Yoso-nosey: You Are What You Eat Meme

yoso-silly

You are what you eat. Now how many times have I heard that? Hundreds? Thousands? And in what context? I’d guess, until my interest in food, I’d heard that phrase used when someone, or some group was attempting to influence eating habits. Nowadays, in the ever growing "Foodie-verse", rarely does a day go by when I don’t read the Brillat-Savarin quote:

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."

Now that I’ve been tagged by Alan of Ma’ona, I thought I’d best get this done before the New Year. In case you’re interested, here’s Alan’s list.

So what do those food items that I "can’t live without" say about me? Hmmmmm…..

10 – Oysters: I never really had live, fresh oysters growing up. And even as an adult; I enjoyed Memeoyster02_1 fried oysters, or even a "bag" of fresh oysters on the grill, as soon as the oyster "opened up" you’d flavor it with Tabasco and soy sauce and eat those babies. A whole new world opened up with a trip to Seattle in the early 90’s. I ended up at a restaurant on Elliot Bay, and sat down in the bar. I saw a list of various oysters at the Raw Bar; I picked a dozen, and kept on going….. These days, if I step into a Raw Bar, and the oysters meet my approval, I’ll end up eating them with just a minute bit of lemon juice. To me, it’s both, the texture and most importantly, the aftertaste that "makes" the oyster.

9 – Yogurt:Boring, I know. But it’s my usual breakfast, and has been for decades. It seems that I’ll never get tired of yogurt. I usually enjoy plain yogurt the most.

8 – Mushrooms: I guess you could say this "Fun Guy", loves his Fungi! Memeshroom Growing up in Hawaii, the only mushrooms I knew either came in a can or were dried. I remember having dinner back in the early 80’s(that 1980’s, ok!) in a restaurant; if I can recall it was called The Bistro, or something like that, and in addition to the wonderful Escargot, we had Basic Sauteed Mushrooms. Talk about an epiphany! I’d never had fresh mushrooms before. Soon after fresh white mushrooms became available in local Supermarkets, and Crimini and Portobello soon followed.

7- Chinese Dumplings: Memedumplings01 This is a rather new obsession; nay, more of a craving. I’ve loved "potstickers" ever since I first had them at a restaurant called King Tsin on Young Street. But my true love of "Jiaozi" started when my Mother In Law first made them! We had lunch at King Tsin; and she realized that I enjoyed dumplings. The following day she made me the first dozen homemade Jiaozi, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I learned that fresh(like made 5 minutes ago) Jiaozi should be eaten boiled(water-dumplings), and I agree. It’s gotten to the point where when my In-Laws visit, they’ll make 4-5 hundred(yes, hundred) dumplings with various fillings, which we’ll freeze. When rather fresh, we’ll eat boiled. As time goes by we’ll eat them fried. BTW, the Missus also makes great Jiaozi, but is semi-retired from dumpling making. Occasionally coming out of retirement.

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6 – Soy Based Products: Hey, I’m of Japanese ancestry, I can’t live without it!Memegarlic

5 – Garlic, Onions, & Chilies: This is my cooking "trinity". I usually manage to sneak these into most dishes. I have to show alot of restraint with regards to garlic. I’ve always believed that if 1 clove is required, 5 cloves is better. I love pickled garlic; roasted garlic, you name it. A Gal I knew, who was from Korea, while watching me eating Kim Chee Garlic & Garlic shoots tell me, "Kirk, you know they say that garlic extends your life. If that is true, you’ll live forever!" As for onions, I’ve always loved them. I especially love Maui and good Walla Walla onions. As an example; a few years back I was shopping at I think Bristol Farms in Pasadena. There was a "Guy" in the produce department, showing people "produce", and he had Walla Walla’s on his little table. As I passed by he told me Memeonion01 how sweet the onions were. He had caramelized onions, and some other items. I told Him, "okay, let me taste a slice". He handed me some caramelized onions on a slice of baguette. I said "No, cut me a slice of onion". I’m assuming he thought I was going to check out the aroma or something of that sort. You should have seen the look on his face when I ate the entire slice of onion, and told Him "Not bad, but too much acid, much too bitter, Maui onions are still better." Chilies are a recent addition. Funny thing is my Parents really couldn’t tolerate spicy food real well.

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4- Chicken & Duck: I don’t think I need to say much about this. Memefish01

3 – Deep Sea and Bottom Fish: For those who really want to understand the types of fish I’m writing about, here’s a link. Basically, the type of fishes I grew up eating. So give it to me as Poke’, Sashimi, Sushi, or Seared. But please do not cook to a dry, flavorless mess! You can just pop a can of tuna for that.

Memefish02

2 – Plate Lunches: I’ve come to limit myself to one maybe every 2 weeks or so. But still, the first thing I do when I get back "home", almost as soon as I get off the plane, is grab a plate lunch. I have my favorites; as everybody "back home" does. But to me, nothing represents "home", as much as a plate lunch does.

Memeplate01

1 – Rice: Memerice Though I’ve tried to "wean" myself off of eating rice 3 times a day, I still need to have rice at least once every 3 days. There’s no doubt, I was born eating rice, and I’ll go out eating rice.

In the middle of writing this, I suddenly realized; if you are what you eat…then I’m a very pungent, milky, earthy, starchy, person…..ummmm, maybe I shouldn’t have done this!

For those who feared that some "meat product" would be part of this post. Well, let me satisfy you:

Memespam

Thanks Alan, for me, this was an interesting and fun post!

Who am I tagging? It seems I keep tagging the same people over and over. So for a change; let’s tag some of my more recent favorites – Passionate Eater, AKA "PE", Dylan of Eat, Drink, & Be Merry, and Barbara of Tigers & Strawberries. Can’t wait to see what these lists will be like!

33 comments

  1. hi kirk! in that second to the last photo, are you trying to tell us that the mmm-yoso food pyramid consists of rice, rice, and mmm-rice? 😉
    happy holidays to you and your family, and have a wonderful new year!

  2. Nice meme! I totally agree with you about the garlic. If the recipe calls for a clove, I throw in a whole head! My Italian friend in high school showed me how to make a super simple pasta where you slice a tonne of garlic, fry them in some olive oil until they’re almost golden, and then throw that over spaghetti with a little parmesean. Easy, yummy, and filling!
    If I can get my act together, I’m going to Japan tomorrow. I’ll eat lots of sushi and shoyu and gyoza for you!
    UGH on the oysters, btw!

  3. Love your meme kirk!! Especially like how you illustrated your point with photos 🙂 I guess reading from your previous posts, I gather plate lunches are those set type meals with rice, meat and sometimes macaroni salad things?
    Good to see that you have your veggies (mushrooms) and calcium (yogurt) in there !! And I totally agree with you about dumplings. I have made some but I dislike messes with the food processor (was given a giant one for our wedding) so I haven’t made any fresh ones in ages. I feel that dumplings are a complete food ! They have meat, veg and carbs all rolled in one convenient tasty package. Hence, they should be at the bottom of the dietitians supposed “food pyramid”.
    BTW I think if you are what you eat, then you kirk, are vibrant, tasty,colourful, spicy, multicultural and well-balanced.

  4. Rachel! You are SO SWEET! ::grins at Kirk:: I think she hit it on the nose pretty much. By the by, why on earth would you use a food processor for dumplings? Aren’t onions, garlic, and chilies veggies as well? We Spainiards have a saying “One can live without onions, but not so well”. I guess that is cross cultural wisdom for Asians. Although you would be surprised how many Americans don’t even have an onion in their home.
    I liked that website Kirk, though it seemed only the “tuna” section worked for me. Not sure why. Maybe it’s just learning curve on my part. =o)

  5. Hi santos – Happy New Year to you! You’ve just described why I love the picture of the great pyramid of rice so much. I was waiting to see if someone would “get it”.
    Hi Jenn – I hope you’re feeling better. I enjoy spaghetti aglia d’olio as well. I’m looking forward to your posts on your trip. Have a happy and safe New Year!
    Hi Rachel – My usual breakfast is plain yogurt and a banana, and I’ve eaten that for decades….I guess there’s some internal rationalization that makes me feel better by eating something rather “good” for breakfast, then I can grab a plate lunch once in a while. I’ve never thought of dumplings as a complete food, but as described by you, I guess it is!
    Hi Jo – I think she uses the food processor to chop both the meat for the dumplings, as well as mince the vegetables. And yes, Rachel is so very sweet, and always puts things in a positive light!

  6. Hi Kirk
    You-so funny!!!!
    Spam says Crazy Taste!
    Can you ask your in laws for the exact recipe of Jioze? I’d like to make a couple hundreds if they are good.
    Happy new year. Your blog brings me much joy. Thanks buddy!

  7. Hehe Thanks Kirk and Jo *blush* but I could say the same about both of you and milly too, very encouraging and lots of good advice !
    I actually add finely chopped wom bok in my dumpling recipes (makes it sweeter) along with the prawn meat (which I chop finely) and the pork mince (already minced yaay). Hence, the need for a food processor as the other way would be too long. I suppose if you had a dumpling making party it wouldn’t be so bad as you would have people to chat to as you chopped, mixed and folded.

  8. Hi Joanna – Happy New Year to you. There is no “Real” recipe, but try this on for size:
    /2005/10/01/at_the_sdaff_20/
    I’ll try to record amounts the next time we make them.
    Hi Rachel – We add Nappa Cabbage as well. We first chop and salt them and let them sit a while, then squeeze out all the moisture. It’s either that or leeks or chives. We grind our own meat using a meat grinder, or finely chop shrimp/prawns the old fashioned way – works alot better then any food processor, which would tend to make the meat “mushy”.

  9. Kirk,
    I have to agree with you on a lot of these! LOL
    Rachel,
    Yes have a dumpling party, and figure out how you are going to divide dumplings. Sometimes we agree to have the hostess receive most of the dumplings or divide what is left over equally. Which can mean not a lot of dumplings if you get to eating too many and slowing down production! LOL

  12. Your love for food really shines through in this post. (Hee hee, especially because you snuck in more than 10 foods in your “Top Ten List”!)
    Also, you said “soy-based products.” Does that include stinky tofu and natto? Just wondering! 🙂
    Excellent list Kirk!

  14. Prospero Ano Nuevo! (imagine a tilde ~ over the n in Ano!) Dumpling parties are the best Rachel. Can’t beat ’em with a stick especially if you can get the guys in on the deal. I know 3 husbands that don’t mind turning their hands to such work and the results are WOW!

  15. Hi PE – Well, not “all” soy based products, but most….I really couldn’t put garlic without onions, and of course then there are the chilies…..
    Hi Mills – Happy New Year to you too!
    Hi Jo – Happy New Year.

  17. Hi Clare – You should taste oysters in Seattle – all the different types have different flavors! Totally delici-yoso!!!

  18. Clare,
    I have to agree with Kirk that each place has their own taste. I would love to come over there and try the Sydney rock oysters! My parents at this point are in love with Tomales Bay oysters…I can’t get DH to eat anything raw, and he keeps reminding me I am a microbiologist I should know better, but good oysters…Yum 🙂

  20. Fascinating list, Kirk! I learned a little more about you through your choices. 🙂 Oh and I know what you mean about more garlic = better. I do that, too.

  21. Hi Beth – You did? Wow, I guess you are what you eat! Often times, I’ll look at a recipe and go ok, 1 bulb of garlic; no wait! That’s 1 clove of garlic….

  23. Kirk,
    LOL I will have to remember that. Well it was my fault when I let him sit in a parasitology lecture from a guest speaker from UCLA…He could not even look at noodles for a month. 😛 😀 Yeah the lecture pretty much reduced out class size by a 1/3. 😀

  24. Hi Reid – Very few things beat fresh homemade dumplings.
    Hi Mills – Good thing he never worked in a bakery – he wouldn’t eat bread……

  29. Yea, you gave me filling all right! ::laughs:: I couldn’t eat dinner let alone cook mandu! The chicken came out pretty good though. The sauce on the rice was wowzers yoso-yummy!

  32. Hi Kirk, have you tried the Dumpling Inn on Convoy (in the same block as Jasmine, the parking lot that’s just slightly north)? Could be another one-trick pony for you, as we’ve tried some of their other dishes and, after the last less-than-thrilling experience, swore to only order dumplings from there on out.

  33. Hi Mike – Thanks for commenting. Actually did a post back in October:
    /2005/10/20/dumpling_inn/
    My opinion? Over priced, a bit over-hyped, everybody is on the Dumpling Inn bandwagon since they appeared in Gourmet Magazine. Pretty good Jiaozhi(shrimp and chive) and okay XLB, I enjoyed the Jellyfish salad. But would they survive against similar competition in the SGV? No, just about every dumpling restaurant in the SGV is better – i.e. Dumpling House, Dumpling 10053. Dumpling Inn does use quality ingredients, but many dishes are Americanized! “In a town of blind men, the one-eyed man is king.”

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