Holy shit, this blog has gotten fucking boring lately! Seriously, what's going on? Isn't this supposed to be an APA parenting blog? A few of these posts could have been written by white people! I'm almost tempted to start posting photos of my cat and telling all of you what I had for breakfast (FYI...I fucking hate cats and breakfast was a Egg McMuffin. Boo yah!)
Just kidding, friends. In all seriousness, there seems to be a lot of ennui in the blogosphere lately. People don't seem to be blogging or commenting as much anywhere these days. Hell, I know I'm just as guilty as anyone. The truth is that life has been kicking my ass lately. I've been busy with work, traveling, and family. Stress levels are running high. Plus, my beloved Mets lost so I'm REALLY in a funk now.
But you want to know what cheered me up immensely today?
I discovered a restaurant called The Noodle Bar in New York. It's a tiny little place decorated like a Chinese grocery store. They tend to be one of those multi-Asian premises that serve up everything from Korean bibimbop to Vietnamese rice noodles to Singaporean curry. Normally, I hate these types of restaurants because, while I appreciate their broad selections, I find them to be completely lacking in authenticity. However, when it comes to the Noodle Bar, I'm willing to make a great exception. Why?
Because they offer a Spam and kimchi sandwich!
How awesome is that? As I've mentioned before, this was basically the sandwich of my youth. There were few things I liked better than frying up some spam, slicing up some kimchi, and slapping the whole thing together on two slices of Wonder Bread. It was a six year old kid's version of Asian fusion. Yet, it was also more than that. In a way, it represented being caught between two cultures and incorporation the best of both of them. That's partly why I have such a deep and nostalgic love for the Spam and Kimchi sandwich. I STILL eat them every once in awhile.
How about all of you? Ever invent any fusion foods? Are there any Western-Asian amalgamation foods that you or your parents make? Or alternatively, what single ethnic or Asian food dish reminds you of home?
27 comments:
Dude...invented fusion dish? Check (I should put it on my resume):
http://thelotuslife.blogspot.com/2006/08/mmmmkielbasa.html
Oh man, why can't I have a restaurant like that where I live? We eat spam here. DH family is from Hawai'i, so thankfully he likes spam too.
three words:
"kimchee on everything".
when i was a kid, my (older) brother would trick me into making him something to eat by complimenting my culinary abilities . . . hence, the birth of the fried bologna, fried egg and kimchee on toast sandwich! (*when frying a round of bologna, always make 2 or 3 slits along the edges or you get this weird sombero hat thing going on . . . )
Angie...I've had the bologna & kimchi sandwich many times before but adding the fried egg? Absolutely genius! Can't wait to try it out.
You really haven't lived until you've put the following between two slices of freshly toasted wheat bread:
-bulgogi
-sangchu (romaine lettuce)
-kimchee
I also used to put an egg inside the sandwich, but then, I realized I wanted to live past the age of 25.
MetroDad, great blog. Thanks for keeping me from going insane at work.
Angie's comment about bologna and making slits at the edges brings back memories. hehe I haven't eaten bologna since I was a kid.
It's not really fusion, but as a kid I always had a furikake egg omelet in my bento on field trips.
With shoyu of course!
I'm Filipino, so didn't get to try kimchee 'til I was an adult, but as a kid afterschool, I'd slice a hotdog lengthwise, fry it up in a pan, then eat it with rice - *cold* rice, yum! I think I might have even fried up some bologna. These days, I love eggs and rice sprinkled with furikake. Or eggs/rice with dried anchovies and spicy Indonesian sambal. :-9
Spam in 1/4" slices, fried until the outside is crispy alongside some sliced tomatoes and white sticky steamed rice along with some bagoong. Yum! Or the fried spam with an egg over easy on the rice? Even yummier!
I like KFC with rice and ketchup as well as chili with rice and cucumbers. Although not authenic, the chowmein sandwich found in Rhode Island is fusion food-- twice the carbs twice the fun!
oh and quesadilla with red rooster chile garlic sauce yum!
Oh, lest I forget, spam fried with ketchup people. You have not LIVED you lovers of spam, until you have fried it with a bit of ketchup and eaten it over rice. The ketchup along with all the grease, I mean, spam drippings ends up making this very interesting sweet and sourish sauce. I'm sure this combo would be even better with kim chi (that's the viet spelling yo). Heck, any asian pickled veggie will do.
that sounds nasty, in all honesty.
Actually, it IS nasty if you think about how unhealthy it is, but that's spam in general for you. And by fried, I actually mean cooked in a non-stick pan without any oil as the spam provides all the fat you could possibly need.
doesnt lotteria also have kim chi in the bulgogi burger?
btw, my fave noodle spots in NY are sobaya (that buckwheat beer is A++++) and momofuku. check them out.
even though i will probably be shunned from the blogosphere i feel i have to admit this...
*deep breath*
i HATE spam. gawd, that stuff makes me want to hurl.
there. i said it. it's out there. can't take it back. but i'm not done...
i prefer vienna sausage to spam. yup, those gelatinous cylinders of meat haunt my gastronomical dreams...
i know. i know... it's been nice knowing y'all... see ya around...
Spam is frickin' awesome. I'm Taiwanese, but I love Spam musubi. Wish I invented it.
In true Chinese fashion, I grew up eating halved avocados with soy sauce poured in after the seed is removed. Just scoop some fresh avocado mixed with soy sauce with a spoon and eat. Yummy! My parents taught me how to eat it that way. Many people gasp at the concept, but it really is delicious. We had an avocado tree growing up so we ate it all the time. Try it! :)
Also, my Mom likes to make spaghetti sauce chock full of sweet onions, mushrooms, and ground beef. But she'd serve it on a bed of hot white rice. I liked it better than pasta.
Looking forward to trying the Spam and kimchi sandwich!
Superha,
Love to eat avocados that way. I eat a couple a week. The Mister likes to add sugar, but I don't like it that way.
Hey Anonymous!
You are right. Lotteria does have kim chi in the bulgogi burger. I don't know if it's because those burgers sit under the heat lamps for hours or what, but I've never been able to get used to them.
Sobaya and Momofuku are two of my favorites here. Clearly, you know your stuff. Have you ever been to Honmura An or SobaKoh. Also great.
Go immediately to Okidog in LA and scarf to your heart's content!
A friend of mine made foie gras potstickers for Cafe Majestic in SF several years ago. They were pretty awesome in my opinion.
I've made 'chow mein' with spagetti noodles and also made 'spagetti and meatballs' with ramen noodles. Does that count?
It's been awhile, but I use to love eating spam and vienna sausages mixed up with fried eggs and rice.
Sorry, gotta back up the 'spam scares me' post. I did drive past the SPAM museum in Minnesota...but that probably doesn't count.
Before marrying an Asian I enjoyed putting sliced apples in my stir fry dishes. It's too much fushion for him, so I've had to cut back on the fruit. For my youthful white girl fushion I loved Miracle Whip on toasted bagels.
Newbie Dad...anyone who makes foie gras potstickers is a man after my own heart. That's absolutely brilliant!
i grew up eating avocado that way. My mom makes nori(seaweed) wrapped avocado slices dipped in wasabi soy sauce. They are good!
Fried bologna, fried Spam slices or fried canned corned beef hash with ketchup soy sauce are good too. You need to cook some more after pouring ketchup soy sauce mixture over your choice of fried meat product. (This sauce is good for thinly sliced beef or pork too.) I used to eat them over white rice, or between white bread. It's good with baguette or rice balls.
Fried bologna is a multicultural kid cuisine within United States. My husband is white and he used to eat fried bologna.
Check this out, you Spam lovers:
http://clairelight.typepad.com/atlast/2006/03/spammaps.html
;)
foods that remind me of home: fried spam, white steamed rice, and kimchi...
eating dried fish or squid with honey roasted peanuts...gots to have your salty and sweet together...
Ooooh ... I've had spam sandwiches (grew up in Hawaii) before but I've never threw some kimchi on it. Sounds yummy!
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