Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Baked Tofu and Edamame

Since the Japan Night dinner was in the middle of a heat wave, we decided to make a cold soba noodle salad with baked tofu and edamame for the main entree.  For the actual event, we bought pressed tofu and marinated and baked that, but when I tested the recipe at home, I first pressed my own tofu.

To do this I first drained a package of firm tofu (you can also use extra-firm).  Then I lined the bottom of a bowl wide enough to fit the tofu in with paper towel, placed the tofu on top of the paper towel, and topped the tofu with another layer of paper towel.  On top of that I placed another bowl and put some heavy cans in it.  After 15 minutes you should see a significant amount of water at the bottom of the bowl.  I usually drain this off and replace the (completely wet at this point) paper towels and keep pressing for another 15 minutes of so.

The process of pressing the tofu removes a lot of the water in it so when you marinate it, it will soak up a lot more flavor.  I marinated the tofu in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, honey, and crushed garlic.  After a 30 minute soak in the marinade, the tofu gets baked for about 40 minutes and develops a nice crispy crust while maintaining a soft, almost custard-y center.  For this recipe I cut the tofu into half-inch cubes before marinating them so they were almost like croutons, but when I make baked tofu to snack on, I'll usually keep them in bigger slabs.

Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Baked Tofu and Edamame
makes 4 servings

For the baked tofu:
16 oz. firm or extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed

Press the tofu for 30 minutes (directions above).  Cut into half-inch cubes and place in a large Ziploc bag.

Mix together the soy sauce, mirin, honey, and sesame oil.  Add the crushed garlic clove and pour into the Ziploc bag, making sure that the marinade covers all sides of the tofu.  Marinate for 30 minutes, turning the bag over at least once.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray or use a Silpat.

Remove the tofu from the bag, discard the garlic, and reserve the marinade for the dressing.  Spread the tofu evenly on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes, then flip them over.  Continue baking and flipping every 10 minutes until the total baking time reaches 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

For the soba noodle salad:
8 oz. soba noodles
2 tablespoons of the reserved marinade from above
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup canola oil
Baked tofu (recipe above)
2/3 cup shelled edamame
4 Scallions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Cook the soba noodles according to the directions on the package.  When done, drain and rinse with plenty of cold water so that it cools down and doesn't stick.  Transfer noodles to a large bowl.

Mix together the reserved marinade, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and canola oil.  Pour over the noodles and toss with the baked tofu, edamame, sliced scallions, and sesame seeds.

For the actual event, we also added julienned carrots, red bell peppers, and cucumbers to the salad.

Next up:  Matcha Mochi Cupcakes

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Jjajungmyeon (Korean Black Bean Noodles)

Apparently, Valentine's Day is celebrated by singles in South Korea by getting together and eating jjajungmyeon.  I asked a Korean friend about this tradition, and he said that it's because, like spaghetti, it's one of those dishes that you don't want to eat on a date because it can get really messy.  Good enough for me.

When I found out that some of my friends were going to go to a Korean restaurant to eat this last Thursday, I was like, you know it's really easy to make at home, right?  Which somehow turned into me making a last minute Asian grocery store run and hosting 4 single guys on Valentine's Day.  Sigh.

That same Korean friend pointed me to this recipe saying that it's pretty authentic except that he fries the sauce separately from the rest of the ingredients and then adds it in.  Which I guess is where the name of the dish comes from; it literally translates to "fried sauce noodles".  There's a Chinese version of this dish too, but it uses a soybean paste versus the black bean paste that's used in the Korean version.

The traditional noodles used for this dish are flat white wheat noodles, similar in shape to fettuccine.  If you can't find them, you can try substituting with fettuccine, but you'll want to cook the noodles past al dente so that they're pretty soft (but not falling apart).

 
Jjajungmyeon (adapted from Maangchi)
serves 6

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 medium daikon radish, diced into 1 cm cubes (about 2 cups worth)
2 medium zucchinis, diced into 1 cm cubes (about 2 cups worth)
2 medium potatoes, diced into 1 cm cubes (about 2 cups worth)
4 small onions, chopped
Heaping 1/2 cup of jjajung (Korean fermented black bean paste)
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Jjajungmyeon noodles, cooked

 
Heat a large pan on medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the cubed daikon and stir fry for about a minutes.

 
Add the diced zucchini, potato, and onions and stir fry until the potato is translucent, about 5 minutes.

 
In the meantime, in a small sauce pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.  Add the jjajung and stir fry for about a minute.

 
Add the fried sauce to the vegetables and add four cups of water.  Once the sauce is boiling, lower the heat, cover the pan, and cook until the vegetables are cooked through, about 10 minutes.

 
Mix the cornstarch and sugar in 1/4 cup of water.  Add to the sauce and stir until it thickens.  Add the sesame oil and mix.

 
Portion out the cooked noodles into large bowls.  Top with the sauce and mix well.

 
I think the best part about this dish is how cheap it is; I spent less than $15 to feed all five of us, plus I had enough leftovers for one more meal!

Three years ago:  Nutella Ice Cream
Four years ago: New England Clam Chowda and Homemade Oyster Crackers

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Homemade Udon Noodles

Compared to making ramen noodles, making udon noodles seems a lot less fussy.  There's no obscure ingredient to find (unless you live somewhere where you can't find tapioca flour) and you literally use your feet to knead the dough.  I know!  Since the noodles are a thicker cut, there's even less of a need to have a pasta machine as well, although I found the dough to be stiffer so a pasta machine can really help with the rolling part.

Udon Noodles (adapted from She Simmers)
makes 1 1/2 lbs. fresh noodles

5 1/2 cups bread flour plus more for dusting
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 cups warm water

Mix together the bread flour and tapioca flour in a large mixing bowl.

 
Dissolve the salt in the warm water.  Pour about half of the salt water into the flour and mix with your hands.  Add the remaining water, a teaspoon at a time, just until you can form a ball with the dough.

 
Place the dough in a gallon size Ziploc bag, squeeze out the air, and seal.  Place the bag on the ground and knead with your feet for a minute.  (I may or may not have put on my cutest socks for that shot.)

Remove the dough from the bag, fold it in thirds like a letter, place it back in the bag, and knead with your feet again for another minute.  Repeat this process two more times.

 
Let the dough rest in a warm place for 3-6 hours.

Divide the dough in 4 quarters.  Work on a quarter at a time, leaving the rest of the dough covered.

 
Use a pasta machine or roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/8" thickness. 

 

Dust the surface of the dough with a little more flour and then fold it into thirds like a letter.  Cut the dough into 1/8" thick strips. 

 

Keep the noodles covered while you work on rolling out and cutting the rest of the dough.  At this point you can store the fresh, uncooked noodles in an airtight container (I used a Ziploc bag) in the refrigerator for a few days before cooking.  Just make sure to toss them in enough flour to keep them from sticking to one another.  As you can kind of see from my pictures, my dough was so dry already that I didn't need to add much more flour. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the fresh noodles.  After about 3 minutes, the noodles will start to float.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the noodles look swollen.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

 
Above is a comparison of hand-rolled and hand-cut noodles vs. machine rolled and cut noodles.  Can you tell which is which?

 
I like to eat my udon noodles in a dashi broth seasoned with a little soy sauce and mirin (about 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of mirin per cup of dashi).  Add whatever toppings you want:  tofu, mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, etc.  My favorite is vegetable tempura, which I'll cover in the next post!

Three years ago:  Apple and Pear Cake Fail
Four years ago:  Macarons - A Lesson in Humility

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Homemade Ramen Noodles

For most of my life, ramen meant the instant kind, and I loved it.  Then, my friend introduced me to real Japanese ramen, and I was in love.  The first time I had it was at Ken's Ramen House, which sadly, has now closed.  He made real tonkatsu ramen broth and imported the ramen noodles, and according to my friend, it was pretty authentic.  There are a couple of other places to get ramen in the Boston area but none of them are as good as Ken's was.  Maybe it's kind of a first love thing.  Another ramen shop opened this past year in Porter, and there are still hour plus long lines to eat there.  I finally went the other week, and it was good, but I'm not sure I'd wait another hour in the cold for it again.  Because now I can make my own ramen!

 
I found this recipe for making ramen noodles a couple of years ago but never went through the trouble of finding the kansui because I figured it'd be too hard to find.  A Japanese grocery story opened up in Porter this year so I decided to stop in one day and see if they had it.  They did, but only in this huge bottle.  I guess I'll be making a lot of homemade ramen.

 
The kansui is a solution of potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate that reacts with the flour to make it yellow in color and also toughens the protein so that the noodles are springier than regular wheat noodles.  I noticed that my dough started turning more greyish green after a while, and found on another website that it was because the dough was too alkaline.  Adding a little bit of citric acid would neutralize the pH and should return it back to yellow (or you could just use a little less kansui).  Of course, I didn't read this until it was too late and just used the grey noodles as is.  They seemed to look more yellow than green after cooking, and they tasted great, so I wouldn't worry to much if this happens to your noodles too.

 
The first time I made this, I didn't have a pasta machine, so I just rolled it out and cut it by hand.  So it's possible.  But it's more fun using a pasta machine, and you'll get these amazingly thin and evenly cut noodles.

 
Homemade Ramen Noodles (from No Recipes)
makes enough for 4 bowls

300 grams bread flour (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon Koon Chun Potassium Carbonate & Sodium Bi-Carbonate (kansui)

Put the flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix the water and kansui together, then add the mixture to the flour. The flour should immediately start turning yellow.

 
Give the mixture a quick stir with the dough hook to combine everything then attach the bowl to your mixer and run on medium high speed for 10 minutes. It’s a dry dough so it will look like a bunch of gravel at this point. Use your hands to divide it in two and press together into two balls.

 
Flatten each ball out on a flat surface, and run it through the largest setting of your pasta roller a few times, folding it in half each time. The dough will be ragged the first few runs though but will smooth out. When it starts rolling out smoother, fold it up into a square and wrap with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge overnight.

 
When you’re ready to cook it, prepare a large pot of boiling salted water. Each ball will make enough for 2 bowls of ramen, so figure out how much you need. Flour the dough generously and roll it out to the 3 setting on your pasta roller. Cut the dough in half so you have two sheets of dough a little over 1 foot long and flour generously again. Use the spaghetti attachment to cut the pasta into long thin noodles, dusting them with flour as they are cut to keep them from sticking together.  (I actually found that the noodles were not very sticky and didn't need to dust them at all.)

 
Boil the noodles until they are slightly firmer than the final consistency you want, since they will continue cooking after you remove them from the water.

If you're not ready to boil all the noodles yet, you can save them in an air-tight container (I used a plastic baggie) for a day or two in the fridge.

I still haven't figured out how to make the noodles curly, though.  Any suggestions? 

Next:  Miso Ramen with Marinated Soft-Boiled Eggs
Previously:  Vanilla Passion Caramels
Three years ago:  Tim Tam Slam Ice Cream
Four years ago:  Beef Noodle (Soup) and Lu Dan

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Coconut Curry Noodles with Collard Greens and Broccoli

A couple of weeks ago I got two Boston Organics deliveries in a row with collard greens and broccoli. I was fine with the broccoli, other than possibly getting bored with it, but I didn't really want to make braised collard greens with bacon again. So when I saw this recipe for creamy coconut collards, I was pretty intrigued. I would never have thought that collard greens, a staple in Southern soul food, could be used in an Asian-inspired dish. But it's a brilliant combination; the slightly sweet creaminess of the coconut milk tempers whatever bitterness the collard greens may have left after braising, and the curry gives it just enough kick to cut through the cream.

The only thing was, served over rice, the texture was just too blah. So I tried it over chow mein noodles (not the crispy La Choy kind; the kind that you boil), added some stir-fried broccoli, and the dish turned into something sublime and much, much greater than just the sum of its parts. I've already made this twice and will most likely make the next time I get collard greens; it's really that good.

Unfortunately, I didn't really take note of how much of what I used and basically "cooked by feel". But this dish is too good not to share, so here's what I did:

Coconut Curry Noodles with Collard Greens and Broccoli
serves 3-4

Cut off the florets from 3 stalks of broccoli to end up with about 2 cups of florets. Mince a clove or two of garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok and add the garlic and salt. Toss in the broccoli and stir fry until bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cover to finish cooking by steaming about another 5 minutes. Once it is done, remove the broccoli from the wok and set aside.

Wash the collard greens, remove the stems, and cut the leaves into ribbons. Mince another clove or two of garlic. Heat up some oil in the cleaned wok and add the garlic and collard greens. Stir fry for a couple of minutes and then add a can of coconut milk and curry powder to taste (start with 2 teaspoons). Cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until the collard greens are done and the sauce is slightly thickened. Add the broccoli and toss. Remove from heat.

In large pot, boil salted water. Add the steamed chow mein to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and add to the curried coconut collards. Toss to mix and salt to taste. Serve hot.

You can add chicken or pork to the dish by cutting it into bite-sized pieces and browning it in the hot oil before adding the garlic and collard greens. If you can't find steamed chow mein, you could probably substitute Hong Kong style egg noodles (like the kind I used for the pan-fried noodles), ramen, or possibly even angel hair cooked al dente. I probably wouldn't use anything too thick or chewy; the reason why the noodles worked while the rice didn't is because you want some bite in the texture. I made this with regular coconut milk, but next time I will try it with reduced fat coconut milk.

ETA:  I tried it with the reduced fat coconut milk, and it wasn't anywhere near as yummy.

If you try making this, please let me know what you think!

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Hong Kong Style Pan-Fried Noodles

And now it's time to get back to some more Asian dishes. Pan-fried noodles are one of my favorite dishes at Cantonese restaurants, and I made this a couple of weeks ago when I needed to used up some (more) leftovers from hot pot as well as some broccoli from a Boston Organics delivery. I was really surprised at how easy it was; the hardest part was going to the Asian grocery store and finding the fresh Hong Kong style egg noodles. You could probably try making these with fresh or cooked semolina or non-Hong Kong style egg noodles, but the results won't be the same. The thin Hong Kong style egg noodles allow you pan-fry them while fresh so that they get crispy and cooked through without needing to boil them first, and they serve as the perfect medium for absorbing the gravy as well.

Other than the noodles, you can probably substitute any other meats and veggies you want: shrimp, beef, pork, chicken, squid, or baby corn, straw mushrooms, snow peas, baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, etc.

Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles (based on sugarlens' recipe)
serves 4

1 (16 oz.) package Hong Kong style noodles (I found these in the refrigerated aisle at the Asian grocery store)
2 small chicken breasts, sliced thinly
1 small onion, sliced thinly
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2/3 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced

Marinade:
2 teaspoons corn starch
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce

Sauce:
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of cooking wine

Thickening:
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 tablespoon of water

Add oil to a heated pan. Add noodles. The noodles should brown very quickly. Use a pair of chopsticks or a spatula to make sure the noodles are getting browned evenly. If you need to, use the spatula to press the noodles against the pan or add some more cooking oil to make sure you brown most of the noodles. Plate the noodles and set aside.

Mix together the ingredients for the marinade and add the sliced chicken. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce. In a smaller bowl, combine corn starch and water. Set aside.

Add oil to a heated pan and saute garlic and broccoli for about 3 minutes or until garlic is starting to turn brown. Add a half cup of water and cover to let the broccoli finish cooking by steaming. After 5 minutes, remove cover and check to see if the broccoli is done. Salt to taste and dish out.

Add oil to a heated pan and cook onions, mushrooms, and chicken until done. Add broccoli back to the pan. Stir well. Add the sauce mixture. Bring it to a boil.

Add the corn starch mixture and give a quick stir. Bring it to a boil.

Pour gravy on top of the noodles. Serve immediately!

I'm definitely one of those "save the best for last" type eaters, so I almost always have a little bit of the crunchy noodles left at the end. Yum!

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Beef Noodle (Soup) and Lu Dan

My mom is the best cook I know, and I'm not just saying that because she's my mom. Not only doe she make some awesomely impressive dishes for potlucks and the like, she also makes awesome everyday dishes just for us, and the best thing is, she's self-taught. One of the dishes that my brother and I always demand she makes when we're home is niu ro mien, or Taiwanese beef noodle soup. Actually, the translation is a little misleading because it's not exactly niu ro tang mien (tang means soup in Mandarin). The dish my mom makes doesn't have a whole lot of soup (although you could just add beef broth if you wanted, I suppose), it's more like a healthy amount of sauce.

One change I made to her recipe is that I used chuck beef instead of beef shank because I'm not a big fan of all the jing, which is the chewy gross stuff that is probably tendons and junk that other people seem to really like. So yeah, if you like that junk, use beef shank, which comes out much more tender, or maybe that's just because my mom made it.

My Mom's Taiwanese Beef Noodle (Soup)
makes 6 servings

2 scallions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 star anise
1 1/2 lbs. chuck beef (or beef shank) cut into 3/4" pieces
1/2 cup rice wine
1/2 cups soy sauce
1 1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons rock sugar
1 lb. angel hair pasta
1 small head napa cabbage, washed and cut into 3" pieces

1) In large saucepan, saute the first four ingredients in 2 T oil for 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook until just browned.

2) Add the wine, soy sauce, water, and sugar, and heat to boiling. Reduce to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 1-2 hours (1 hour is enough for chuck beef, may need 2 hours for beef shank).

3) 15 minutes before beef is done, boil water in a large pot. Add pasta and cook while stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add napa cabbage and cook for 2 more minutes. Drain off most of the water.

4) Divide the noodles and cabbage among 6 large bowls, adding a little of the excess hot water. Add the beef on top and ladle in some of the sauce (making sure to remove the star anise).

Another Taiwanese food I really like is lu dan, or soy sauce braised eggs. In Taiwan, these are so common you can get them at the ubiquitous 7-Elevens, but it's darn near impossible to find them here unless you make them yourself. Since I had a large amount of soy sauce mixture left from making the beef noodles, I decided to make some. (Note: these are different form cha dan, or tea eggs, in that 1) there is tea in the braising sauce for tea eggs, and 2) the egg shells are not completely removed for making tea eggs.)

Soy Sauce Braised Eggs

1) Add eggs to a pot of cold water. Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl full of cold water to cool.

2) Once eggs are not hot to the touch, peel them.

3) Heat the soy sauce mixture leftover from beef to boiling. Reduce to a simmer and add the peeled eggs. If the level of the liquid does not cover the eggs, make sure to rotate the eggs throughout the braising process. Braise for 30 minutes.

That's it! You can probably braise the eggs in a straight mixture of soy sauce, water, and sugar (i.e. without braising beef or some other kind of meat in the liquids first), but for some reason, I've only had them cooked in a mixture that had first been used to cook something else. Hmmm, maybe it's because it's a Taiwanese thing, and we're kinda cheap and efficient like that. =P

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