Good Eats # 2

Alright....well I'm going to smack you and your momma upside the head with ton of food pics. Today's post should really be subtitled, "Use Your Noodle"

So- what do you get to see today.

We are going to start out with some Dan Dan Mien. Picture #1. It is one of my favorite dishes here. Long long long long long long long long noodles. It reminds me of Ramen Noodles but homemade and delicious. Yes- for those of you out there- that is ground beef on top. But I scoop it off and give to my neighbor. There is a healthy helping of cilantro and hot crushed pepper. Today's version was actually a little too hot- so spicy it made your lips burn. 

Which was OK because I had some of Nana's Tomato Egg Soup Mien. Yummy yummy. A blander soup. I have had better versions then the one we got today. But you get the idea. Vegetable broth. Chunks of scrambled egg and tomato quarters and long long noodles.  Usually a little salty.

Picture #3 Korean hot stone noodles. Everything is served on a black stone that has been heated up. The food cooks in front of you. I'm a noodle person- what can I say. The noodles sizzle and cook in bright red, slightly-spicy sauce. It also has carrots and other vegetables cut into. It sizzles as you eat. And you counter-intuitively use metal chop sticks. Which when left on the side get REALLY hot. They have plate versions (what your seeing in my picture) and deep bowls filled with rice.

A note on using Chop Stick- there are lots of versions and variations. Some work better for certain things- others not so much. Most of the cheap chop sticks are bamboo. You split them yourself when you pull them out of the package. Now their are long versions (9 inches) which is considered Chinese version of chop sticks. Then there are shorter, slimmer versions which are Japanese style chop sticks. Nice establishments usually provide you with lacquered wooden chop sticks. They are a little slippery and can make eating noodles not so fun. Then there are Korean chop sticks which are metal and by FAR the most complicated to use. You have no traction for eating your food. Kid's don't start learning to eat with chop sticks till they are 4-5 years old. Before that they JUST use a spoon. No forks. One of my co-workers admitted at an Italian restaurant the other day that she didn't know how to use a fork to eat noodles. I laughed for a moment- remembering my constant struggle with noodles and chopsticks. Chopsticks, according to the Chinese, are more refined then stabbing (and disrespecting) your food.

So. Finally. I will close with a delicious breakfast 'pancake.' I say 'pancake' because thats what they call it- but it doesn't resemble our pancake. The pancake is filled with spice and sausage and lightly fried. And good god. It's like heaven. Savory, slightly salty, buttery. Mmmmm. Also one of the spices is rosemary! My favorite!!!!

So I hope you enjoyed this entry into Good Eats. Sorry Sarah, I'll try to take a break from posting pictures of yummy food.