i decided to go to chinatown today. originally i was going to do it tomorrow, after i get the second of my hepatitis vaccine treatment at the mass general hospital. but since i would also be visiting haymarket for the first time in months, i decided to go to chinatown today so i wouldn't be hauling so much supplies back from boston.

there was a racket outside my room this morning. those electricians i saw replacing renee's electric meters a few days ago? apparently they're also here to install new mini-splits. normally not a big deal, but her compressor sits right outside my bedroom window. during the winter i keep the windows closed so i don't notice it as much, but will that mean more noises come summertime, when i sleep with the windows open? it's just a really weird spot to install the compressor, like she didn't consider there night be a noise issue being feet away from my bedrooms.

i poured out the used fry oil that i've kept in the fridge into another jar. it was free of debris, but a little cloudy. at the bottom of the old jar was a thick layer of gelatin embedded with bits of burnt panko crumbs. i scooped it out and discarded it in the waste oil container i have in my freezer. i also tried to figure out the portions for the tea egg spice we buy. if i knew the ratios of ingredients, i could mix my own. however i discovered two problems: first, my food scale will only read to 1g of accuracy, and i needed something more precise (like the hydroponic ingredient scale i got). second, i found out all the spice ingredients had been pulverized, so it'd be nearly impossible for me to separate out the individual ingredients. i'm still determined to make my own tea egg spice packet one of these days; i'll just have to figure out my own ratio.

before i could leave for chinatown, i first wanted to wait for my new microwave to arrive. fedex estimated the package to get here between 10am to 2pm. for lunch i finished out some old frozen pretzels from the freezer and heated them in the toaster oven. i ate them with some vintage french mustard, which is just a fancy way of saying they were expired (2018, but they were only opened recently). i ate while watching a youtube video about prison tech followed by jena ortega eating hot wings on hot ones.

by 2pm my microwave still wasn't here yet but i decided i couldn't wait for it anymore, and started getting ready to leave for chinatown. before i could step out though, i saw a fedex van pulling up to the front of the house. the delivery man dropped off the microwave on my doorstep.

i brought the box into the kitchen. it was heavier than i expected. i took the new microwave out and put it in the spot where the old microwave used to be. compared with the augmented reality version of the microwave, the new one was pretty accurate in size. first thing i did was to make sure my steamer container would fit. it fit perfectly, with enough clearance to spin around without any problems. i compared the glass plate from the new and old microwaves, they're nearly the same diameter. this new microwave was the perfect size. normally when i get an appliance, it takes a while to get use to it, but i was in love with the black+decker microwave immediately. the stainless steel finish matches nicely with my relatively new stainless steel fridge. just to compare, i put the old microwave next to the new one. the old 1.1 cu.ft. was a little bigger compared to the new 0.9 cu.ft, but not by much. 0.9 cu.ft. is the perfect size for my kitchen. i didn't try out the new microwave just yet however. it felt icy cold from being in an unheated van all day, and i wanted to wait until it comes to room temperature first.

i could finally leave for chinatown by 2:30pm. i pumped both of my tires before going. temperature today was in the low 40's. sky was overcast and there were plenty of puddles on the streets from last night's rain, but supposedly we might get a peek of the sun around 3pm. pumping the tires was a good decision, they felt more solid and moved faster, not squishy like before.

i got to c-mart by 3pm. i got some watermelon seeds ($6/bag), frozen korean rice cakes (2 packs for $8), and more sweet oranges (6/$2). the oranges didn't have the stickers from last time, but they were advertised as the same, so i took them at their word. i bought a dozen for my mother and another dozen for myself.

i also visited ming's market. here i got some taiwanese soda (heysong sarsparilla and apple sidra). there was a sale on napa cabbage (50¢/lbs) and i called my mother asking if she needed anything. she said no, but i was tempted to get some anyway, so i could make kimchi. i ended up deciding i'd come back tomorrow, as i was already carrying too many things.

with everything packed away on my rear bike baskets, i started heading back home by 3:30pm. i tried a new way of getting home, where after crossing the fiedler pedestrian bridge to get onto the charles, i go right instead of left, in the direction of the charles/MGH T stop, so i could loop below and then cross the longfellow bridge back into cambridge. it's shorter than how i'd usually get back when i'm on the charles, which is across the MIT bridge. i actually got a little lost and found my bearing, going over the appleton bridge, to get to longfellow.

instead of going home, i decided to go to the cafe first to drop off the oranges and taiwanese soda. i finally got there by 4:10pm. first thing i did was strip down to my t-shirt, my shirt and jacket completely sweat-soaked. i told my mother i was going back to chinatown tomorrow, she asked me to get a few things for her.

i got back home a bit before 5pm. i finally got a chance to use the new microwave. first thing i tried was reheating some milk to make a matcha latte. 2 minutes of heating and the milk came out fine. the matcha latte was good but i added a bit too much granulated honey. afterwards i went to star market to pick up some chips on sale.

i started making dinner around 8:30pm. with a working microwave, reheating the leftover rice was a simple matter. i left the tonkatsu reheating in the toaster oven while i shredded some cabbage with the mandolin and made another attempt at tonkatsu sauce. looking at the kikkoman katsu bottle, its main ingredient seems to be apple cider vinegar. there is tomato but in the form of tomato paste lower down on the list of ingredients. using that as a base, here's my revised tonkatsu sauce recipe:

i started with the apple cider vinegar, which provides a tart and sweet flavor. the soy sauce provides the saltiness. the worcestershire sauce gives some spiciness and umami. ketchup acts as a thickener but also imparts more sweetness. i added a little bit of brown sugar for balance, as well as a little mirin, though it already tasted fine without the mirin. this sauce tasted more like the kikkoman katsu sauce. my only complaint is it's too runny. the only way to thicken it more would be to add more ketchup, and reduce some of the other ingredients.

i used a bigger plate this time, so there was enough room for the rice, the tonkatsu, and the shredded cabbage. the cabbage i kept in an ice bath, and that combination of crispy and cold was a good contrast with the rice and tonkatsu. like i was saying before, the sauce was a bit runny, and kind of soaked into the tonkatsu. next time, either thicken the sauce or serve it separately, like a dipping sauce. i also made some miso soup and chocolate milk, for a complete meal.