Anger Burger

I’m not sure if it’s a Lilliputian fantasy or a giant fantasy, but I think I’m most pleased when there is a multitude of tiny dishes to eat from.  Of course, whomever is washing dishes that night is shit out of luck, but thems the breaks, MIKE.

1. Leftover fried chicken. I have a confession to make: I don’t really care for leftover fried chicken.  I think the soft breading is vaguely unpleasant, and the flesh too firm.  So: I didn’t eat this.
2. Mike’s rice. Topped with a little shiso, a side of dried seaweed shreds and a single rehydrated seaweed piece that he picked out of his miso soup.
3. Fucked-up tamagoyaki. Tamagoyaki is basically an omelete with some nice flavoring (soy, a pinch of sugar, etc.), which you cook by making sheets of moist egg in a pan and rolling it (and adding more sheets) until you form a sort of evenly-cooked egg cake.  Here’s a lovely one. Mine?  Not so lovely.  But it tasted good.  And I suppose mine is technically “dashimaki” but I like the word “tamagoyaki” better.
4. Saba mackerel! In Japan, mackerel is commonly served two ways: “grilled” or pickled.  The grilled is often very salty, oily and delightful with rice and beer.  The pickled is served as sushi.  Since mackerel must be very fresh in order to safely eat raw, the pickling of it as sushi became common long ago.  It has a light vinegary tang to it, which is actually a nice flavor since mackerel is a very rich, oily fish.  I bought a slab of pre-pickled mackerel at the Asian market and served with pieces of shiso leaf, which is also traditional — the shiso is so fresh and herbal, it makes the whole thing a perfectly balanced bite.  I could eat pounds of this, but I don’t want to ruin how special it is for me.
5. Chinese sausages (lap cheung). Very greasy, salty and sweet, these are bought in packs like hotdogs and are sort of shriveled and dry, but you throw them into the rice as it cooks and they get plump and hot, and you slice them up at eat them along with your rice.  Very good.  Probably terrible for you.
6. Pickled radishes. A simple pickle: 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of water and a ½ cup of sugar are heated until the sugar is dissolved and then poured over a few bunches of red radishes cleaned and cut into whatever shape you want.  Let sit for a few days, and they turn from red and white to PINK and PINK.  They are lightly flavored, crunchy and addictive.  And cheap!
7. Juice. I think… something like “Mango Sunset” or something from Trader Joe’s, a mix of mango and orange juice, but diluted with water.  It’s pretty tasty.
8. Squid jerky. The squid is storebought, dried and shredded strips that I then cook with some Thai sweet-chili sauce, a splash of soy sauce and sesame oil until the liquid has all absorbed into the squid.  I fucking love this stuff.
9. Miso soup. From miso paste, with some dried seaweed nicely rehydrated.
10. My rice. With lots and lots of chopped shiso leaf and dried seaweed shreds.  I’m a condiment whore.