キムチ焼きそば！

Yum!! Kimchi yakisoba is probably one of my favorite things to make, and it’s so easy!! I’ve added approximate measurements, since you all should know by now that I never measure anything when I cook. I’ve also made this before with moyashi (bean sprouts) in addition to cabbage and onion. You could also easily use beef or chicken instead of pork.
Ready? Let’s begin!

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon of your favorite cooking oil
• 1/2 cup of kimchi
• 1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• thinly sliced pork
• 2 packages of pre-cooked yakisoba noodles
• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons of ketchup
• siracha sauce to taste

Directions:

Take a fairly large sized frying pan or wok and heat up your cooking oil. Then, add the garlic and onions and cook them until they start to become transparent and very aromatic. Then, add your thin slices of pork. Shabu-shabu type pork works well for this. Once your pork is cooked through, add your shredded cabbage. Fry and stir. Stir and fry. Use a medium-high heat.
Then, add the soy sauce and ketchup. be sure to stir well and coat everything, otherwise the sauces will start to caramelize on the bottom of the pan since it will be very hot by this point. Add your pre-cooked yakisoba noodles and make sure they are coated with the ketchup and soy sauce. If not, you can always add a little more to make sure they get coated.
Now comes the good part!! Stir in the kimchi!! If kimchi isn’t spicy enough for you, add some siracha sauce and stir. The pan should be very very hot by this point, so it is fine if you turn off the heat completely and let it finish cooking by the residual heat. The noodles will suck up the ketchup, kimchi juices, soy sauce and siracha, and just become all around amazing. The pork should be completely cooked through and well coated with your sauces.

Serve on your favorite dish or in your favorite bowl and enjoy!!

★ ★ ★

I should also probably mention now that my hometown’s professional football team is participating in the national tournament (otherwise known as the superbowl) and yes, I’m excited about it, even though I’m not able to be at home to watch them or cheer them on with other loyal Pittsburghers.

so.. here we go Steelers!! One for the other thumb!!

Oh wait.. we got that one already…

the other index finger?

American foods

I had ample opportunity to sample the many native delicacies of the United States during my trip there this past month. Here are a few rare and exciting treats to tempt the palate:

Pizza at Milano’s

Sparkle raspberry cupcake at the Border’s cafe.

bacon cheese fries from the potato patch, which are only enough to vow to only eat them once in a great while as well as make one ask: HOW AM I STILL ALIVE AFTER EATING THOSE?!

home made devil’s food cupcakes with buttercream icing and rainbow seasoning.

So…um…I basically ate nothing but grease and cupcakes for an entire month. It was great!!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

ピッツバーグ

 back to the burgh, brb.

It’s always nice to go home every once in a while

   
A nice trip to Pittsburgh always helps me get a grip on things. See you in Japan, everyone.

Home again, home again

If you haven't guessed by now, the reason I've been on hiatus is because I've been spending my summer break at home in Pittsburgh. It's nice to go home every once in a while. It helps me keep things in perspective. The story of where I come from and why I left isn't unlike that of many expats living in Japan, so I won't bore you with it. However, despite missing my friends and family terribly, there are many things I am reminded by every time I come back that make me extremely thankful to not be working or living at home anymore.
It's nice to not have people stare at you wherever you go. It's also nice to be able to drive. I didn't miss TV at all (except for Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and What Not To Wear). I did miss shopping. I ended up getting a new laptop, which I desperately needed. Picked up a few things here and there. It's so much cheaper to shop here than in Japan. I can also easily find shoes that fit my gargantuan size 9.5 feet, not to mention jeans to fit my behemoth ass and bras to fit my disgustingly large chest. (Um... did I mention that living in Japan has given me a small complex when it comes to clothing sizes? If I live there more than 5 years I'm sure I'll develop an eating disorder... but I digress...)
It's the little things you notice. The change from active lifestyle to a mostly sedentary one. The size of your food portions. The high fructose corn syrup in your Coca-cola. Seeing people of all races walk by each other on the street and not hearing them making comments of whether or not they're potentially infected with Swine flu. The constant barrage of political propaganda (wait... they have that in Japan too...) The massive cars and sport-utility vehicles. Freshly mowed lawns. McDonald's being... unappetizing at best. Sitting in chairs as opposed to on the floor. Leaving your shoes on in the house! Using as many paper napkins as you please. Not separating the trash!!
It certainly has been a good trip. I've felt more like a tourist in my own city than anything. I got to go to a Pirates game and to Kennywood (both with my awesome friend, Pat, who I've known for a million billion years). I've also gotten to eat at some of my favorite places in town (India Garden, Pho Kim, Lulu's noodles... and yes... Eat n' Park). Of course I've seen Jim Kim, Lauren, Breann, and Kika. I even got to have some awesome phone convos with Erica and Arelis... I wish I could have visited them while I was home. I've seen far too much of my family... and somehow it's all just never enough. I always find my way back to Pittsburgh. It's home. I'll be back in Japan soon enough, though. I'm glad I got to visit and see everyone here. I think I'm more than ready to make my return.

Spectacular Views

I'd venture to say that Pittsburgh has some of the best architecture I've ever seen in my life, the best fireworks shows ever, and a ballpark with a spectacular view, no matter where your seats are. Too bad the Pirates haven't had a winning season in 17 years. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Pittsburgh Pole...ka

So... my principal and my English coordinator urged me to decorate my classroom (which is actually a HUGE multi-purpose room) I only have one bulletin board in the room, and it's currently occupied with the Months, Weather, and Seasons, for easy reference. I also have one wall decorated with a world map and flags & information of some English-speaking countries. However, this leaves me with these large concrete poles in my room that are really just blank canvasses waiting to be decorated!! I found some pre-made posters of Opposites (big, small, long, short, etc.) to put on one of them, but the other... I was having a lot of trouble with. So I decided to make it 'The Pittsburgh Pole."
Yes. I was feeling a little homesick when I made this.
So I thought of some words for the kids to learn like... Sports, Football (which the kids confuse with rugby...weird), Baseball (it's insanely popular in Japan.. but the Pirates... ugh... don't even get me started...), and (of course!) Hockey, featuring Sidney (Bing!) Crosby. I also included a photo of a Primanti Bros. Sandwich with the heading "Sandwich," which is definitely a word that the kids know. Rivers and Bridges are also some easy words. I added "Neighborhoods" and "Steel" just in case I have some prodigies...
I just wanted to share this little collage I made. I took special care in the font and the color choices (of course black & gold). The font I used was Arial Rounded Bold. I guess in the case of teaching English to elementary school aged kids in Japan, they don't really learn to read at all. They just learn to speak English. If they happen to recognize a word or two, that's great. I just like to use fonts that are clear and easy to read. Nothing crazy like.. (shudder) Curlz MT or Ravie. Augh. I disdain those fonts with a passion. I guess some people think they're cute and they used them on some of the older flashcards at this school. Why the heck would you ever use a hard-to-read font on an language learning material?! Arial, helvetica, times new roman, verdana, even. Just keep it simple.

So. Yep. This is what I get to do at work. How's THAT for internationalization?!!