What's on your plate?

[lylysa]

Hello there, ladies and gents!

Keeping in line with all the fun and interactive threads asking about your most recent halls, items you have your eyes on, what you're currently wearing, what's your hair routine, and more, I've decide to branch out and ask:

"What's on your plate?"

The beauty world doesn't just stop at skin care and cosmetics, it also goes hand in hand with your overall health and well-being, so with that, I'm curious to see what we're all chowing down and snacking on be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or inbetween!

For those with apps that help count calories or to those who just want to keep a log, here's a place to share, possibly find and share some recipes, and even tips on maintaining a balanced diet.

Don't just share food items, but even drinks! I'm a huge fan of tea and at least have a cup of green tea a day (anti-oxidants) and drink plenty of water.

For lunch today, I had:

-Brown rice

-Steamed egg

-Steamed red snapper with green onion, sesame oil, and black pepper

-Gai lan (it's a type of Chinese vegetable/greens)

Now, tell me, Beauty Talk world, what do you have? 😄

[Ispend2much6]

@WinglessOne  That’s amazing! I love Sichuan dishes.  I have a lot of different noodles I should try something similar.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Ispend2much6 ! This dish is the dry version of Sichuan hot pot. Instead of keeping a pot of broth constantly hot enough on the dinner table to cook various ingredients at will throughout your meal, you briefly boil most of the dry pot ingredients in a pot of water on the stove, then get your peppers + peppercorns + sauce going in a wok (or whatever you’re cooking with), and then add your boiled ingredients to the wok and cook everything together. I usually use sweet potato starch noodles because I almost always (except this week, apparently 🤦‍♀️ ) have them on hand for japchae, but you could use other types of noodles… ideally one typically found in Chinese cuisine, if you’re aiming for a more authentic dish. 

There are many recipes online for mala xiang guo. You’ll notice some similarities: must have Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers (psh, you’re a fellow Sichuan food fan so I don’t really need to tell you that 😉 ); can make your sauce from scratch or just buy it premade; use any veggies and protein you want, though common options are fish balls, beef, lotus root, potatoes, choy sum (or if you prefer Chinese broccoli, gai lan, or just use American broccoli if you prefer), bok choy, mushrooms… like hot pot, dry pot’s a good dish for using up whatever bits of veggies you’ve got left in your fridge. It’s pretty easy and quick to make, even though you have to boil your veggies (and proteins, depending on their current state) first. 

Someday I’ll make hot pot at home—might even make my own broth base and freeze any unused portion—but first I need the necessary equipment to keep a pot of broth at cooking temperature on my table. Might finally be time to buy a hot plate. 😄 

[Ispend2much6]

@WinglessOne  Oh my!  Thank you!  I never did understand what hot pot was (always ordered one to go from our favorite restaurant.)

That is very intriguing, and less intimidating than stir-frying everything from start to finish.

This almost sounds like Sichuan fondue cooking (cooking each item individually at the table.)

So, right now I have showa udon noodle, Thai rice noodles, frozen fresh udon and ramen noodles, and Korean tteokbokki.

I used to have Sichuan peppercorns.  I've been meaning to replenish my ingredients so I can make our dishes easily.  I really like Stir Fry to the Sky's Edge cookbook. 

[WinglessOne]

@Ispend2much6  “Sichuan fondue” is fairly accurate. 😄 Hot pot is one of those dishes I can’t eat by myself; I have to be with at least one other person. To me, it’s too much of a social event to enjoy solo. Dry pot can also be social but, for me, it’s not as mandatory-social as hot pot. I dunno, I always associate hot pot with friendly gatherings and good conversations. I can see it (and dry pot) being a good at-home dish to share with family. 

About the noodles for hot pot: you can have the noodles pre-cooked on the side to be eaten with whatever you cook in the pot at the table. Or, you can have uncooked noodles alongside all the other ingredients and let folks cook their noodles in the pot themselves. If you go the latter route, fresh low-starch noodles are best: they’ll cook quickly and won’t cloud up the broth. Glass noodles can be a hassle if they stick to the bottom of the pot and burn down there. For dry pot, this isn’t a concern because you’re going to cook everything at the stove instead of in a boiling pot of broth at the table. 

I hope you restock your Sichuan peppercorns soon and have fun making either hot pot or dry pot at home! 

[Ispend2much6]

Thank you; I'll tag you when I cook this. @WinglessOne 

[CynthieLu]

I was trying to figure out mushroom in question but I finally landed on it 🍄 😂

That looks scrumptious @WinglessOne 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @CynthieLu ! To be fair, if I could always remember “shiitake” contains two i’s and/or autocorrect would always catch the typo, I’d probably have no problem in the first place. 😅 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@WinglessOne looks delicious!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @greeneyedgirl107 !

[Ispend2much6]

Celebrating a new weight loss low with just a “bite” of cake.

It fits on my fork so that’s an accurate description right?

 

[itsfi]

Congrats @Ispend2much6! Awesome job, a treat is well earned.

[Ispend2much6]

@itsfi  Thank you!

[JoSometimes]

@Ispend2much6 Yuuum. Great way to celebrate! Is that cake marbled on the inside?

[Ispend2much6]

@JoSometimes  It’s marbled with food dye.😂

My son picked it up from the grocery store and was kind enough to share.

[JoSometimes]

@Ispend2much6 Sharing is caring!

[Mellmars1185]

@Ispend2much6 Congratulations! Mmmm cake. Is that icing on the top and bottom?

[Ispend2much6]

"Icing on the top and bottom," @Mellmars1185 - You're getting ideas, aren't you? 🙂

It's a 3 layer cake, with icing between each layer, and I grabbed a bite from the top layer.

[Mellmars1185]

@Ispend2much6 Can you tell I enjoy icing ?!? Lol 😆

[blackkitty2014]

Congratulations @Ispend2much6. I’m trying to loose some weight but that doesn’t go well 😂🤣

[Ispend2much6]

@blackkitty2014  Thank you.  You are beautiful!  I wish I'd taken this seriously before menopause.  It's soo much harder then, plus your skin doesn't bounce back.

[CynthieLu]

Congrats! @Ispend2much6 , yes and perfectly bite sized 😄