Joyce

Thank goodness for neighbors who look out for your stomach. What can I say about this love triangle between me, Joyce, and food? Well we could start by going through my #quarantinedmeals where we started afternoon fikas on my porch to maintain human connection, sanity, and the selfish altruistic need to share food. Joyce identifies as Korean American. I met her at the same time as Athena at bridger-of-all-connections, Kevin's apartment. I remember at some point during that rooftop grill out, we made a friendate to decorate cakes, and the rest is history.

 

So Joyce's bun had to first and foremost be mini for her love of all things mini that likely started in the early days when she'd break apart and nibble on those mini cinnamon toast waffles (you know the ones) one by one until her mom would yell that she was late to school.

Just to drive home how mini these buns were... here they are in my tiny hands. And in they went into the waffle iron 2x2 just like Eggos, and they came out cooked! And crispy! And mostly connected! I was quite pleased.

The yeasted dough was tenderized with blitzed shrimp crackers instead of cornstarch for a savory, lightly shrimpy dough that was reminiscent of one of Joyce's favorite Asian snacks from her Kansas days.

I managed to shove in shredded and chopped teriyaki chicken thigh, charred cabbage, and thicc teriyaki sauce into these tiny buns. Apparently Seattle teriyaki shops are like.. a thing - like just as entrenched in Seattle culture as Starbucks. Joyce had mentioned it in passing when I went for a homestay at her parents' but we never got around to actually getting a styrofoam carton of chopped teriyaki chicken over rice with cabbage salad. 

Seattle teriyaki descended from Toshiro Kasahara and his many franchised restaurants. Eventually every immigrant group moving into Seattle had their own spin on the teriyaki restaurant, but it was Korean immigrants who really transformed it into how we know teriyaki today. Classic teriyaki is marinated chicken thighs, charbroiled and served with a mound of rice. One John Chung is credited for slicing the marinated chicken to cook quickly over high heat for the lunchtime rush. He also modified the marinade (traditionally mirin, soy, and vinegar), adding ingredients that are found in bulgogi marinades, and served the meat with cabbage and mushrooms and a thick syrupy sauce.

These days teriyaki is a dying breed, as it's become so commonplace it's often forgotten. Or it's associated with Americanized greasy mall food. I'll admit I haven't thought about teriyaki in years. Nibbling on these buns triggered memories of following my parents through mall food courts, salivating at the chafing dishes of various glistening meats at generically named establishments like something-something Lotus or Red whatever or IchibanDragonExpress. Oh how I hoped they would buy me that styrofoam container of teriyaki chicken and rice.

Things I would do differently: don't forget the sesame seeds inside the bun, learn about teriyaki dressing earlier so I could've served it as a drizzle over my waffle buns.

Joyce's complete list:

honeybuns for breakfast

peppero

korean shrimp crackers (새우깡)

eggo mini cinnamon toast waffles

mini red baron deep dish pizzas

teriyaki

mom's cream of mushroom chicken with shiitake, onions, jalapenos

hotteok (호떡)