I'm still plugging away at items in the pantry. I have tons of asian noodle products I bought while attempting a "wheat free" experiment a while back. We went to the local Asian market (viva la Super88!) and I loaded up on instant rice vermicelli and bean thread noodle soups. Honestly, I got a little tired of them after a while and my consumption slowed. And LaLa informed me she pretty much hated the instant soups made with rice noodles. I see.
So the girl is out tonight so I thought I'd dig into the pantry rather than (cringe!) order out. I picked one of the two remaining "noodle bowls": Instant "Q" Noodle Stick with Jah Jan Flavor (cost $1.39) To me, these noodle bowls are like ramen for grownups. Cheap and instant, but with a touch of the exotic. Ok, I didn't like the abalone flavor one from a few months back, but this Jah Jan one was pretty tasty (I have no idea what Jah Jan flavor is...and google didn't help. It's a bit spicy, that's all I got).
Of course they have flavors like "seafood" and "pork" too. What they don't have...is directions in English. Even though I knew to let it sit for a couple minutes after adding nearly boiling water, I didn't know for sure how much water to add. I went for about 1.5 to 2 cups this time and filled the styrofoam bowl about 2/3 full. The flavor (a dry packet and a flavored oil packet) was nice and intense...probably less water than you are supposed to use, but I liked it.
All of this rambling about my $1.39 dinner packed in styrofoam bowl and labeled "special oriental flavor" is just to say that if you have an Asian grocery store anywhere near you...go there. I guarantee it's got good cheap food.
That was a funny post, Caitlin. Keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I am all about exotic inexpensive food you can make at home. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteI follwed over here from Madame X's blog. I'm Korean-American. I have to warn you, don't eat too many of those Asian noodle bowls. They're full of sodium and fat.
ReplyDeleteTo reduce your fat consumption, boil the noodles, and then toss out the water and fill the pot with more hot water and the flavor packet.
I'm not familiar with the JJang-JJang Myun brand you showed in the picture, but if it's like my favorite brand, it has a separate oil packet which I throw out.
If it's a once in a while treat, that's fine, but I used to live off ramen and noodle bowls in college. My parents would buy it for me by the case so I could eat it in my dorm as a snack.