Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, itās too damn hot, but we still gotta eat. Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.Ā Ā
Coleslaw with napa cabbage at home
Source your own napa cabbage. You should choose one that is large with its leaves tightly packed
My dad came all the way to NYC carrying a napa cabbage in his backpack for me (and 10 pounds of frozen homemade zongzi from my mom), so of course I couldnāt say that āitās too damn hot to cook a single thing.ā Instead, I decided to give napa cabbage the Western treatment and make it into, gasp, coleslaw. Now, Iām no culinary historian, but I have never, ever seen napa cabbage raw on a Chinese menu. So, I am already assuming this is blasphemy, but I donāt really care, because itās good? Napa cabbage is super crunchy and lighter tasting than regular cabbage. I felt inspired by my favorite Japanese-inspired pasta and potato salads to make a sweet and tangy mayo-based dressing. To make, chop half a napa cabbage into thin ribbons about Ā½ inch wide ā twice as wide as normal coleslaw. Rinse and dry. Meanwhile, make dressing: Mix Ā¼ cup Kewpie mayo, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. You can add some lemon or lime zest, too. Toss cabbage in dressing and chill till cold. Cabbage will release liquid as it chills.Ā
Tuna melt at home
A good quick lunch.
Tuna melt is one of those concepts that I thought would be pretty gross (hot tuna salad?!) and never tried until my bestie (who also loves whitefish salad, another controversial mayo food) ordered one at the Shore and I had a bite. Now I crave it, but only during beach season. Theyāre also a quick meal that still manages to squeeze in protein, which is nice. I do get a little weird about tuna melts, as in, if theyāre too big or complex or overwhelming they feel gross to me again, so Iāve perfected my perfect formula for a petit toastie. To make, drain 1 can of tuna and add 2 tbs kewpie mayo and 1 tbs pickle relish, lots of black pepper, salt if needed, and a tiny squeeze of lemon. Take 2 slices of classic Martinās potato bread, and toast once in toaster oven. Now cover each slice with half tuna mixture, top with a thick slice of fresh tomato, and a very thin slice of provolone. Toast one more time. Serve with baby carrots or crunchy chips and a Coke Zero.
Matcha float (with matcha and hojicha soft serve) at Matcha Cafe Maiko
132 Bowery, New York, NY 10013
I usually never post on Instagram (at least in any consistent way, lol) but this float was so freaking gorgeous I had to make a photo post, which I know is outdated, but whatever!! I have been meaning to try Matcha Cafe Maiko for a while and I finally had a chance to go with a friend over the weekend. As an indoor cat, I would never leave the house on a 90+ degree day otherwise. Thankfully, Matcha Cafe Maiko was worth the absolutely disgusting subway with delays and no AC. As we all know I am quite picky about my matcha, but the matcha quality lived up to my standards, especially for a dessert tea shop! They had such a big selection of treats I wasnāt sure what to get, so I ended up getting a matcha float (which is iced matcha latte topped off with soft serve) as it looked the most refreshing. Usually itās made with an iced latte (they have oat milk!) but to test the quality of matcha, I chose mine with plain, unsweetened iced matcha instead. The soft serve was excellent, and this turned out to be a great call because in the super hot weather the ice cream quickly melted into the iced matcha, turning it into a creamy latte.
Passion fruit with cantaloupe at home
Both from Whole Foods but let me know where I can get better fruit.
Fresh cold fruit and iced coffee or matcha tea is my afternoon snack. Actually, itās also what I eat for breakfast (except iced oatmilk latte in the morning, always), and as pre-workout fuel. By workout I mean, gather up the courage to leave the house for a 20-minute walk. In the summer I absolutely love cold melon and if you arenāt at the grocery store patting melons are you even Asian? Actually I prefer to just sniff them which is more effective and possibly even more suss looking. As a treat I got myself a single passion fruit, which kinda looked like a deflated golf ball, on sale. I love how passion fruit smells but it is very sour so I mix it with cold melon. Relatedly, do you know where I can get good tropical fruits for a fair price in nyc? Thank you!
Chinese cucumber-tomato salad at homeĀ
Tis the season! š£ļø
The time has come: From now till September I will be eating some version of Chinese cold cucumber salad all week, every week, until the temperature drops back down again. Iām aware that many cultures have some sort of cucumber-tomato thing going on, but this above and beyond my favorite. Growing up, this was The Salad, because we eat lettuce stir-fried! To make, dice one large English cucumber and toss liberally with salt. Then dice one large beefsteak tomato, and add to cucumber. Salt again. You want to include all the juices because drinking this salad sauce is the absolute best part, it tastes like Chinese gazpacho. Add white pepper, a big splash of seasoned (this means it has sugar in it already, but if you use unseasoned add a pinch of sugar) rice wine vinegar, a tiny splash of toasted sesame oil, and a small splash of good soy sauce. CHILL before serving, the colder the better. I could literally eat buckets of this. You can also do a plain smashed cucumber version, or for extra medicinal healing do celery instead.
Stay cool,
Soph
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