Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Curry ramen with mun-cha'i ya

...or, Phoning it In

Yes, that's packaged ramen. For dinner. See? I can totally phone it in sometimes. And since I joined the Foodbuzz Challenge (as I'm calling it), my posts are going to continue to erode into the hastily-scrawled chicken scratch of a mad woman for the next four weeks.

What is the Foodbuzz Challenge, you might ask? Most of you Foodbuzzed probably got the email and ran the other way, like smart people. I have agreed to post five times a week from August 11 to September 10 so those nice folks at Foodbuzz can see if there's a correlation between posting frequency and traffic to Foodbuzz. "Quality of Post" is apparently not one of the variables they are examining at this time.

This, friends, is why Japan rules. First, they took ramen, the perfect food, and gave it curry! Also, everything they make is so cute you want to gouge your eyes out with a grapefruit spoon. Look at that little dude! He's hurrying his little ass off to bring you steaming hot noodles in a glass case. Whilst wearing geta sandals!

Mun-cha'i ya (mock duck) is 100% vegetarian wheat gluten from Taiwan. Don't back away slowly, it actually tastes pretty good. I already liked seitan, and that's all this is, but with hilarious bumpy skin texture on it. And it comes with its own gravy! Mmm...gravy. Next time I'm going to try the mock abalone.


So yeah, I made some packaged curry ramen, boiled some potatoes and carrots, and added some canned gluten to it. I dumped a little extra curry gravy mix and togarashi just for shits and gigs. The curry didn't thicken up like usual until I was almost done eating it, but whatevs.

Ittadakimasu!

Hey, man, don't look at me like that. They're testing frequency, not quality!

31 comments:

Manggy said...

Aww, I was hoping this wouldn't land in the failure pile! Curry ramen sounds awesome! Maybe you should have waited, heh heh :)
That gluten is frightening. Get that thing away from me! It looks like the soles of those therapeutic flip-flops.
Good luck with the challenge!

Heather said...

Mark - The only thing Failure Pile about it was that I ate a 60-cent package of ramen for dinner.

Syd said...

My response to the last photo.

April was in CA now MA said...

I'm going to agree with Syd. I'm really scared right now for some reason after seeing that chicken skin-esque...stuff? I'm gonna go hide under the bed. Call me when it's over.

I'll take a pack of those ramen while I'm hiding though. :)

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

You crack me up and at least with "the challenge" we will be seeing more of you!

glamah16 said...

For someone thats preaching take the month of August off from blogging, I was begining to wonder. Now I see the reason. Good for you. Someone has to do it. The enticement was tempting.
As for that stuff in a can, it looks strangely like boiled chicken nuggets in its skin. But I know you made it tasty!
I want to see some Spam recipes!

peter said...

LOVE the mock duck. Cheap, scmeap. Looks like a big bowl of lazy goodness.

cookiecrumb said...

You pay 60 cents for ramen? Hell, I get it for a dime.
Maybe yours is better.
:)

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Good luck with the challenge Heather. Curry ramen is always delicious no matter how its prepared. I'm just not sure about that "mock duck"...so was it a "mock meal" in the end?

maybelles mom said...

god bless you in the foodbuzz challenge. I replied yes and then clicked delete before sending it. That said, there were many times that I made this for my husband during grad school; though I added an egg at the end (and a beer for the cook.)

Norm Schoen said...

Hey, I am after the Am Ex $ too! I think you need to do a fantasy post about popping a cap in the ass of the woman who cut you off in car tonight.
Nice Ramen post and fun seeing you at the grocery store.

Anonymous said...

girl, you crazy.

you better be winning something HUGE for that. like H-U-G-E.

is it wrong that i still just don't see any traffic from foodbuzz? I mean, i think it's great and really well organized and the people that work there seem nice and smart, but I really haven't felt hooked to really dig in there and be a part of it. I'm not being cynical, but I get maybe like 5 hits a month from it. whatever... if I have to give you points or 'buzz' you or something dumb like that for you to win, let me know. i'm there for you.

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

I haven't tried curry ramen before, but that brand of instant noodles are my favourite. I stick with the beef flavour. The chicken flavour is awful.

I'm not too sure about the mock-duck though and that faux skin looks so dang funny.

Heather said...

Syd - Is that horror, or keeping back breakfast?

April - It's not skin! It's just skin-texture wheat gluten. Isn't that a relief?

Judy - Don't cheer just yet.

Courtney - I know, I just said yes on an impulse. I'll rue the day, I'm certain.

Jube - Oh, it's not the cost, so much, as it is the totally giving up.

Cookiecrumb - Yes, but does yours have curry gravy?

Petah - I assure you, it was 100% real mock duck. It's a real thing that people eat! :D

Abadeeba - You can say that again! But not your name three times fast.

Maybelles' Parents - Good on you for being smarter than me. I'm already feeling regrets.

Norm - I was wondering if you'd gone for it too, or who had at all. We should have a party with our $50.

Amy - Oh, I don't do it for the traffic, I do it for the sweet, sweet cash. I made $11.20 in April from my traffic to Foodbuzz. I'm rich, beeyotch!

Heather said...

JS - Nissin is the good brand, I usually get Oriental flavor. Tastes just like real Oriental!

Susan @ SGCC said...

I love ramen noodles, especially for days when I'm on my own and don't feel like cooking. Sometimes, I'll add shredded chicken or shrimp, beaten egg and diced veggies to it.

I like what you did with these. The curry sauce sounds good. Not so sure about the mock duck, though.

Anonymous said...

You are BRAVE woman! There's just no way I could do 5 posts a week with my chilluns home from school. That said, Ramen noodles kick ass. I just had some for breakfast. No, I'm not kidding. They are seriously good eats when you mix them up with a few other ingredients...I tossed in zucchs, scallion, ginger, sprouts, cilantro, egg and sriracha. Yep...that's what I'm talkin about. And I'm cracking up over "tastes just like real Oriental!" lmfao!

Just Cook It said...

I occasionally do something similar (although not quite as classy) with a packet of noodles, some hot dogs and a healthy dose of Encona hot pepper sauce. ooooo, yeah.

Anonymous said...

Hah! I love how the mock duck has mock weird-texture of the plucked feathers on duck. Kinda creep!

And whoa, you joined the FB challenge? Go girl.

giz said...

You're so scaring me on the foodbuzz thing.
Curry ramen noodles - hmmm...this could be really interesting. I don't think I've seen the curry flavour in Canada.
I did find bulk ramen noodles - no flavour and they've turned out to be a good addition to salads.

Lo said...

Wow, Girl. That's some challenge you've taken on. You are a better woman than I am. For sure.

On the upside, I guess I'll have somewhere to go every day for a bit of foodie amusement!

Heather said...

Susan -Everyone is freaking out about the mock duck! It's just wheat! I thought about adding some egg, too, but was trying to not cook.

Nikki - Ramen has a million calories, of which none are good for you. I usually eat the shit only once a month or so, so it's a special treat. That said, I would murder for a bowl right now.

Alex - Aww, you think my ramen is classy? I'm sure yours is lovely, too. :)

C&C Music Factory - The bumpy plucked look is why I love mock duck. It is totally creepy.

Giz - Foodbuzz gives me some dollars. In return, I generate almost no traffic for them. It's a win-win.

Lo - I'm sure I'm not a better anything than you, but I might be a little crazier.

Jen said...

There's a place called Lucky Vegetarian in NYC's Chinatown. It uses tons of the fake duck. I really like it.

tammy said...

I'll admit, the bumpy skin freaks me out. But otherwise, a stunning entry to the Foodbuzz Challenge.

Tanno said...

Cleamy goodness.

Heather said...

I just wish that ducks had skin bumps in a perfect grid like that. Tanya said it, it's cleamy goodness, right there.

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

I'm doing the Foodbuzz Challenge too. Yeah, everybody's gonna start seeing everything I made that wasn't so pretty, planned, and put together.

I swear I thought your post title said "Monchichi". Remember him?

Alicia Foodycat said...

Mock duck is great! I once went to a hippy dinner party where the main course was a mock-goose roast, the dessert was tofu chocolate mousse and a guru from California in white linen trousers talked about colonic irrigation. I was 18. Good times.

Is it wrong that I am so excited that you are going to be posting so much?

Anonymous said...

OK Heather....first of all, know I love you and this blog. But, this has to be the least appetizing post I've seen yet. Thing is I like it equally all the same. I think it Bjork who I once heard say something that stuck with me: "If everything is beautiful, nothing is beautiful." Where would we be without a little contrast?

Thanks,
Leif

michael, claudia and sierra said...

yowza
fake duck
i'm in

Laura Paterson said...

yes, well aware this is a ridiculously late comment... but I loaded this up or a firefox window I don't use much and forgot all about it. (God I'm such a geek...)

Anyway, I usually wouldn't bother doing a late comment... but that freakass duck wouldn't let me close without saying something. Mostly, bleurgh.....