I Eat, Therefore I Am

One of the best deals in the city are the ethnic grocery stores. Some ingredients may seem intimidating, but not knowing what it is, is half the fun! Yesterday I was shopping up at Argyle in Chicago (essentially Vietnam-town).

I came home with a large loot all under $20 that will feed me for a few weeks. Ingredients like mushrooms, herbs, fruits, spices are typically 3 to 5 times cheaper at ethnic stores than the large markets like Jewel.

Lately, I have been trying to mimic some of the dishes I had in Japan. A very simple and tasty cuisine in Japan is Yakitori. In Japan, yakitori is essentially bar/pub food, but in the USA I have only seen it at upscale Japanese restaurants. To do it yourself you can use a broiler or grill pan if you don't have an outdoor grill. My favorites are asparagus, okra, or tomato wrapped in pork (bacon). Eringi and Shitake mushrooms (pictured above) are also delicious. Simply skewer the food and grill for 2-5 min a side. Be sure to salt the mushrooms after grilling and lightly dose with lemon. (Note: I tried lime today, but it just doesn't work as well)

Another Thai delight is Tom Yum soup. I do several varieties on this soup by adding some Thai and some Vietnamese ingredients (a la pho). I thought to add Thai Chili today, thinking they would be similar to Serrano chilies since they look very similar. I was wrong! My mouth and fingers are still burning from these peppers! After looking on the Internet, I found out the chili I used are some of the hottest in the world. The soup pictured here is very simple and starts with a pho broth (from cube), chili oil, fresh rice stick noodle, shitake mushroom, lime, and cilantro. You can add lemongrass, shrimps, duck, chicken, Thai chili and the list goes on...

In Chicago, Argyle, Chinatown, and Devon (India-town) all host excellent stores and are conveniently located off public transportation. Let me know if you have other great deals in the Chicago area!

Thought for the day: No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.