Go Fish

Although this is not the most exciting way to begin a blogpost, we are going to start with a list of fun facts about me:

1. I don't eat beef, pork or poultry (but I do eat eggs)
2. I do eat fish and seafood, but only if it is sustainably caught and not from certain parts of the world. This makes it very difficult to buy fish in regular grocery stores, leading to an extra trip to the fish market, which wouldn't normally bother me, but Coronavirus.
3. I was told by my doctor to try to cut way back on carbs. This is not so easy, when you eat mostly rice, beans, pasta, fruit and vegetables. 

The point I'm trying to make here, is that it's not always easy being me, when it comes to cooking and eating an interesting variety of dishes. That doesn't mean I don't rise to the challenge, as you all should well know by now. I'm branching out, looking for new and better meat alternatives. I will never eat Tofurky, sorry. But there are some cool things to play with. 

The cool thing I found the other day at the store is not a meat alternative, but a noodle alternative. I love slurpy noodles like Japanese udon, or wide rice noodles in broth. When I came upon these little buggers in the seafood section of the store, I was intrigued. 

Look at all that goodness! 10g of protein! Only 7g of carbs! Gluten free! Non-GMO! Ready to enjoy hot or cold! WOOHOO! 

BUT....What the heck are they? Upon further inspection, right under that big number 10, it says "made with Wild Alaska Pollock". You know what that is, right? The stuff they make surimi with. Fake crab. Fake lobster. California roll fish. That wonderfully tasteless, obviously extremely moldable white cold water fish. FISH NOODLES. 

They were vacuum packed, so they sat in my fridge for a few days, while I pondered over them. What to do? The obvious choice would be a ramen-type bowl, right? I mean, I could put red sauce on them, or olive oil, garlic and some hot pepper. That would be pretty good. 

Ok, first time I went for the obvious. I made a bowl. Seeing as how they were actually the protein, I didn't have to worry about adding shrimp or tofu.

I made a simple miso broth, with a little bit of hot pepper paste and some veg stock. When that was simmering, I added some small cut vegetables, and some Chinese soup greens. I let them cook for a minute or so, then added the noodles, gave it a stir and plated. I didn't want them to actually cook, because I figured they would get really mushy. 

Tell ya what, it was pretty interesting! I liked it! The only issue I had was that by the end of the bowl, the last noodles did get mushy. 

I will definitely buy these again, and try an Italian version, either red or garlic sauce, and I will also do some cold noodles, probably with a ginger dressing or something like that. I'll keep you posted. 

So there you go, folks. Something new and healthy. 

Oh, and I'm trying not to drink every night during this lockdown. Starting tonight. Wish me luck with that one. 

See you soon. Don't forget your mask. UGH..................