Asian History

About ten to twelve years ago, when we had a substantially lower income and a much higher debt load (a mortgage that was at least double what we carry today), we had a bad restaurant habit.  Every Thursday night, we would meet another couple out for noodles.  Then we'd generally also go out either Friday or Saturday night.  At least one weekend morning saw us in a diner for breakfast.  We also partied a lot more and often went out for Saturday night.  Now, we get our Asian fix at home.

While my culinary talents don't match what we enjoy at our favorite noodle spot, we do OK, courtesy of the Asian market around the corner.  Going directly to the ethic source is convenient for us -- and a lot less expensive than sourcing the ingredients at a "regular" supermarket.  Essentials for me -- Udon noodles, Five Spice Tofu and anything ginger.  Stuff that isn't easy to find in a traditional American outlets -- or if it is, the prices are generally twenty to fifty percent higher.

My trip this week came to $12.47.  The package of Udon Noodles: $3.99, Tofu: $3.99, the Gigner tea was $4.49.  I will use that in iced tea.  

Eating a healthy meal of Asian noodles, which I can augment with spiralized carrots and yellow squash is an at-home money saver.  We each had a large meal, with at least three lunch portions to follow.  I used up one of the chicken breasts cooked in the sous vide, and think the total spend was likely around twelve bucks.  In our old noodle days, the meal for two of us would come in between 30 bucks.

Sure, we do still like to treat ourselves to our favorite noodle joint, but now that we can make our own, we don't get the urge as often.