Instant Noodles Review: Ichiban Delicious Roast Pork

Those noodles are from the same brand that makes the ones I reviewed last time, the Korean made noodles with actual chunks of meat in sauce, last time I bought the beef one, today I felt adventurous so I went for roast pork instead.

They were 3 dollars at the shop, which is pretty good given the basic noodles cost like 75 cents, at least these ones fill you up good.

I opened the bags of flavourings, then the big one containing the pork, this how it all looked like

You can see the pork actually looks like proper pork, sort of fatty, but much better than the dried flavourings you normally get with instant noodles.

So I followed instructions, added hot water and waited in eager anticipation whether they would look anything like the picture on the packaging.

I gave it a good stir to mix the sauces and flavourings, it ended up looking "almost" like a bowl of noodles you buy in a restaurant.

All over it proved to be a fairly decent instant noodle experience, I'd say good taste, easy to prepare, good price and great packaging.

Next time we're reviewing this, seafood noodles, stay tuned for more

ICHIBAN DELICIOUS Instant Noodles Review

Today's post will be a review of this fantastic instant noodles I bought at Korean shop last night, it worked magically to cure my hangover and I have to say that it was by far the best instant noodles I have ever had.

On the label it claims to have 100% Australian Beef as an ingredient, when I made the purchase I thought they meant the meat was dried or reconstituted.

However upon opening one of the flavouring bags I was pleasantly surprised to find out there were actual chunks of beef in sauce, delightful indeed.

The preparation was pretty straighforward, I had to open each bag of ingredients and flavours and empty them on the dried noodles, then add boiling water. The amazing thing was there were FOUR packs of flavouring, never had that many.

Those packs look like the Dharma Initiative food rations they find in the underground bunker in LOST.

After I added the water, waited the two minutes, according to instructions and then proceeded to eat it, that's how it looked when ready, actual chunks of beef, which makes this the poshiest cup noodles on the market.

It was only 3 dollars(AU) down at the Korean store, now I might go and get more.

Kanga Burritos

Today on the menu I had Burritos, made with Kangaroo meat, given my current location.

First I got the meat ready, mince Kanga meat, cut in cubes with a knife

Then some olive oil was put on a pan on medium heat, meat was added and browned slowly. Then some spices, cumin, paprika, dried cilantro(coriander).

Kidney beans were also added, anyway as always with food, if it looks like something that has been squirted out of your arse while you were waiting to score crack in Kings Cross, then it's probably very tasty.

I also made some more burrito filler later but without the beans, as it's less bulky and is easier to make the tortilla fold and hold.

That's the stuff

Still looks like something that's been drying out on a pavement outside a nighclub.

Time to heat the tortillas in the oven for a minute and then assemble the burritos.

Yep now I'm off to read comic books on the toilet seat. Later

Epic Meal Challenge Vs Lorenzo

Today I was challenged by my coworker Lorenzo to cook something greasy but still nice and palatable.
What I made was oven roasted chicken wings and deep friend chicken pieces in beer batter.
Obviously the chicken wings were first marinated, initially I crushed some garlic with green and black pepper, then I added some olive oil and a hint of soy sauce. After mixing well I added some Encona Jerk Sauce, which is perfect for marinades.
I then added cumin and chilli powder to give it some more thang and add texture to the meat.

Kangaroo Burgers

Okay so that's my first post from Down Under, conquered the jet leg, the long haul flight and now I'm settled down, even got a job interview early tomorrow morning.

So to get more acquainted with the place I had no other option but to try Kangaroo meat, hopefully during my stay here I'll be able to hit the outback and shoot, gut, skin and quarter one myself, but for now given my urban location I'll have to settle for store bought meat. Better than nothing.

I have also acquired some sauuuce, as burgers without hot sauce are pointless.

Poured some olive oil and in the pan and slammed the fuckers in, they didn't stick and cooked quite fast on high heat, left them slightly pinkish on the inside but not too much.

Added Australian cheddar on top as well, which didn't melt too well.

Let's add another layer...

Now time for some salad, just to give the illusion that I'm actually being healthy.

And finally let's top this with another slice of bread and obviously more hot sauce.

So that's it for today, now I have to prepare for tomorrow's interview. I also spotted Kangaroo sausages at the shop, they'll be featured in the next entry.

By the way the burgers tasted surprisingly good, nice texture, tasted like horse meat in a way, a bit gamey.

Burger Party Chez Chef Ciccio

Two weeks ago as the summer weather was at times almost unbearable, with the sun, heat, humidity and mosquitoes mercilessy making a meal out of your sweaty body, we also as humans feasted on our fellow living things.

We started preparing things early in the afternoon, first of all getting quality meat in from the butchers in the countryside, then placing it in a bowl with a couple of eggs for texture.

We then added fresh herbs and spices picked straight from the host's garden, which is well stocked in all the seasonings you might need for a good barbecue, sage, rosemary, parsley and other stuff.

The fresh herbs once brought back in the kitchen were then washed and chopped, then thrown in with the meat mix in the bowl.

The next step was to bring some human energy in the mix, get the hands dirty and make some nice meat mix to make decent burger pattys with.

A few beers were opened and the process continued as we were on to make some very decent burgers not just your average ones you can buy.

So what's even better than beer and beef, which we already had?

Pussy some of you might say, but the real men would only have an option really, the master race of meats, the emperor of grease and fat, our lord and saviour:

BACON. yes.

It was a simple straightforward choice anyway, so we started frying some pancetta in the pan, pancetta is basically Italian for bacon, it comes in different cuts and is often diced.

That's exactly what we needed as we didn't want to simply place bacon strips on our burgers once they were made, we wanted the bacon to be an integral part of our burger patty, its caring soul.

Here's our lovely bacon cooking in the pan, smelling up the room with goodness.

Next we started peeling and cutting onions, as they are an obvious add on in any burger, at the same time we started cutting Provolone cheese in slices and getting the Gorgonzola(like blue Stilton) out of the fridge.

Provolone melts amazingly, one of the best types of cheese to add on steaks or burgers, while the Gorgonzola packs quite a strong taste and goes well with fried onions.

Now it was time to actually press up the meat to make the pattys, for that we used some food proof paper to keep the pattys separated, a round metal pot to give the burgers their shape and a heavy glass to press everything together.

Here's the process basically, place a layer of paper at the bottom of the metal pan, then put a pile of meat mixture, then place another sheet of paper on top of it. Then apply pressure using the glass.

Here's our Chef Ciccio making them burgers, I was just drinking beer and taking photos while he was working like an eight year old Chinese child in a shoe factory. Industrial grade handmade burgers.

That's the first batch of the production line, there were going to be lots of mouths to feed that night so the we just kept on pressing and piling them up.

That's the kitchen work done, now out to the garden to get the grill ready, as people were arriving and were hungry we slammed the fuckers on and got cooking.

The grill was powered by wood logs on fire, which actually gave the burgers a nice natural smoky flavour, that's some properly flame grilled burgers right there, miles better than store bought.

That's a good view of the flames heating up the grill, with burgers, onions and cheeseburgers all cooking up nice, we also placed the sliced buns on the grill so they would warm up nice.

The finished product obviously turned quite nice and tasty, we also had sliced tomatoes and salad for those who wanted to them in, that's what they looked like when they were assembled.

The mosquitoes and the heat and humidity were still bad all throughout the night, but the beer, burgers and company made it all better.

Pa ra pa pa pa, I'm loving it.

Also, this creature somehow sneaked into the property and was spotted feeding at our table, its origins are unclear and it is not yet established whether it belongs to the human specie or not. As the photo evidence clearly shows it is likely to be some type of gnome commonly found in caves, who was attracted by the smell of food.

Roasted Bruschetta Sandwich

Today the impossible has happened.

I have actually eaten healthy.

So some of you might be familiar with what a Bruschetta is, right?

A slice of roasted bread, with some olive oil, oregano and tomato on top.

Not difficult to make, but still a bit dull.

So what did we do here to make things a bit better.

Well first of all we got ourselves some decent Italian bread, this is called a "crocodile" by the baker, due to its shape, nice and was baked in a wooden oven.

Then we got some actual mozzarella cheese, good quality is essential here too.

Then we got some oregano(dried) and some fresh basil leaf, which I picked from the plant I have outside on my terrace.

We then proceeded with putting some olive oil, extra virgin, just like a World of Warcraft player on top of the bread, then added some sliced mozzarella and some oregano on top. Put this in an oven in grill mode to let the cheese melt and the bread brown a little.

That's what we ended up with, nice toasted bread, with slighly melted cheese on top, oregano and basil to add a little of that Mediterranean flavour people in Islington pay nine quid for.

Here is with the addition of a few olives, as olives are always good.

Better view of our work:

Now we just have to get the other slice of bread covered in melted cheese and we're almost done.

We're almost done, a few tweaks and our quick meal is ready

Now it's elementary stuff, but the melted cheese side on top and enjoy your sandwich.

Yep that's it, doesn't excessively good, but I enjoyed it and it has been a nice break from bacon!

See you next time, hopefully lard and pork will feature more...

Pimp my Pizza

So the basic thing here is taking an average dull frozen pizza and turn it into something you can proudly chug down with a few beers over a football game.

You know the bad thing about food here in Italy? The problem is we don't have any Hungry Man snacks, no Hot Pockets, no Subways, no Taco Bells, no Wendys, no White Castle, not even any Quiznos.

We are basically supposed to be eating olive oil and tomatoes and whatever else that is healthy and won't clog your arteries. But I rebel to that!

I'm not gonna submit to this country and its eating habits.

So let's the what's our basic ingredient:

That's a frozen pizza available here in Europe, best on the market when it comes to value for money, that's the mushroom one, the only edible of the serie as the others have shite like tuna on them.

Okay so now what we need is some goodness, and what do you think of when you think about something that's good and pink?

Bacon obviously, here it is:

So now we just have to fry our piggy goodness on a pan for a bit, until it cooks

At the same time we should be getting some proper mozzarella sliced up so we can add it to our pizza

This is our pizza in the oven out of the box, with no additions

Now let's add some yummy bacon, looks much better already

Let's have a better look at the bacon, looks so gorgeous and sexy on the pizza base, so crispy yet so delicate, the food of the goods and the alcoholics of this planet(yes there are gods among us, haven't you watched Thor yet?)

Cheese attack! Let's slam some damn mozzarella on that thing, now I'm talking about proper mozzarella from Italy, she melts and she's a beauty, there you go.

I did burn a little bit the edges but it was all good. I then doused it in Green Jalapeno Tabasco sauce and Encona Hot Pepper, my two favourite hot sauces.

Well people, bon appetit!

And by the way I actually ended up eating it with grapefruit juice, now some of you might be aware of its liver enzyme inhibiting abilities, which all help in certain situations, but I'll leave it here.