Home-made Take-out Event

Addendum upfront : Deadline revised: you have until June 1st to make lunch!

The noodles you see here were the subject of musings and a recipe* in the NYTimes Magazine recently, and they kind of called to me. I have made sesame noodles before, and there are plenty of recipes out there, though this is a particularly satisfying version. It was the caption that got me thinking about the packed lunches I take to work. Sometimes I go empty handed, and rely on local takeout for breakfast and/or lunch, but mostly I try to bring both with me. It's really expensive to eat lunch out a lot, leftovers can be put to good use in lunches, and hey, I like to cook.

To me, these noodles constitute pretty much the ideal take along lunch, better than random take-out, and as much of a feeling of treat being had. They would work even without a work fridge, because they have no ingredients to spoil during a morning, and are best served lukewarm. Also they are very, very nice, moderately healthy, and suitable for sharing with vegetarians.

I took my noodles for lunch with a pair of chopsticks (because I just like to eat noodles with chopsticks...I even sometimes eat Italian-style pasta with chopsticks, though not, admittedly, in public.) As I was enjoying them, and thinking they were pretty, I thought about some of the beautifully arranged bento boxes I've envied, and of those nifty stacked aluminum containers (I forget their name) delivered to some lucky people in India for their lunches, and just take-along brown bag lunches in general. Personally, I am fond of this Tupperware container, which in addition to being the nearly transparent green of spring leaves, collapses into itself when empty, for easy transport home. With these lunch thoughts in my head, it was a short step to the following idea for making some gratuitious work for myself.

So this is what I'd like to do, and I hope you will participate, either by posting in your blog, if you have one, or emailing me with your written recipe and a link to your photo, by May 15. Make a home-made take-out meal of the sort you like, or would like to take with you to work, or school, or to the park to eat while you watch the kids, or write your novel, or both. Maybe it is beautifully arranged in a divided enamel container, or it is a terrific recreation of Vietnamese street food, or it reminds you of the school lunch you took to elementary school. Maybe you take it in your Spiderman lunchbox. Perhaps you can make a giant pot of it for a dollar, and eat it for 2 weeks without getting bored? Whatever you like.

If you can, take a picture of it, and also, importantly, of the container or containers you will carry it in. Email (lindystoast at gmail dot com) me your link anytime on or before May 15, and I will have a round-up shortly thereafter. I think there's a lot of scope for individual cleverness here, and I'm looking forward to seeing some goodies, and getting some ideas for future lunches.

Let's, uh, do lunch.

*n.b. Recipe available in comments section, scroll down to check it out.
The cloth is for tying up your lunch-or anything else- you just put the thing in the middle, and make two ties across the top from the corners. They become a handle. It was a present from the redfox, quite a few years ago, when she lived in the Berkeley. She took me to Japantown in SF, when I visited for Christmas- and that is where it comes from. I am partial to the bunny motif.

Comments

[Emily]

But what is the recipe for these noodles? They look great!

[lindy]

Emily-I added a link to the recipe in the post above.. Better get it soon, as the NYTimes tends to send its articles to the "pay-for-it" archives pretty quickly!

[anapestic]

Oh. May 15th. That'll work.

[Tanna]

Lindy I think this is a great idea. I'll do my best to see if I can organize my self for May 15 but things are getting fast with me right now.

[(another) Julie]

Well timed. I'm in need of some new lunch ideas.

Sesame noodles will be a good place to start while I wait for more.

[Julie]

Oops! I'm not adopting (another)Julie as my nom de blog. I just forgot to clear it from the last time I used it.

[Kitt]

Thanks for the noodle recipe! Looking forward to seeing the results of the take-along challenge. I could use some inspiration there.

[redfox (lindy's daughter)]

Too late for this article now, but here's a tip for the future: Look over to the right-hand side of the article, where it says

E-Mail
Print
Reprints
Save
Share

Click "Share". Then click "Permalink", and you'll get a pop-up window containing a URL that will continue to lead directly to the full article, even after it's been archived: "To link to this article from your blog, copy and paste the url below into your blog or homepage. Using this link will ensure access to the article, even after it becomes part of the NYT archive."

[lindy]

Uh-oh- recipe's gone already? My bad, as they say. Here it is then, in abbreviated form, and next time, I'll follow your advice and get the permalink; ms.redfox, thank you.

1 1b chinese egg noodles, best if fresh noodles
2 Tbsps sesame oil
3 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsps rice vinegar
2 Tbsps sesame paste-Chinese or other toasted sesame kind
1 Tbsp smooth commercial style peanut butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tspa minced garlic
2 tsps chili garlic paste
matchsticks of peeled cucumber
chopped roasted peanuts.

Cook noodles in boiling water until just south of chewy. Drain. Whisk together everything but cukes and peanuts. Pour sauce over noodles and toss very thoroughly. Let cool. Garnish with cukes and peanuts- and a few scallions wouldn't hurt.
Adapted from NYTimes.

[littlebouffe]

Know what you mean about the chopsticks. I feel conspicuous using the ones that came with my Mr Bento, but rationally, I'm sure no one else notices.

May 15 is a deadline I may be able to meet. As of today, though, all superfluous activities must give way to the rule of purple tooties, et al.

[Rebecca]

I should be able to participate in this - I used to pack elaborate feasts to take to baseball games when the children were small and we were too broke to buy ballpark food. In fact I missed most of those spectacular Barry Bonds/Bobby Bonilla home runs during the Pirates' glory days in the 80s because my head was always in the cooler.

Your cloth-tying directions reminded me of when bums (or "homeless people") used to be depicted not with grocery carts, but with little cloth bundles tied to the end of long sticks, carried at an insouciant angle over their shoulders. I guess the homeless have upsized just like the rest of us.

[Kitt]

Oh, thanks for that tip, redfox. That's handy to know.

[the chocolate lady]

Those nifty stacked aluminum containers are called "dabbas." The folks who deliver them are "dabbawallahs."
I am always thinking of buying a set for home-made take-out, but take-home and clean-up could be hard.