and samples at Wegman's and H-Mart, including:
Today's Exercise
Standing up while cooking?
Walking around supermarkets?
I didn't study at all today, to my shame. Still, got a lot done.
Today's Meals
Breakfast: steel-cut oats with too much maple syrup, two hard-boiled eggs with menmi, about half a cup of grapefruit juice.
Lunch: an assortment of snacks and samples at Wegman's and H-Mart, including:
- a sliver of chocolate bread
- a piece of white bread dipped in swiss-cheezy fondue
- two dolmas
- a couple handfuls of olives
- an unidentified sliver of fish with ketchup and seaweed
- a potsticker
- a bit of fermented veggies
- a fishcake with hot ketchup
- a piece of chocolate manju
Today's Exercise
Standing up while cooking?
Walking around supermarkets?
Friday, February 13, 2009
Sleepy
Long ride today. Weird schedule. Woke up really early to do homework for class, then was late so I took the bus, then after class I went to Bethesda via the Sligo Creek and Georgetown Branch trails, then I biked home. I'm just about ready for sleep.
Today's Meals
Breakfast (7 am): bowl of puffins with skim milk, small handful of almonds, hard-boiled egg with menmi and a little white rice
Lunch (10:45 am): banana, PB&J sandwich, and less than a cup of white rice with ume (plum) & seasoning
Afternoon Snack (4 pm): free samples at Trader Joes: a few berries and a piece of mango, a bite of angelfood cake, half a "Chocolate Decadence" chocolate
Dinner (6:30 pm): biggish bowl of curry-rice, malt glass of grape juice
Today's Exercise
Biked to bus stop: 8 min
Biked UMD-Bethesda: 1.5 hours
Walked around Bethesda: 40 min
Biked Bethesda-SS: 45 min
Today's Meals
Breakfast (7 am): bowl of puffins with skim milk, small handful of almonds, hard-boiled egg with menmi and a little white rice
Lunch (10:45 am): banana, PB&J sandwich, and less than a cup of white rice with ume (plum) & seasoning
Afternoon Snack (4 pm): free samples at Trader Joes: a few berries and a piece of mango, a bite of angelfood cake, half a "Chocolate Decadence" chocolate
Dinner (6:30 pm): biggish bowl of curry-rice, malt glass of grape juice
Today's Exercise
Biked to bus stop: 8 min
Biked UMD-Bethesda: 1.5 hours
Walked around Bethesda: 40 min
Biked Bethesda-SS: 45 min
What I ate yesterday
For one thing I need to make it a habit of grocery shopping. Waaaaaay cheaper. I go to a couple sandwich shops around here stupidly.
Hmm, I can't remember what I ate yesterday. I think I had cereal left in the morning. Yeah, I think I finished that. Maybe not. I was out and picked up tuna fish and bread at cvs for lunch, then realized that I had been depending on my roommate's can opener. She's moving out and has gotten to that portion of her stuff. So, I made a PB&J (I'm still alive). Then later I think I threw together a makeshift meal of some sort. I can't remember. I also had some cereal last night. Oh, and I had some chocolate covered almonds.
I like cooking if I have the time. You know what, no I don't. I do not have the lifestyle of cooking regularly. I find it way too tedious to do it nightly. Maybe it's a habit that I have to adopt. If I take the time to research a recipe and make an event out of cooking and make something for someone and yada, yada, then that's a friggin' blast, but to do it daily - blech. I wish this were the jetsons where I could press some buttons and food would materialize. Or star trek.
Tea. Earl Gray. Hot.
Hmm, I can't remember what I ate yesterday. I think I had cereal left in the morning. Yeah, I think I finished that. Maybe not. I was out and picked up tuna fish and bread at cvs for lunch, then realized that I had been depending on my roommate's can opener. She's moving out and has gotten to that portion of her stuff. So, I made a PB&J (I'm still alive). Then later I think I threw together a makeshift meal of some sort. I can't remember. I also had some cereal last night. Oh, and I had some chocolate covered almonds.
I like cooking if I have the time. You know what, no I don't. I do not have the lifestyle of cooking regularly. I find it way too tedious to do it nightly. Maybe it's a habit that I have to adopt. If I take the time to research a recipe and make an event out of cooking and make something for someone and yada, yada, then that's a friggin' blast, but to do it daily - blech. I wish this were the jetsons where I could press some buttons and food would materialize. Or star trek.
Tea. Earl Gray. Hot.
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