Little Dishes #1

 

Sometimes, I don't want everything on one plate or in one bowl. Sometimes, I want things in a bunch of tiny dishes! This meal reflects my total inability to decide what I wanted to have for lunch on the final day of my birthday vacation. I raided the fridge, basically wanted all of the vegetables I could see, and came up with this: Gochujang mushrooms, some chick'n nuggets I had in my freezer, hobak buchim (Korean zucchini pancakes, though these are more like fritters) with a dipping sauce, brown rice with everything bagel seasoning, stir fried veggies with a sesame seed garnish, and oi muchim (Korean cucumber salad).

I needed something with more protein; hence, the nuggets. I did not have any sort of craving for nuggets. But I did have nuggets in my freezer, and this is, after all, a current focus of my using-things energy.

I've made all of these things before, but I tried a new recipe for the cucumbers from My Korean Kitchen. I think it's the best I've ever made! It is a bit saltier than what I've made before, but not in a bad way. I also really liked the thin-sliced onions here.

The stir-fried veggies were a raid-the-fridge special--broccoli, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, and onion. It was delicious, with a slightly sweet, salty sauce that toned down the spiciness of some of the other things here.

I had a Fresno pepper, so I added that to the zucchini pancakes. I didn't really end up tasting it, but it was nice to see that pop of red among the zucchini matchsticks. I made a mistake and didn't save the zucchini water to make the batter, so I ended up with a much thicker mix than I usually have, but I liked them this way. Also, though it's not from the freezer, I do need to use my Korean pancake mix, so that was good to do.

The nuggets did their job, and I used the pancake dipping sauce with them for extra flavor. I haven't been in a nugget mood for a while, so I need to find ways to convince myself to eat more nuggets. Stay tuned. In any case, as I consider what options the freezer presents to me, nuggets are kind of low hanging fruit. We'll see how I meet the other challenges lurking in there!