ASIAN SENSATION!

dudes,
poppy seeds may or may not be rad.
i haven't decided.
but,
putting brown rice in the crumb of a bun?
yup.
that's rad.
i had a time of making individual servings of various buns,
but i made it work.
brown rice flour took this meal's bread to eleven.
i began with a very wet dough base-
and kneaded in all the variables by hand after dividing.
think of it like this:
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of water
1 T yeast
1 tsp salt
1 T sugar
and then,
1/4 cup cooked brown rice to soak up and set that sloppy mess in place.
pretty easy.
turns out,
it also adds a note of elemental caramel,
alongside the sugar that offset the lack of gluten in that rice.
i love it when happy accidents work out in my favor.
that's the goodness exclusive to the province of sandwich week.
anyway,
i made a new asian tofu thing,
and i want you to take a look:

WORD.
baked tofu slabs are key here-
i marinated those exxxtra-firm jauns in tamari, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar,
crushed sesame seed flour, arrowroot, GPOP, ginger, red chili flakes,
salt and pepper, for the time elapsed between waking up
and getting home from work- roughly 13 hours or so,
although that's likely longer than absolutely necessary.
slow-roasted at 300F for about thirty minutes!!!
perfection.
a gently rice vinegar pickled radish layer,
and shredded snow peas,
along with a few scallions,
add crunch to that firm 'fu bite...
and underneath?
crisp-edged grilled bok choy!
nice.
so, how do we make that better?
crushed flaky sriracha pepper sprankles, for starters,
and then,
because a powerful sauce is always welcome to come on by
and juice up my day-
a reduction glaze of soy and agave,
with a little baby bit of cayenne,
and a touch of that rice wine vinegar...
expert.
sandwiches are kind of my thing right now.
however,
i still have lots of love for a good crawnchy side salad, son.
mmmhmmmmm.
sesame oil, and sesame seeds, a splash of tamari,
and all the rough-cut cukes and sugar snap peas,
with just a touch of scallion to freak it off.
*
dudes!
it's saturday,
but i've got the day OFF.
yep.
it's a crazy plot twist,
as they're busier than they've been in month,
and despite the movie checks all accumulating in the waiting room area,
i'm STILL disregarding their texts, and staying home where i belong.
why?
because today is the day.
THE day.
the big action big deal.
uh-huh.
and i'm not working.
january 7th is when it all started,m
and i'm taking this time to reflect on all that's come before.
it takes longer every year,
despite there being less to report as times goes on.
still,
i'm glad i'm around to witness the unfolding of space and time,
along the creases and seams of this unseemly and seedy
secret universal plot and plan and scheme.
ha.
i'll be sure to let you in on all the details, if there are any,
if and when tomorrow comes around;
never quiet, never soft.....