Takeout Antidote
When I cook and do dishes all day for my paid job and then have more cooking and dishes to do as a mom when I get home, I sometimes want to throw in the towel and order takeout. Okay, I always want to. By dinnertime, I just think I have nothing left. But what inevitably happens is that we’ll order the takeout, easily blow $50-$60, not enjoy the food as much as I'd hoped, and feel bloated and gross after eating it. On top of all that, the groceries that I would have used for dinner will most likely go bad because I didn’t use them up.
Yesterday was one of those days. Instead of ordering takeout, though, I flipped through a new Forks Over Knives magazine, found a recipe that I miraculously had all the ingredients for and that was pretty hands off and told myself it was worth the little bit of effort. That kind of a recipe is a goddamn unicorn and should be spread far and wide as an antidote to expensive, disappointing takeout.
For this recipe (a plant-based take on Vietnamese chao), I roasted half a kabocha squash for an hour, while cooking a pot of brown rice with ginger, miso and garlic. Once those two things were cooking off, I sliced up some hot peppers, cilantro, and scallions and then spent the rest of the cooking time resting. When both components were done, I added the squash (mashed up) to the rice mixture and the dish was done. Once topped with cilantro, scallion and hot peppers, that humble rice porridge was shockingly satisfying and special. I served it with an incredibly quick cucumber salad and it was perfect. It wasn’t effort-free or mess-free and it wasn’t as easy as takeout, but it wasn’t more than I could handle and I felt so good after I ate it. No takeout regret at all. I had a pot and the dishes we ate on to clean.
All this to say that this dish was a good reminder that simple, easy, and truly satisfying meals are possible, even on the nights when I think I don’t have it in me. Of course, I don’t believe in making cooking an obligation or something you’ll resent. Some nights, takeout IS the right choice. This is real life and we are busy people. But, consider making yourself a list of the easiest, most hands-off meals you can think of as your “better than takeout” list for those nights when you can’t afford takeout but can’t muster the energy for anything else.
This recipe was in the latest copy of the Forks Over Knives magazine (which is weirdly $12.99. Why are magazines so expensive? Are other ones this expensive?). I’ll include it below.
Silky Squash Rice Porridge
Serves 4 (smallish servings)
Ingredients
1/2 of a 2-lb kabocha squash, seeds and fibers scooped out
3/4 cup brown Thai jasmine rice (I just used regular long-grain brown rice because it’s what I had)
1 2-inch piece ginger, quartered (don’t need to peel it!)
1 Tbsp miso paste
Tamari or soy sauce to taste
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds or peanuts (I used both)
1 red chile, sliced (I used red jalapeño)
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place squash cut side down on baking sheet. Bake 50 minutes or until very tender.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine rice, ginger quarters, miso paste, and 3 cups water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until rice is tender.
When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh and add it to saucepan; mash with a potato masher until blended. Simmer 5 minutes more.
Remove ginger quarters from porridge. Divide porridge among bowls and drizzle with tamari or soy sauce. Garnish with remaining ingredients.