Sunday, July 19, 2009

school dinnahz~


kimchi fried rice, cucumber and tomato salad with miso dressing, miso soup with tomato.
...well, not quite.

I'm back to living in a concrete box fitted only with one microwave, a gas stove with 2 burners (hardly enough) and very limited benchspace. Did I mention that the kitchen sink is literally just a single metallic depression with no plug for the drain? Yeah, it sucks.

But that's not quite enough to stop me from cooking altogether. There are always ways to work around these obstacles, like better meal planning and mise-en-scene (so no Julie from Masterchef-esque messes!). It does take a bit of adjustment, after 3 weeks of cooking in a kitchen with 5 burners, massive bench space and almost every kitchen utensil and ingredient I want at my fingertips.
It's not so bad. At least there's the freedom to cook (almost) anything I want, as long as it doesn't involve an oven. Or two large saucepans/pans/woks going at the same time.
I had leftover wonton fillings left from last night (which involved making 80 wontons, which are now frozen for those days I just can't be bothered to cook a proper meal) which had to be used in tonight's dinner or else it'd go bad. And letting food go bad is just not something I can allow. Making fried rice is just one way of using it up: other methods include steaming, making meatballs, or stir-fried with thin vermicelli noodles.
Kimchi fried rice
Serves 2
1 garlic clove, minced
A handful of kimchi, chopped roughly
2-3 tbsp leftover wonton filling
1 cup rice
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt, to taste
dash of apple cider vinegar (optional)
sesame oil (not!optional)
sugar, to taste (optional)
Heat vegetable oil in a wok or frypan, then fry off garlic until the aromas are released. Add the leftover filling and saute until just cooked, then add the kimchi and saute. Add rice, and continue to stir-fry until all ingredients are well incorporated. Season with salt, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar to taste. Serve piping hot to hungry souls.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like one hell of a challenge to deal with your current kitchen setup.

    Never thought to use vinegar for fried rice. Is the dish somewhat lacking without its inclusion?

    Though I know you listed sesame oil as optional, for me kimchee fried rice isn't the same without its inclusion.

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  2. @thelonefoodie: yeah, it's definitely a challenge-- but one learns to get by. It's amazing what the amateur cook can live without. XD
    The vinegar was actually a post-cooking addition. Somehow the zing does to the fried rice what a pinch of salt does to caramel.
    And I'll take your word on the sesame oil. ^_~

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