Being a nurse means having to maneuver yourself around many people, each with different interests and priorities. It's a lot of reading moods, figuring out personalities, probing emotions and gentle nudging. It would be draining if I didn't thrive on such delicate interactions. My clinical teacher said that I was manipulative, which sounds bad if you take it at face value. But consider what I've been learning in class for the past year and a half about eliciting information that you want, figuring out people's wants and needs, urging them to see things in a different light (your way) to get them to do what you want. Officially, these techniques are supposed to be for clients, but why not for all the other people you have to work with? Nurses, technicians, clerks, doctors, orderlies, housekeeping staff, client's families, volunteers...the list goes on and on.
If I can manipulate a student doctor into seeing a client's family immediately, is that wrong? If I can get a resident to change a prescription right now so that it's easier for the client to take his medication, is that so bad? Or am I simply Alec Guiness guiding a doofusy-haired kid and two droids through a checkpoint? No one thinks he's a conniving schemer.
So until I somehow grow some damn midichlorians in my blood (or simply learn The Force, according to purists), I will be refining my techniques of "manipulation". After all, you can be sure that I won't use it for evil. Right?
Right?
Excellent.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Cooking Attempts #26~28: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭), Seaweed salad (미역조림), Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)
I made these dishes back in June, but didn't post them for one reason or another. They're simple recipes, so I just combined them all into one post. Mmm~
6월에 만든 요리인데, 시간이 없어서 못 올렸습니다. 간단한 음식들이니까 한꺼번에 쓰기로 했어요!
Edit: I'm adding a Korean version at Dasol's request. I'm an awesome pants sister, that's what.
다솔이를 위해서 한글로 썼습니다. 저같은 누나가 어디 있나요?
Cooking Attempt #26: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭)
You can have this delivered in Korea. Actually, you can order anything in Korea to be delivered. I've heard stories of people going fishing on the tiniest islands and getting bowls of black bean noodles delivered to them by boat. Sometimes, the boats can't even dock on the islands, so they have to throw their packages to the customer. Really, it's insane over there. But good food service. Anyhoo, where was I?
한국에서 배달많이 하는 음식이죠. 여름에 어디서 들었는데 한국에선 모든게 배달된데요. 어떤 한적한 섬에서 낚시를 하는 사람들도 먹고 싶으면 짜장면을 배로 갖다준데요. 정말 놀랐어요. 서비스는 한국사람들이 최고라네요.
Yes, spicy fried chicken. Now there's a chain of sorts in Toronto doing pickups and deliveries, but it feels so expensive when you're used to Korean prices. Plus, I'm here in Montreal, where the food just isn't quite up to Toronto standards, so I must make my own. Plus, I'm really starting to love this cooking from scratch thing.
아~ 양념통닭. 토론토에서 체인점이 있긴 한데, 한국에 비하면 너무 비싸지 않아요? 그리고 여기 몬트리얼은 식당들이 별로에요. (아~ 토론토 스시 먹고 싶어라~) 계다가 요즘 요리에 재미가 붙어서... ㅎㅎ
I bought some chicken drumsticks, coated them in flour and whipped egg and stuck them in the oven for about 20 minutes. You could fry it, but this is healthier, I think.
닭다리를 달걀과 밀가루를 묻혀서 오븐에 20분동안 넣습니다. 튀길 수도 있지만, 이게 더 건강하죠.
While that was cooking, I made the spicy sauce in a skillet:
3 cloves of smushed garlic
1 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of ketchup
2 tbsp of raspberry jam
1 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of water
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
When the chicken was ready, I put it in the sauce and mixed it around and cooked it until the sauce was nice and thick and the chicken was done.
닭고기가 다 됐을때, 양념에 넣고 비벼요. 소스가 찐득찐득해집니다.
Then you sprinkle some sesame seeds and DEEEEELISH! In Korea, it usually comes with a small dish of sweet and sour radish (not really daikon), but I'm not sure how to make that and I don't really want to buy a whole radish just to make it. But it's really refreshing and crunchy next to the spicy chicken.
깨 좀 뿌리고 바로 드세요. 한국에선 무랑 같이 배달되죠? 무도 사기 싫고 어떻게 만드는 지도 몰라서 그건 생략했어요.
Cooking Attempt #27: Seaweed salad (미역조림)
I had some leftover seaweed when I made some seaweed soup. It's different from nori. It comes freeze dried, so you take a tiny bit and let it soak in some cold water. It expands quite a bit. Then you wash it and drain it. Then you mix it up with some chili paste, vinegar and sprinkle some sesame seeds on it. Chill it in the refrigerator and slorp it up!
미역국을 만들때, 좀 남아서 만들어봤어요. 그렇게 많이 부푸는지 몰랐어요. 고추장, 식초, 깨랑 비비고 나서 냉장고에 좀 나뒀다가 먹었어요.
Cooking Attempt #28: Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)
I found a Korean grocery store just minutes away from the Montreal Children's hospital where I have my clinical course. They had fresh plain rice cakes. Proper rice cakes, not those crispy rice thingies that Westerners call rice cakes. And I thought, "Hmmm...I've got fish cakes at home!"
제가 다니는 병원근처에 한국식품이 있더라구요. 한번 가봤는데 떡이 있어서 사봤어요. 집에 있는 어묵이랑 같이 떡볶이!
Spicy rice cakes are a favourite snack food in Korea. It's cheap, so kids usually go to snack bars and buy big platefuls of the stuff and gobble it down after school. They don't have to be spicy (without chili paste), but I'm used to the spicy version (from the south, baby!).
떡볶이는 모두 좋아하는 간식이죠. 인터넷을 검색해보니까 안 매운 떡볶이도 있다는데 (고추장 없이 간장만), 남쪽 사람이 그러면 되겠어요?
Cut the rice cake into 5cm long pieces and fish cake into bite-size pieces. Fish cake should be dipped in hot water and then drained. Cook these in a skillet with a bit of sesame oil and then set aside. It doesn't take a long time.
떡과 어묵을 한입 크기로 자르세요. 어묵은 먼저 뜨거운 물에 담궜다가 잘 빼구요. 참기름에 잠깐 볶았다가 옆에 놔둡니다.
The sauce is kinda like the one used for the spicy chicken:
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of ketchup
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of mushed garlic
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
Make the sauce, add the rice cake and fish cake and mix mix mix! Eat and reminisce about childhood! Ahhhhhhhhh~
양념은 양념치킨이랑 비슷해요. 만들고 나서 떡과 어묵을 넣고 비벼요! 먹으면서 어린시절을 생각합니다~
6월에 만든 요리인데, 시간이 없어서 못 올렸습니다. 간단한 음식들이니까 한꺼번에 쓰기로 했어요!
Edit: I'm adding a Korean version at Dasol's request. I'm an awesome pants sister, that's what.
다솔이를 위해서 한글로 썼습니다. 저같은 누나가 어디 있나요?
Cooking Attempt #26: Spicy fried chicken (양념통닭)
You can have this delivered in Korea. Actually, you can order anything in Korea to be delivered. I've heard stories of people going fishing on the tiniest islands and getting bowls of black bean noodles delivered to them by boat. Sometimes, the boats can't even dock on the islands, so they have to throw their packages to the customer. Really, it's insane over there. But good food service. Anyhoo, where was I?
한국에서 배달많이 하는 음식이죠. 여름에 어디서 들었는데 한국에선 모든게 배달된데요. 어떤 한적한 섬에서 낚시를 하는 사람들도 먹고 싶으면 짜장면을 배로 갖다준데요. 정말 놀랐어요. 서비스는 한국사람들이 최고라네요.
Yes, spicy fried chicken. Now there's a chain of sorts in Toronto doing pickups and deliveries, but it feels so expensive when you're used to Korean prices. Plus, I'm here in Montreal, where the food just isn't quite up to Toronto standards, so I must make my own. Plus, I'm really starting to love this cooking from scratch thing.
아~ 양념통닭. 토론토에서 체인점이 있긴 한데, 한국에 비하면 너무 비싸지 않아요? 그리고 여기 몬트리얼은 식당들이 별로에요. (아~ 토론토 스시 먹고 싶어라~) 계다가 요즘 요리에 재미가 붙어서... ㅎㅎ
I bought some chicken drumsticks, coated them in flour and whipped egg and stuck them in the oven for about 20 minutes. You could fry it, but this is healthier, I think.
닭다리를 달걀과 밀가루를 묻혀서 오븐에 20분동안 넣습니다. 튀길 수도 있지만, 이게 더 건강하죠.
While that was cooking, I made the spicy sauce in a skillet:
3 cloves of smushed garlic
1 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of ketchup
2 tbsp of raspberry jam
1 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of water
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
When the chicken was ready, I put it in the sauce and mixed it around and cooked it until the sauce was nice and thick and the chicken was done.
닭고기가 다 됐을때, 양념에 넣고 비벼요. 소스가 찐득찐득해집니다.
Then you sprinkle some sesame seeds and DEEEEELISH! In Korea, it usually comes with a small dish of sweet and sour radish (not really daikon), but I'm not sure how to make that and I don't really want to buy a whole radish just to make it. But it's really refreshing and crunchy next to the spicy chicken.
깨 좀 뿌리고 바로 드세요. 한국에선 무랑 같이 배달되죠? 무도 사기 싫고 어떻게 만드는 지도 몰라서 그건 생략했어요.
Cooking Attempt #27: Seaweed salad (미역조림)
I had some leftover seaweed when I made some seaweed soup. It's different from nori. It comes freeze dried, so you take a tiny bit and let it soak in some cold water. It expands quite a bit. Then you wash it and drain it. Then you mix it up with some chili paste, vinegar and sprinkle some sesame seeds on it. Chill it in the refrigerator and slorp it up!
미역국을 만들때, 좀 남아서 만들어봤어요. 그렇게 많이 부푸는지 몰랐어요. 고추장, 식초, 깨랑 비비고 나서 냉장고에 좀 나뒀다가 먹었어요.
Cooking Attempt #28: Spicy rice cake (떡볶이)
I found a Korean grocery store just minutes away from the Montreal Children's hospital where I have my clinical course. They had fresh plain rice cakes. Proper rice cakes, not those crispy rice thingies that Westerners call rice cakes. And I thought, "Hmmm...I've got fish cakes at home!"
제가 다니는 병원근처에 한국식품이 있더라구요. 한번 가봤는데 떡이 있어서 사봤어요. 집에 있는 어묵이랑 같이 떡볶이!
Spicy rice cakes are a favourite snack food in Korea. It's cheap, so kids usually go to snack bars and buy big platefuls of the stuff and gobble it down after school. They don't have to be spicy (without chili paste), but I'm used to the spicy version (from the south, baby!).
떡볶이는 모두 좋아하는 간식이죠. 인터넷을 검색해보니까 안 매운 떡볶이도 있다는데 (고추장 없이 간장만), 남쪽 사람이 그러면 되겠어요?
Cut the rice cake into 5cm long pieces and fish cake into bite-size pieces. Fish cake should be dipped in hot water and then drained. Cook these in a skillet with a bit of sesame oil and then set aside. It doesn't take a long time.
떡과 어묵을 한입 크기로 자르세요. 어묵은 먼저 뜨거운 물에 담궜다가 잘 빼구요. 참기름에 잠깐 볶았다가 옆에 놔둡니다.
The sauce is kinda like the one used for the spicy chicken:
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of chili paste
1 tbsp of ketchup
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of mushed garlic
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
Make the sauce, add the rice cake and fish cake and mix mix mix! Eat and reminisce about childhood! Ahhhhhhhhh~
양념은 양념치킨이랑 비슷해요. 만들고 나서 떡과 어묵을 넣고 비벼요! 먹으면서 어린시절을 생각합니다~
Cooking Attempt #25: Korean rice roll (김밥)
Korean rice rolls are like sushi in that they have rice and nori, but no raw fish. Instead we use cooked ingredients, so that we can take it to picnics. It's like the standard snackables for any outdoor gathering and every family in Korea has bamboo rolls at home.
I had to guesstimate how much of each ingredient to prepare, because it's difficult to match it with how much rice there is. I made about 3 ricebowls worth of sticky rice and the following:
1 carrot
3 small hotdog sausages
1 bunch of spinach
2 eggs
daikon - I found ones that were already cut into long thin slices
8 sheets of plain, unroasted nori
These are standard ingredients. They're all colourful, so that it looks pretty. Some people use Korean barbeque or canned tuna with mayo, but those are hard to work with. I would have used some artificial crabmeat, but I like my rice rolls to be thin. If you use too much in each roll, then they become unwieldy and burst easily.
So, first I cut the carrot into long thin chopstick-like pieces and the sausages lengthwise into 4 pieces. Then I put the skillet on medium heat with some sesame oil. While that was heating up, I whipped up the eggs. I cooked the eggs like the time I made the egg blanket for omuraisu and then folded it in half when it was half cooked so that it was thick enough. Then I removed it from the skillet and cooked the carrot and sausage. Those were also removed and then the spinach was cooked until it was soft and stringy.
The rice should be removed from the cooker as soon as it's done and transferred to a bowl with a spoonful of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. This should be stirred so that it's coated evenly and left to cool. The rice should be lukewarm when you start to spread it on the nori. If it's too hot, then the nori will rip because it's too moist.
Spread rice thinly on the bottom 2/3 of nori using a rice spatula. A few grains should be stuck to the top edge to help the whole thing stick when it's rolled up. Take each slice of ingredient and pile it up neatly on top of one another 2cm from the bottom edge.
The rolling takes a bit of practice. You have to hold the ingredients as you fold the bottom edge over so that it meets the rice on the other side of the ingredient pile. Then press down to make sure that it's stuck and keep rolling firmly. Once it's been rolled, roll it again using the bamboo roll squeezing evenly with both hands.
Once the rolls have cooled down some more, take a clean dry knife and start cutting using long back and forth motions. The knife will start to get sticky from the rice residue, so have some hot water handy and a paper towel to wipe it off.
I made 8 rolls. That's about 3 servings. ^_^ It was soooooo yummy! This picture shows about 3 rolls' worth.
I'm taking some for lunch tomorrow. I put some saran wrap between each layer in the tupperware container so that it doesn't dry out. Mm mmmm~
I had to guesstimate how much of each ingredient to prepare, because it's difficult to match it with how much rice there is. I made about 3 ricebowls worth of sticky rice and the following:
1 carrot
3 small hotdog sausages
1 bunch of spinach
2 eggs
daikon - I found ones that were already cut into long thin slices
8 sheets of plain, unroasted nori
These are standard ingredients. They're all colourful, so that it looks pretty. Some people use Korean barbeque or canned tuna with mayo, but those are hard to work with. I would have used some artificial crabmeat, but I like my rice rolls to be thin. If you use too much in each roll, then they become unwieldy and burst easily.
So, first I cut the carrot into long thin chopstick-like pieces and the sausages lengthwise into 4 pieces. Then I put the skillet on medium heat with some sesame oil. While that was heating up, I whipped up the eggs. I cooked the eggs like the time I made the egg blanket for omuraisu and then folded it in half when it was half cooked so that it was thick enough. Then I removed it from the skillet and cooked the carrot and sausage. Those were also removed and then the spinach was cooked until it was soft and stringy.
The rice should be removed from the cooker as soon as it's done and transferred to a bowl with a spoonful of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. This should be stirred so that it's coated evenly and left to cool. The rice should be lukewarm when you start to spread it on the nori. If it's too hot, then the nori will rip because it's too moist.
Spread rice thinly on the bottom 2/3 of nori using a rice spatula. A few grains should be stuck to the top edge to help the whole thing stick when it's rolled up. Take each slice of ingredient and pile it up neatly on top of one another 2cm from the bottom edge.
The rolling takes a bit of practice. You have to hold the ingredients as you fold the bottom edge over so that it meets the rice on the other side of the ingredient pile. Then press down to make sure that it's stuck and keep rolling firmly. Once it's been rolled, roll it again using the bamboo roll squeezing evenly with both hands.
Once the rolls have cooled down some more, take a clean dry knife and start cutting using long back and forth motions. The knife will start to get sticky from the rice residue, so have some hot water handy and a paper towel to wipe it off.
I made 8 rolls. That's about 3 servings. ^_^ It was soooooo yummy! This picture shows about 3 rolls' worth.
I'm taking some for lunch tomorrow. I put some saran wrap between each layer in the tupperware container so that it doesn't dry out. Mm mmmm~
Cooking Attempt #24: Vegetable pad thai
Edit: I used this recipe. And I've tried it with firm tofu cubes and red pepper, which was REALLY good. Actually, better than this, but I forgot to take pictures.
I found flat egg noodles in the grocery store! This is the second time I've tried making pad thai and it was better, but I'm starting to dislike using broccoli in a stir fry. Maybe I should try cutting it up in smaller chunks? But anyway, the noodles turned out yummy, but I would have liked it a bit spicier.
I say that about a lot of the recipes. I made tandoori chicken last weekend and had to add so much more curry powder than what the recipe prescribed. From now on, I'll just assume that whatever spice they're adding is not enough and multiply it. By 4. Because my Korean tastebuds demand it!
Anyhoo, broccoli and carrot pad thai!
I found flat egg noodles in the grocery store! This is the second time I've tried making pad thai and it was better, but I'm starting to dislike using broccoli in a stir fry. Maybe I should try cutting it up in smaller chunks? But anyway, the noodles turned out yummy, but I would have liked it a bit spicier.
I say that about a lot of the recipes. I made tandoori chicken last weekend and had to add so much more curry powder than what the recipe prescribed. From now on, I'll just assume that whatever spice they're adding is not enough and multiply it. By 4. Because my Korean tastebuds demand it!
Anyhoo, broccoli and carrot pad thai!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Buh-whaaaa?
So I've been watching quite a bit of anime lately. I started watching the second season of Saiunkoku Monogatari again, which I abandoned for 2 months, because I became annoyed with a side story that did not involve any of the characters that I liked. More specifically,
1) The Hot Emperor
2) The Hot General
3) The Hot Bodyguard, who is actually the secret older brother of the Hot Emperor
4) The Hot Civil Affairs Minister
5) The Hot Kooky Genius, who is the younger brother of the Hot General
6) The Hot Deputy Governor, who is kind of like a Hot Robin Hood character
But I went back to it, because I was feeling kind of burned out after the midterms and thought that the elation of recognizing random Japanese words would be good for taking my mind off nursing stuff.
Then I came to this line:
Let me explain what the characters are talking about. Two minor characters who may or may not be nefarious are talking about the main character, who is the typical plucky do-gooder heroine (what I like to call the Anne of Green Gables syndrome). One of them says something about the main character reminding him of a peach and the other comes out with this gem.
First, who does that to a peach? One usually eats a peach, plays around with the pit for awhile and maybe boil it in some water to make a cyanide concoction if one happens to be a low-level assassin with no access to murder supplies. My point is that no normal person feels compelled to crush a perfectly good peach for no good reason just so that he can drop it into a massive (huge!) abyss. What if there is no 10000 foot abyss nearby?
Then I thought, well maybe it makes more sense in Japanese. Perhaps there's some particular idiom that's difficult to understand in English. Since Korean has a closer sensibility to Japanese, I translated it into Korean in my head and no, it doesn't make sense then either.
Perhaps I shouldn't be thinking so much about this, but I find that there's been a lack of crazy randomness in my life recently and I am due for a recharge. Like a sunflower out of the sun, I wilt and droop without the whirl of insanity around me. No one does crazy like the WSS. T_T *sniff sniff*
1) The Hot Emperor
2) The Hot General
3) The Hot Bodyguard, who is actually the secret older brother of the Hot Emperor
4) The Hot Civil Affairs Minister
5) The Hot Kooky Genius, who is the younger brother of the Hot General
6) The Hot Deputy Governor, who is kind of like a Hot Robin Hood character
But I went back to it, because I was feeling kind of burned out after the midterms and thought that the elation of recognizing random Japanese words would be good for taking my mind off nursing stuff.
Then I came to this line:
Let me explain what the characters are talking about. Two minor characters who may or may not be nefarious are talking about the main character, who is the typical plucky do-gooder heroine (what I like to call the Anne of Green Gables syndrome). One of them says something about the main character reminding him of a peach and the other comes out with this gem.
First, who does that to a peach? One usually eats a peach, plays around with the pit for awhile and maybe boil it in some water to make a cyanide concoction if one happens to be a low-level assassin with no access to murder supplies. My point is that no normal person feels compelled to crush a perfectly good peach for no good reason just so that he can drop it into a massive (huge!) abyss. What if there is no 10000 foot abyss nearby?
Then I thought, well maybe it makes more sense in Japanese. Perhaps there's some particular idiom that's difficult to understand in English. Since Korean has a closer sensibility to Japanese, I translated it into Korean in my head and no, it doesn't make sense then either.
Perhaps I shouldn't be thinking so much about this, but I find that there's been a lack of crazy randomness in my life recently and I am due for a recharge. Like a sunflower out of the sun, I wilt and droop without the whirl of insanity around me. No one does crazy like the WSS. T_T *sniff sniff*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)