I don’t believe in soulmates. Or, love at first sight. I don’t believe in swooning or spooning, excessive employment of the words “love” or “need” or “passion.” I believe in hard work. I believe in discipline, even in love—especially, in love. I believe in being on time, picking up the tab, sending flowers to someone whose mother is sick, being quiet and listening even when it’s your turn to talk. I believe that chance encounters only offer us a chance to be kind, because kindness is the most importantly underrated thing. I believe in forgiveness, in peeling back the skin and taking a real good look at the wounds resting beneath the surface, because it’s so goddamn critical to understand the pain of the earth. I believe in the way he held my hand last night when I had a nightmare until I fell back asleep, the way my poodle shakes her butt when I come home until I kiss her nose, I believe in the traffic lights that slip into my bedroom at 3 in the morning because they tell me, quite desperately, that the world is too large to be alone.
Believe it or a not, the above is a shortened version of my OkCupid profile–the same one that lured my now husband to message me and ask me out on a date. I made these yubuchobap while my husband was out running, because I figured with all the rice and the tofu, it’s sort of the perfect post-run meal. I suppose the fact that he scarfed them down in less than 3 minutes is proof that he enjoyed them!
Quick Tips
- Make sure to adequately cool the rice before you try to start shaping them into balls. If you don’t, you’ll not only burn your hands, but the rice will be too sticky to shape.
- Speaking of sticky, keep a bowl of water nearby so that you can wet your hands to avoid having the rice stick to them throughout this process.
Yubuchobap
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 bag frozen veggies
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 container JUSTEgg
- 3 servings cooked rice
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
- deep fried tofu pockets
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large saute pan. When the oil is hot, add the frozen vegetables, together with some salt and pepper.
- When the vegetables are soft, add the JUSTEgg and begin scrambling until eggs are cooked (around 2 minutes).
- In a separate large bowl, add cooked rice, together with mirin and rice vinegar, as well as the scrambled eggs, and both kinds of toasted sesame seeds.
- Place the rice in the refrigerator until it has cooled enough to handle. Then, roll the rice into golf balls.
- Stuff the rice balls into the tofu pockets. Sprinkle with additional sesame seeds before serving.
