You are a trailblazer!
Thank you! I was happily surprised by the anchovy-horseradish combination. I knew it should work, in theory, but was glad that the theory paid off. I used Beaver horseradish sauce; fresh creamy horseradish should dial it up to 11!
anyone have favorite simple japanese / se asian stuff?
i got a bunch of ramen from the store recently (the fancy 1 dollar a pack kind) and actually emjoying it a lot as a simple i-feel-stressed-this-is-very-simple. got one that was yaki soba too.
i kind of wonder if i can get these things in bulk - seems to be noodles + dried vegs + a powder to put in.
(i swear i’m not a manchild just depressed. been crafting a menu that’s slightly better than take out, been also making sandiwches w/ bagels and having yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast… it’s not the best diet but not the worst + I go out to eat sometimes and get a Big Salad or whatever)
If you add any fresh cut-up veggies to the broth, a little bit of toasted sesame oil just before serving, and a sliced hard boiled egg (or, if you’re ambitious, simmer it with a cracked egg on top until it cooks sunnyside up), you’ve got a passable meal you could even serve to others without feeling embarrassed.
Especially if you keep spring rolls or steamed dumplings in your freezer, and serve them as a first course.
Are those Indomie brand? I love those! Add some bonito flakes and kombu to the broth and top with a poached egg and some steamed veggies and you have a lovely meal!
I’ll second the egg recommendation by @anon67050589 and @anon29537550, but my go-to is a 7-minute steamed egg - just put 1/4" of water in a small sauce pan, get it to the point where it’s lightly simmering (not a full boil) gently place an egg in the center, cover and steam for 7 minutes. With that small amount of water in there, you can just take the whole sauce pan/pot right to the sink and stop the cooking by just running cold water right into the pan. When you’ve got the egg nice and cold, keep the water in the pot and crack the egg and peel underwater. It comes off easily. Then you’ve got a soft-boiled egg.
Go to 9 minutes for an egg with a somewhat solid yolk but not chalky like a hard-boiled egg.
Another great add if you have it is leftover pork chop or chicken cutlet.
Ramen is one of my comfort foods, for hangovers but also for getting food into me when depression makes that difficult. There are times (for me) when quantity-greater-than-zero is more important than quality. After years of my depression leading to overeating, a few years ago it switched to my depression leading to zero appetite or desire to eat. My doctor basically said, it doesn’t matter if you want to eat, you really do have to eat every single day. I think the ‘dumbass’ was implied, or perhaps supplied by my own brain.
A while back, I bought a few in different ramen flavors from the local Asian market, and one was too spicy for my taste. I generally enjoy spicy hot, but this was more than I wanted. So, I added a tablespoon of tahini to the soup, and mixed it in. This might be super-inauthentic, and some folks might find it odd, but it toned down the heat and was really tasty.
Speaking of inauthentic, I’ve also added beans or edamame, to give myself some protein. Eggs are nicer, but one cannot live by carbs alone, so sometimes it’s beans, when there are no eggs.
Fresh yaki soba is very simple to make as well. Just stir fried veg and meat, then add cooked (or fresh) alkaline noodles stir fry those for a bit. Then dump in a bunch of japanese Worcestershire (there’s Yakisoba sauce but it’s basically the same as Tonkatsu and Okinomiyaki sauce), soy sauce and cook that down to coat. Then you can stir in or top with some Japanese mayo when it’s off the heat.
Usual veg are onions, carrots, and cabbage. I’ve been doing brussel sprouts, pea shoots/tendril or snow peas and mushrooms. You can basically use whatever’s around, but cabbage or another green is required. You can use any meat, but I like pork or even bacon best.
Yakitori can be pretty easy and pretty cheap. Just chunks of chicken thigh threaded on skewers. Seasoned with salt and pepper, or brushed with tare while you grill. Tare is usually soy sauce, mirin and sake cooked down. But you can fuck with it all you want, I tend use light beer in place of the sake. Sometimes dry wine and brown sugar or fruit juice in place of the mirin. And I’ll add garlic and scallions.
It’s a little finicky to put together a bunch of the skewers, but it’s not difficult. More busy work.
But I’ve always found that sort of thing helpful when I’m seriously down or crippled by anxiety.
Check out The Ramen Rater for fun instant noodle suggestions. You can get almost everything he mentions on Amazon. A surprising amount of the really good ones are still below a buck a pack. It’s probably more useful than trying to get components in bulk, and lack of variety in food always seems to make depression worse in my experience. Any sort of bleak sameness just seems to bury you deeper.
Nissin and maruchan. There is an Asian market near me w many authentic brands if you have suggestions on ramen or other simple things. (Our population of students leans Chinese/Taiwanese but I guess even in China etc they respect the Japanese know ramen? )
Indomie ® is the brand I like. On Amazon for ~$0.80/pack, in several flavors. The variety pack is a nice option. It does tend to spicy (like Asian spicy) but I like that. It sounds like you describe, noodles plus several packets of chili oil, fried onions, peppers, etc depending on the flavor.
The thing with indomie is that the spicy is it’s own pack, usually a packet of straight up chili paste. So it can be left out if you don’t like spicy.
thanks. i’ll check my local market first because ill pay an extra bit to fuck over bezos
i have been eating a lot of sichuan lately but i think they are holding back on me spice wise. but i’m also having some stomach issues, i actually bought some japan style curry powder but can’t tell from the box if what one serving is sadly
No arguments. We live in a small town, not a lot of options. But I have to say, I would pay a lot more to not fuck Bezos. Mental image I do not need!
i edited my post to “fuck over bevos” to help guide your mind out of the gutter
Powder is at least a couple tablespoons cooked in oil with flour for a pound of meat and about a quart of liquid. But otherwise to taste.
I don’t recommend the powder for making Japanese curry as it’s hard to prevent it from being gritty.
The roux cubes just work better, especially if you doctor them up in various ways. Grated apple or pear, soy sauce, and honey are the basic add ins. But people get into coffee, chocolate, tahini, and other shit.
The curry powder is very good curry powder (and not hot) so its useful for all your curry powder needs.
Where are the frites?
Re: instant noodles
I really hope you used that in a well ventilated place. Charcoal produces cyanide gas when burned. Japanese people have been using small charcoal grills as a home suicide kit for years.