my hungriest hour...

You know, while a lot of people "don't have the time to cook..." if you just sit at a computer or at the TV more time passes than you think. Now, my primary cooking philosophy is that food should not be cooked for so long that there's nothing left of it's original character. That's not what nature intended or else tofu would grow on trees (p.s. I love tofu and I would love if that happened) Asian cooking lends itself well to speed cooking.

Get a rice cooker. While the rice is cooking you can balance your budget, go on Facebook, play a chess game, play fetch with the dog, and watch an episode of Hey Arnold! OR you can cook a main course for yourself. In the front and center bowl is what I call my "Oval Stew" primarily because prior to cooking, almost everything that went into it was oval, or at least to some degree had a shape that could be mathematically described using Pi. It has eggplant, mushrooms: shitake and button, and quail eggs. I shall post a recipe later, but for now, the agak-agak story version:

Generally I just sauteed the (chopped, salted, rinsed) eggplant in a small amount of sesame oil. When they were partially cooked but not fully translucent, I added chopped shitake and button mushrooms. I left it and went to make some rice. While waiting I made the sauce which was a small variation of the sauce made by bunnyfoot for their Eggplant Misoyaki (which is fab BTW). After I dump the sauce in, I add a can of quail eggs. Let it simmer and do some dishes.

I always have to keep a can of these around for some fast protein. I love quail eggs, they are the most perfect food in the world.

Rice is done. Process takes about 20 minutes total and you don't have to wait as long if you make the rice from the beginning.

Keys to a Fast Meal:
Make Rice
Vegetables - they cook fast
Fish works too

Key to a Faster Meal:
Warm up already made rice + Left overs
Kimchi

Welcome to my tomorrow.