How long would you expect between a trigger activity and getting a CH?  I'm sure this is a "it depends" answer, but I'm trying to figure out if something I do at 7PM can bring something on at 1AM or are triggers more short-term?  I haven't been drinking any alcohol during this cycle, but I seem to remember that it only took 30-60 minutes bring on a shadow.

For instance, I ate lunch at a Chinese dive at 1PM and had a 5PM CH (which is a weird early time for me).  Any possible correlation?

A trigger by its nature is going to be much more quick acting than that.  It would only take the time for whatever was in the food to get into your blood stream to trigger an attack.  Something ingested at 1 will not hit at 5.  Few foods act as triggers.  Nitrates and Nitrites will trigger me, but if I eat bacon I'll know about it within 20 mins or less.

Jerry

Edit to add:  The big thing with CH is to always be ready.  Never leave home without an abortive available for ready access.  CH doesn't need an outside stimulus to attack.  It can come on at any time for any reason.  Just because you get a random hit does not necessitate a trigger.  That is a good reason though to keep a HA diary so as to be able to pin-point any triggers you might have so you can knowingly avoid them in the future, but don't live your life in fear that anything you do may trigger an attack.