My life revolves around food
Submitted by Suzu on Mon, 05/23/2016 - 19:46
Do you cook?
On average, people are cooking far less from the past. Of course it may seem that way, since we're now surrounded by 24/7 convenience stores, fast food chains, and microwavable frozen food. It's cheap and it can be pretty tasty - but is it worth it?
It was a 7 pm on a Thursday, I was in my apartment with a friend of mine, and we’re getting hungry. He suggests pizza, like every other college student would suggest. I tell him that the last time we got pizza, it took over an hour for delivery, and I was not having it. So I suggested a better idea - to cook.
I went food shopping recently, so I had a good amount of food in my fridge. I look around and find some ground beef, and decided to make some 煮込みハンバーグ (nikomi hanba-gu).
I explain to him what I’m going to make and that it’s the Japanese version of Salisbury steak. I show him a picture and he gets a little concerned; he thinks that by the time it takes to make this, the pizza would arrive.
First, I was a little offended that he’d rather eat pizza than my food, but I quickly and easily convinced him how a home cooked meal would be worth it. And within 45 minutes, we had this:
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions
- 6-8 white mushrooms
- Pound of ground beef
- Half cup Panko Bread crumbs
- 1 Egg
- 2-3 tablespoons of Butter
- Some Nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- Cup of Milk
- Half cup water
- Tonkatsu Sauce
Cut one onion and the mushrooms into small slices and set aside. Mince the other onion and the mushroom stems into small pieces, and cook on medium heat with butter. Stir well for about 5 minutes, when the onion is thoroughly cooked, and remove from heat and place it in a bowl. Once the onion cools, add the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and mix well. Shape them into small balls or patties; while you are shaping them, try to shape it by lightly tossing and slapping it from one hand to another to try to get any excess air bubbles out. Once the patties are shaped, preheat the oven on broil, and add more butter to the pan if necessary, and cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes, and flip over and cook for about another 5 minutes. Place the patties in an oven safe pan, and place in oven once oven is hot enough. Without cleaning the pan, stir in the mushrooms and onions, and cook for about 5 minutes. Add some water, milk, tonkatsu sauce, and ketchup - try adjusting the ingredients to your own taste. Check the patties, and once they are done, put them back into the mixture and cook it for a little bit and serve! It goes well with steamed vegetables and rice.
Cooking always came naturally to me, my whole life I was surrounded by cooking. My mother is a wonderful chef and caters (mostly) Japanese food, and before my parents used to own a Japanese restaurant, I have two cousins who own restaurants in Japan, my sister and her husband graduated from Culinary Institute of America, my other brother in law is a super foodie that’s been on the Food Channel with Bobby Flay, and much, much more.
I am a full-time college student-athlete on the swim team with two part time jobs. I have a pretty heavy workload at school, and I dedicate at least 20 hours a week in the pool or the weight room, whilst translating articles and such to pay for my living expenses. But amidst of all these jobs I have to juggle, I always make time to cook.
I understand how some may feel about cooking, it’s such a chore. It takes up so much time - you need to first go grocery shopping, and clean utensils and tools to chop up your ingredients and cook, then you need to clean up after you cook. On top of that, you need skills, which takes practice and patience over time.
It can especially be hard to cook if you’re a busy college student like me, which is why stereotypical students are supposed to eat instant ramen or mac and cheese. It is cheap, fast, and convenient, and honestly, isn’t too bad. But let’s be real, these foods aren’t good for you, especially if you eat stuff like that everyday, and it will never be as good as a home-cooked meal.
Check out this video, that shows a part of today’s food culture, in Japan:
My type of instant noodlesWith extra stir fried veggies, pork slices, and seaweed. Takes only an extra 15 minutes to cut up the ingredients and stir fry!
A lot of people don’t realize the importance of what goes into your body. You are literally what you eat; the things that you eat is what becomes you, and what makes you functional. But what people do realize is that you can now get a 4 for $4 deal at Wendy’s, or even better, a 5 for $4 deal at Burger King, and take this deal of a lifetime to stuff your face for just $4.
And sometimes, maybe that’s okay. A chicken sandwich from Wendy’s or Burger King once in a while probably won’t hurt you, if you’re a generally healthy person. And if you’re busy, or are in college, you’d probably rather opt out for this option.
But personally, life is too short to be eating bad food at whatever point in life. Even though I’m tired, and even though I have homework piled up to the ceiling, I would rather spend 30 minutes of my life and go on a spiritual journey known as cooking to explore the depth and wonders of flavors, not just to satisfy my hunger, but to also to grow and learn as an independent adult and nourish my body and soul with goodness.
I can now control what I eat and what I put into my body, thus allowing me to become a better me, from eating better foods. Just cause you’re in college doesn’t mean you can eat like crap. Make eating, and therefore cooking, a priority in your life, and I can guarantee you that you’ll feel, look, and think better.
Okonomiyaki
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