Thursday, November 6, 2008

Indulgence in a shitty economy



It's a rough economy, people. As a grad student, I'm counting my blessings, and battening down the financial hatches. This week I went with my roommate, Josh, to Little Tokyo. He was going for Ramen with friends, and I hitched the ride to get out of the house, and get origami paper.

I should write about our favorite Ramen houses. Coming soon.

In the Ninja Market, Rachel and I went bananas. She admitted she only joined bf Will to buy candy at the Japanese market. So on the shelves I discovered, to my glee, some inexplicable canned fishes.

Many of us in the interweb generation connect with Beat litterature in different ways. I've always harbored impractically romantic feelings toward canned fishes. I don't mean the kind of minced tuna you feed to cats or stir with mayonnaise. I mean anchovies, sardines. Little fish lined in a can, which cartoon characters taught me to open with some kind of magical key.

Imagine my disappointment to discover that these miracle meals of the destitute cost upwards of 4 dollars, come in a rainbow of flavors, and, most disappointingly, taste like ass. I can't have breath like that unless I actually am in a boxcar.

Flash forward to Ninja Market. Same size cans. Pop top. Japanese writing and photos of sensually sweetened fish fillets. Bright colors. I found a sign in english declaring some of the cans to be yellowtail. So I bought a few cans. Josh guessed the other I bought might be eel.

Tonight I got home late, walked Gilligan, and set some eggs to boil for my camping trip this weekend. I peeled open a can of yellowtail and a beer.

The fish is a solid fillet, with bones and varied shades of muscle. It's rich and complex, without any fishiness in the flavor. Nothing like canned tuna or salmon. The sauce was just right- sweet but not insane. Around 240 calories, and half of those from protein, half from fat. I'll add pictures soon so you can find your own. These will definitely be my favorite camping lunch this weekend- and a good reason to get a car running so I can get to Little Tokyo more.

At $1:30 a piece, they're cheaper than a cup of coffee. Full consideration of sustainability is pending, but my dog loved the left-overs more than her enviro-sin Little Ceasars. Double bonus.

Coming soon: camp-out cook-offs, toaster oven lovin, best-spent sweet bucks, and budget cheeses for the poor and classy.