Thursday, February 16, 2012

Oh Chinese Food, oh Yeah...

One of the interesting things about living in Norway is the food. You have your fish and potatoes to be sure, but those fish and potatoes are fresh and of very high quality. That being said, you only want so much of the national cuisine before you start to go a bit crazy.

Lutfisk... looks horrible, doesn't it? It is.
 Norway thought of that too. There are several Chinese restaurants, a couple of Italian places, 2 Mexican restaurants, and a few others in my general area.
There are 2 downsides to this. #1. It still all tastes like damned fish and potatoes. #2. Said carefully disguised fish and potatoes will cost you an arm and a leg. On average, $30-$40 per person for food that wouldn't make the cut in your average U.S. restaurant.

So I've gotten creative. I've learned how to cook everything under the sun.

I didn't get the job that I was hoping for and it was just one too many slaps in the face since I moved here. I was in serious need of comfort food so I retreated to the kitchen, the place where I feel powerful and successful (because I'm awesome at food) and I made Mongolian beef using this recipe from blogchef.net.
And it was brilliant!


Even if you have a great Chinese restaurant down the road, you still want to make this. The recipe made enough for about 4 people with the rice and broccoli, and the Man and I at it ALL.
Neither of us could sleep after because we were so stuffed but it was SO worth it.

And that is all I have to say about that.

6 comments:

  1. That beef looks SO yummy!! I've lived abroad and can share your frustration. Don't worry girlfriend, the right job will come your way. In the meantime, just cook and sew. That's the best part of life anyway.

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  2. I must admit I do not feel powerful in the kitchen - I'm more of a mess (and usually so is the kitchen after I've been in it). Regardless, I have a soft spot in my heart and stomach for Chinese food, so I will have to give this recipe a try. And keep your chin up, you've a got a lot going for you even if you didn't get job :)

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  3. BOO about the job.
    And I know just what you mean about Scandanavian food: about 15 years ago, I travelled for a while in Iceland with my man, and after about the first 5 days we were DYING for something other than bread and fish. We finally found an Indonesian restaurant and dug into our spicy looking dishes with gusto, but it tasted very, very bland. Made for the Icelandic palate, I guess. We took to cooking at the hostels ourselves after that.

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  4. Oh! I have been visiting your blog to see if you got the job, so bad you didn't, BUT keep trying!

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  5. So sorry about the job. And I so get the food thing... a year in India eating "real" Indian food and Indian food disguised as _______ was a bit rough at times. Even the food one would think India would do well--like Mexican, the spices are all there!--just didn't quite make it.

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  6. Have you given thought to applying for teaching positions? Either teach English for older kids (ungdomsskole/lower secondary school and videregående/higher secondary school)? Or perhaps fashion history and sewing to kids who takes the seamstress/tailoring education offered in higher secondary schools? I understand the frustration you are feeling. I lived in Ireland for 6 years, and could only get Norwegian speaking jobs at call centres, even if I had higher degree education from Norway.

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