Big fat Udon noodles

Yet another simple meal, simple boiled udon noodles and sauteed vegetables, omelette and Japanese pickles.

















(click on pic for large size)

Approx 300 g Ishimaru thick Udon noodles
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks or grate with lemon zester
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, boiled
1 omelette (made from 3 eggs), sliced finely
Leek, green part finely sliced
Japanese Shittake Konbu pickles (mushroom & kelp)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons neutral oil

Boil noodes in salted water together with frozen peas, drain. Saute carrot in oil (sesame + neutral) until it softens slightly, then add leek, cook for another minute or so, then add omelette, keep stirring just long enough to let the omelette get heated.

Add the noodles and peas to the rest of the vegetables and also add a tablespoon of the pickles, mix well to get the pickles evenly distributed throughout. Should serve 2.

Enjoy

Fast food aka noodles

To everyone whose only experience with noodles are those awful cardboard noodles (otherwise known as instant noodles), you have my deepest sympathy. They might work well as a stomach filler which is what they were designed for in any case, but noodles are so much more than those. The variety of noodles is almost endless, unfortunately I live in a part of the world where there isn't a lot of variety in this area which is where Internet shopping comes in. Most of the noodles consumed in this household are delivered by mail from Japan Centre, we also use some amount of chinese noodles (mostly egg noodles and rice noodles), but they are easily available here.

Time to get to the point maybe? Ok, the only condition for todays dinner was maximum amount of flavour in minimum amount of time and that's where the noodle entered the picture.

Took about 5 mins to get the vegetables chopped, noodles and seasonings ready.


















(click on pic for large size)

For two:

200 grammes of Soba Noodles with Yam Extract
2 carrots, sliced into fat matchstick shapes
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
Leek, green part (about 10 cm)
Chinese cabbage, 3 large leaves (stem removed, green part sliced finely)
Thai fish sauce (just shy of 2 teaspoons)
Oyster sauce, 4 tablespoons
Water, 6 tablespoons

Boil noodles in salted water. As soon as you've put the noodles in boiling water, start sauteeing the carrots in the oil (sesame + neutral) over high heat. When they start to soften slightly add the leeks and saute for another minute. Add the chinese cabbage, keep stirring for another minute. Then pull the casserole off the heat, add water, fish sauce and oyster sauce, mix well.

Drain noodles. Put noodles on deep plates for serving, add the vegetable mix to the noodles and take care that all the liquid from the vegetables is also added to the plates and everything is mixed well. Enjoy.


















(click on pic for large size)

Warm potato salad

This was actually the first attempt at making something new with my recently arrived Nanami Togarashi, the combination of this with potatoes and vegetables turned out to be an excellent one and can be varied depending on whatever you might have available in the fridge. This was lunch on a day when I wanted something tasty in a hurry:


















(click on pic for large size)

Feeds 2:

1 avocado
3 large potatoes, sliced approx 1 cm thick
2 tomatoes
small package of sweetpeas, each cut into 2 or 3 pieces
1 red onion sliced into wedges
3 different types of lettuce (rocket, lollo rosso and gem lettuce)
oil/butter (or margarine)
Salt
Pepper
Nanami Togarashi

Saute potatoes in the oil/butter mix until they start getting tender, take care that they do not brown. Add about a cup of water (which will keep them from browning/sticking as well). At this point I usually add salt to taste, freshly gound black pepper and the Nanami Togarashi. Once potatoes are done, add red onions. Continue sauteing whilst stirring carefully until onions start turning transparent then add sweetpeas. A couple of minutes more and it's done. Distribute on two plates, add 1/2 avocado on each plate + lettuce and tomates. Enjoy.