Sequestration Meal #504

 

In case I'm too-long winded here, the too long; didn't read version of this is that this consists of steamed rice, pickled red onion, vegan (soy protein-based) bulgogi steak strips, ketchup bell pepper and onion stir fry, gochujang cucumber salad, and Korean-style carrot salad.

Recently, my meals were held up as an example of gross-sounding, bizarre vegan food on Twitter. The person who highlighted my food was a self-professed vegan who felt that seeing what I eat would turn people off veganism. Nobody actually agreed with this, vegan or not, but it's a head-scratcher for me. Though I am not injured by these comments, it does make me wonder where people are coming from. I thought of that whole thing while I pulled this together.

Of all my raid-the-fridge-before-visiting-the-store adventures, this may be the most profoundly successful. I had bought some vegan Korean barbecue (I presume that they were referencing bulgogi) flavored steak strips to try had hadn't eaten them yet. They were hanging out in the fridge with some faded pickled onions, some carrots, half an orange bell pepper, half an onion, half a cucumber, a bit of cilantro, and some scallions. With that and a well-stocked pantry and an assortment of condiments I always have on hand, I made this bowl of goodies. Had I set out to make it as some sort of plan, the pepper would be red; we just have to accept that not everything is perfect. (Maybe that's why the Twitter guy said the food was gross. Too much orange.)

Anyway. I prepped a few salads in the morning to sit in the fridge and let the flavors meld until lunch. One, a Korean cucumber salad using Christie at Home's recipe, but swapping gochujang for gochugaru. Two, a Korean-style carrot salad using a recipe from Lavender and Macarons.

When I was ready to prep my lunch itself, it was very quick. I just steamed my rice in my rice cooker, made my ketchup pepper stir fry, heated the steak strips in the microwave according to package directions, and assembled my bowl, adding a garnish of scallions and freshening up my salads with some extra sesame seeds. 

The ketchup pepper stir fry is something I learned from Just Bento, I think, long ago, but this time I used my half an onion along with my pepper strips. I gave the onion a head start in some vegetable oil with a pinch of salt. When it had softened, I added in the pepper and another pinch of salt and cooked that until it was done to my liking. (Giving the onions a head start lets them caramelize a bit more. If you cook them on a low enough heat--which you should do, because nobody wants onions that go from raw to burnt--I'm not sure I've ever found a situation where onions were cooked too long for my liking.) When the onions and peppers were done, I added a splash of soy sauce and about a tablespoon of ketchup and mixed everything up.

This was an amazing lunch and I'd definitely make it again more purposefully, though I might also add some pickled purple cabbage and some red bell pepper to boost the colorfulness. I was just trying to clear as much out of my fridge as possible before the following day's grocery trip, but it was wonderful. And if that's gross or bizarre to any of you, well, you don't have to eat it.

(Genuinely: I am not hurt by the comments. That's not to say they aren't hurtful comments. I hope you understand the distinction. The arrows didn't hit their target, though someone was definitely launching arrows. But I did feel a bit frustrated and confused for a little while. I will go on eating the same way as always, which these days is heavier on whole foods because that's cheaper, and heavier on protein and potassium rich foods where I can add them in because I do better in my life that way. What you take or leave from what I offer to you is up to you.)