This is the weirdest side effect ever of the drugs I've been on. I've been obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED, with Burmese fish soup with rice noodles. I could eat it by the bucket, every day, every meal and still want more. Seriously.
All day yesterday, all I could think about was this first soup, known as mohinga, which is a breakfast staple in Burma. Here's a recipe. It's the best, most rocking meal in the universe to my progesterone-addled mind: a clear, salty, flavorful broth with little bits of fish, a mound of slurpable noodles, a sliced hard-boiled egg, fresh cilantro, raw red or green onions, little dal crunchies (that cool Indian touch that sets Burmese cooking apart from Thai, for instance)... Ah, heaven. I always loved this dish and usually order it at our local Burmese spot, but... this isn't love. It's something darker, less wholesome. It's obsession.
When I say that this soup was all I could think about, I'm totally serious. I woke up thinking about fish soup. It's all I wanted to eat. I literally had to force myself to eat something else for breakfast. I decided I would go get it for lunch. I schemed and planned about when my fish soup hour would come. I walked downtown, ready, tasting the fish soup on my tongue.
But the Burmese place is closed on Mondays, I suddenly recalled. Drat! So instead I tried to assuage my fish soup lust with some hippy food, but I failed. I ate so much hippy food I thought I would burst, but my brain raged on, unconcerned. I mean, I even spent half of my 1.5 hour hatha yoga class thinking about fish soup. After class, I was meeting my husband downtown to walk home with him but I took an extra four-block walk just so I could double check when the fish soup dispensary opened. 11:30 was my answer.
Though I was still obsessively longing for and sensing the fish soup, my heart was put at ease. I knew the hour of my fishy redemption, my cilantro-topped joy. I just had to make it through the night.
I did, somehow, and woke up, just like on Monday, craving fish soup with every fiber of my being. But the end was in sight: my guy and I walked to his work, and then I hightailed it to the Burmese place. Desperate, I sat out front, reading a book for the last ten minutes before they opened their door for business.
It tasted so damn good. I could eat some now, actually.
I didn't see anything about "possible pathological mohinga cravings" in my patient's info! Why didn't the RE's office warn me? I'm in hell here, people!
What have you all been craving lately?
8 comments:
Hmmm. I'm curious what this baby is going to crave. I had to have miso soup for breakfast, but I think that was more my brain wanting lots of seaweed nutrients for the baby, as I'm anxiously awaiting my ultrasound tomorrow. I know it should be too early to see a heartbeat, but I'd love it if all the nutrients I gave it made it Super Baby and it showed us a heartbeat a little early.
ha ha!! that is crazy that it is giving you such a specific food craving! it does sound awesome though. I am not craving anything right now, more avoiding those things that bring a little gag to my throat! haha.
sounds so delicious! Now you have me craving fish soup and I've never even tried it.
My cravings haven't really kicked in yet this month, but I'll keep you posted. Often it's something pretty blase, but every so often I get really specific cravings like the one you describe here.
Mmm..that does sounds delicious. I'm glad you were finally able to get some! I'm not craving anything, but I am excited that I am about to eat some vegetable lasagna that Al just made.
you make it sound so good. I've been craving anything that's really bad for me -- good ice cream, thin crust pizza, buttermilk fried chicken, warm soft brownies...
This post is like an ode to fish soup. You make me chuckle.
Sorry if this is a duplicate comment - blogger ate the first version!
One of the few good things about Mr H working away from home so much is that I can eat what I want, when I want. Last week, I pretty much lived off rice noodles in salads, soups, and stirfries, so your fish soup sounded pretty good to me - my mouth was watering just reading about it!
Oh my. I wish I craved something so healthy. For me, the moment after retrieval is complete, I start freaking out over the carbs. Fries, potatoes, pasta, crackers. And, because I'm feeling self-indulgent and sorry for myself, I of course have no control.
The problem? Aside from obvious weight gain, this also leads to ridiculous heartburn. Think about it--I'm suddenly eating all this fatty carby food my body isn't used to, and I'm on "bed rest," so I'm spending less time vertical and walking around. I think I've downed a whole bottle of Pepto in the last three days. I have GOT to pull it together.
So your fish soup obsession, while decidedly quirky, sounds pretty sane. :-)
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