Food Diaries III
Food, in a visual diary.
Roasted Gochujang Chicken
I buttered a whole chicken up with a mixture of gochujang, olive oil, sesame oil, oregano, and garlic. Let it marinate overnight, stuffed her with garlic, cut up potatoes and sweet potatoes, then let it roast for three hours. The meat was so tender it fell off the bone.
Memorial Day Feast
My parents went to town for Memorial Day 2021. They grilled up sweet peppers, shrimp, chicken kabobs, hot dogs, hamburgers, corn, a fruit salad, and homemade macaroni and cheese. Dessert was a cream cake with strawberries and cupcakes.
Buttered asparagus, bok choy, and green beans.
Is it cheating if this was the side dish for the gochujang chicken? I fried these up with some paprika and it was delicious. I then also make this pickled cucumber salad with apple cider vinegar and arugula, which you can kind of see in the top left of the image. Both dishes were light and refreshing, a nice summer substitute for rice.
The BTS Meal
I’m a former BTS stan, from way back before I gave up on listening to music as a whole. But my mom and I were intrigued by the sauces, so we bought the meal at our local McDonalds. I didn’t like the Sweet Chili sauce, but the Cajun sauce was fire when dipped with the chicken nuggets. Would’ve preferred if they cranked the heat up a bit more, though, and it left a slight burn in your mouth.
Japanese Curry + Iranian Saffron Tahdig
You know you’re turning into an Iranian woman when you start wrapping the lid of your pot in a linen cloth in order to make tahdig. I made the curry with mushrooms, potatoes, onions, and chives + basil from my garden. At the local Korean store, in the Turkish section, we found out that liquid saffron was a thing and then immediately bought it. That’s how I made the rice!
Homemade Udon Noodles + Sauce
I messed these up while cutting them with a knife, and didn’t have enough flour, but these were quite delicious! I made the sauce mixture with soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, basil, ginger, and garlic. Didn’t measure anything, but it turned out quite tasty to dip the noodles in. All in all, I’d recommend this to anyone! Don’t think I can go back to regular noodles again, to be honest. The Italians were onto something.
Spicy Chipotle Veggie Burger with Homemade Fries
We bought the veggie patties and the brioche buns from our local Lidl, and then I just had fun with it from there. I smash avocado onto the patty, which I had melted mozzarella onto while baking, and then spent an hour caramelizing an onion and mushroom mixture. I topped that off with fresh basil from my garden, and then I made homemade fries with sea salt and fresh dill (also from the garden) to top it off.
Couscous + Korean BBQ Chicken
Moroccan and Korean fusion was not something I thought I would be making on this day, but it was what I landed on. I fried eggplant and potatoes in peanut oil, then marinated chicken in Korean BBQ marinade and put that in a pan with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. With a side of ginger and turmeric couscous, topped with fresh mint from my garden, it was the perfect meal. Both my mother and my sister said in unison that it was delicious.
Soltani Kabob @ Shamshiry (VA)
We drove 1.5 hours for this Iranian food, because my father swore up and down that it tasted like the homeland. It was the most tender, juicy kabobs I’ve ever had in my life, and the bread was freshly baked on site. If you’re not much of a meat person would recommend one of the stews, like gheimeh or ghormeh sabzi, but this kabob did indeed live up to the hype. I just wish I was more of a meat person to fully enjoy the greatness of this dish.
