In the 7 years that I've had this blog, I don't think I've ever shared this one factoid about me: I love food. Yes, yes, I know most people do. But seriously, I LOVE FOOD. Good food, that is. I'm what, one would call, a "foodie". I enjoy spending time, attention, and energy on knowing the ingredients of food and the preparation of food. I am definitely someone who appreciates the creativity of exemplary prepared food and drink and finding great enjoyment in savoring it. Maybe I should call myself an epicure, but the term "foodie" is such a fun word and fits my personality the best.
A dear friend of mine, (fellow foodie extraordinaire), Whitney, has a wonderful
food blog, where she writes about, well, food! It's a delightful blog full of Whitney's sweet, mid-western personality, as she "pens" down her adventures of eating great food and the different recipes she cooks from. Please check go and check out her blog! Whitney has inspired me to write about food and so from time to time I will dedicate a post on a recipe I've tried and altered or an amazing meal I've eaten at a restaurant. I probably should start a blog solely dedicated to food, but the thought of doing so is somewhat daunting for me. I mean seriously, I can barely keep up with updating THIS blog! So, with all that said, here is my first "foodie" post.....
Earlier this evening while I was at Whole Foods Market picking up some groceries, I slowly walked by that section where they have their prepared sushi rolls. Now one thing you need to know about me is that I. Love. Sushi. Growing up in the west coast, Vancouver to be specific, I was seriously spoiled by the myriad of Japanese restaurants which serves amazing sushi rolls and melt-in-your- mouth sashimi (raw fish) at unbelievably cheap prices. Here on the east coast, I do not eat sushi as often as I did in Vancouver because A) it's super expensive, and B) the places where I've eaten sushi, well, let's just say I haven't been impressed. Alright, so back to Whole Foods....once I saw the sushi display, my mouth started watering. Unfortunately the price of sushi at Whole Foods leaves much to be desired and so of course I had to pass. But then I thought of "Poor Man Sushi" which was coined by some dear friends of mine who used to make it all the time. I had most of the ingredients in my refrigerator and all I had to do was pick up the nori and one other ingredient to make this great meal!
As you can see in the picture above, I already had the brown rice prepared from a meal that I made the night before and the other ingredients were also in my refrigerator. I julienned cucumber and carrots, then sliced a lovely, ripe, avocado and set them aside.
Now for my other ingredient......
Yep, that is a can of Spam. Don't judge.
I also "julienned" the spam and cooked it in a frying pan. No need to put any oil in the pan because, well, you know, the Spam itself already has
fat oil seeping out while being cooked in the pan. I like to make sure the Spam is browned on all sides as it gives that crunchy factor when you bite into the sushi roll. My housemate, Brian, joked that I was going all "Hawaiian" with the Spam. I know Spam is not the choice of food for most people, but I grew up eating it and I actually do like it. Again... don't judge. Everything in moderation, right?
What we have here is a package of sushi nori that I picked up from a gem of an Asian marketplace called Spring Garden Market, which is located on the corner of Spring Garden and 4th Streets. What I love about this place is not only the produce and other fare reasonably priced, but it also has free parking in the rear!!! Another plus is that Spring Garden Market is nowhere near the craziness of Chinatown traffic. Oh, and did I mention that parking is free? A rarity in Philly.
You can see in the picture above, I cut the nori into four squares. While not pictured in the above, I held the the nori in my palm, spreading a spoonful of brown rice, and topping it off with the veggies, avocado, and fried Spam (again, don't judge).
And after all the ingredients are put together, what you end up with is the above awesomeness, Poor Man Sushi. You really don't need to roll it up like a traditional sushi roll. I only did it with the first one so I can take a picture to show what it would look like rolled up. After this roll, I reverted back to cutting the nori into smaller pieces, placing the rice, veggies, and Spam on top, folding the nori around the ingredients, dipping it in low-sodium soy sauce, and then stuffing my face silly with this delicious goodness.
Poor Man Sushi
1 Cup Cooked brown rice
1/2 Cup julienned carrots
1/2 Cup julienned cucumber
Half an avocado, sliced
Spam, about a quarter of the can
Sushi Nori
Soy sauce (optional)
Wasabi (optional)
Julienne the carrots and cucumber and set aside.
Slice half of an avocado and set aside.
Julienne the Spam and then place the slices on a frying pan, cooking it on medium heat. When all sides of the Spam is browned, remove from the heat.
Cut sushi nori into 4 sheets and then spread a spoonful of cooked brown rice on top. Place 2-3 julienned carrots slices, 2-4 julienned cucumber slices, an avocado slice, and 1-2 julienned Spam slices. You can roll it up or fold it around the corners to keep the ingredients nestled together inside the sushi nori. Mix the wasabi (to taste, as it has a kick to it) in the soy sauce. You can dip the Poor Man Sushi into the wasabi/soy sauce mix before eating it...or else you can dip in soy sauce without the wasabi...OR...just eat it plain.
Mabuting Gana! (Tagalog (Filipino language) for "Bon Appetit!")
