Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Szechuan Gourmet

I guess it's getting cold now. Like winter cold. I kinda forgot about that because I've been spending a lot of time in my apartment watching crime TV and it's weirdly warm in my place. Or maybe it's because I'm wearing sweats and Santa socks. I don't know. Anyway, Mel and I had ice skating plans but things came up and we decided to go straight to Szechuan Gourmet, which I was secretly thrilled about because I was afraid I was going to fall and die on the ice rink. And you know, I was hungry and cold.

I think the good (and bad) thing about eating with Mel is that we are always on the same food wavelength, which mostly means we don't ever think we're ordering enough food for the two of us. Once we got our food, I thought we might have ordered too much but by the time I got home and was ready for leftovers, I knew we ordered just enough. Actually, now that I'm awake and hungry again, I'm thinking we could have ordered more...

pork dumplings in chili oil
These dumplings were less pork and more dumpling skins, but that's kinda my favorite part so I didn't mind. And the pork bit was good too. But the chili oil, ahhhhh. I wanted to eat it with a spoon.

Mapo tofu
I love mapo tofu. On it's own, the tofu doesn't taste much like anything, but once it gets sauced up with that chili oil, fermented black beans and little pork bits, it's like little silky, soft pillows of flavor. I think tofu is a good canvas for those flavors and textures, especially the spiciness. It's that slow burning kind of spicy, the kind that hits you in the back of your throat and lingers for a long time until you kind of turn numb and get used to it. I guess that's just Szechuan food.

 sauteed baby bok choy
It helped with the heat, but not the oiliness. I just drank a lot of tea instead.

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