AI: Comfort Food
By This isn’t strictly queer-related, but hey, we’ve all go to deal with living in a queerphobic world, so who wouldn’t want some comfort food? When I’m down, I like to bake. Making something makes me happy, an having something delicious to eat makes me happy. I’ve made brownies, cookies, fudge, seven-layer bars…nothing cheers me up quite like making something new, and then getting a chance to eat it!
Is there anything you like to eat when you’re feeling stressed? Got any recipes you’d like to share?
Featured image from http://das-lauralein.deviantart.com/
Chocolate
Mapo Tofu, usually in its Chen Kenmin iteration if I’m making it at home.
Actually come to think of it my own version has developed some quirks over the years and perhaps is worth sharing. Can we turn this into a recipe thread? Oh can we?
マーボーダン (it’s a pun!)
Serves 2-3
200g (c. 1/2 lb) semi-lean ground pork
500g (c. 1 lb) soft or semi-soft tofu (but not silken or the very gelatinous sort that looks like blancmange)
1.5 cups or so of chicken stock (fresh or reconstituted; since I make my own it tends to be fairly un-salty so cut the soy if you use something with a lot of sodium)
2 tbsp flour (yes, flour. not corn or potato starch)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
small handful of dried red chilies
1 tbsp akamiso
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
2-3 tbsp ground Sichuan pepper (not optional! do not bother without it.)
Brown the pork in a wide skillet on med-high, making sure the fat is well rendered. If there’s a lot of fat drain some of the extra, but not all of it. Add the garlic, ginger, chilies, and the whites of the scallions and cook for 2-3 mins. Turn the heat to med-low and add the flour, allowing it to cook in the fat as you would a roux (since it is one). Add the soy, mirin, and miso (dispersing it well), then the stock. Allow it to thicken to about the texture of gravy (adjusting the stock or flour if necessary). Cube the tofu in 2-3 cm (1in) pieces and allow to simmer in the thickened sauce ~10 mins. Mix in the Sichuan pepper and top with the scallions. Spoon into a bowl of sticky white rice and eat (preferably with a vegetable! :p)
HUMMUS. Mmmmmm.