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 
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! 
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: 
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.
6 – Soy Based Products: Hey, I’m of Japanese ancestry, I can’t live without it!
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 
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.
4- Chicken & Duck: I don’t think I need to say much about this. 
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.
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.
1 – Rice: 
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:
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!
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