Soba Salad

Soba is one of my family's favourite noodles and I usually make it when I am pressed for time and cannot cook a full Chinese meal with dishes and soup. 

This flavourful and easy to do Soba Salad from Gordan Ramsay was our dinner on a Sunday evening when we came home fairly late and I had to whip up something real quick. 

The mix of sauce gave the noodles and vegetables a lovely refreshing, yet light, flavours. I served this together with some sushi for a light and healthy Japanese dinner. 

Soba Salad (4 servings)

Recipe by Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients

• 300g soba noodles
• 100g kale, stalks removed, leaves shredded or torn (I used Chinese Kai Lan)
• 150g sugarsnap peas, topped and tailed, halved lengthways (I replaced with frozen corn)
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into ribbons (use a vegetable peeler)
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 3cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1–2 tsp rice vinegar
• 1–1½ tbsp soy sauce
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 sheet of nori seaweed, finely sliced (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• White sesame seeds for topping (my own addition)

Method

• Cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions. When almost cooked, add the kale, sugarsnaps and carrots to the pan to blanch. Drain once the noodles are tender.
• Add all the remaining ingredients to the noodle mixture, season with a little salt and pepper, stir well and serve.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. 

Sesame Peanut Noodles

I really do enjoy a light and healthy salad lunch and when I came across this recipe - the peanut lover in me just had to give it a try. 

Here is Nigella's Sesame Peanut Noodle - egg noodles (in my case I used spaghetti) tossed in a flavourful peanut sauce, topped with crunchy vegetables and garnished with sesame seeds.  

The sauce made of peanut butter, sesame oil, garlic oil, chilli and lime juice was refreshing, flavourful and aromatic. 

I added a sprinkle of crushed peanuts as well as my favourite pan fried bean curd to go with the salad. It is easy to prepare and can also be eaten straight out of the refrigerator. This is one of those recipes I won't get tired of having!

Sesame Peanut Noodles (serves 6)

Recipe by Nigella

Ingredients

for the dressing

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 100 grams smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 tbsp water (my own addition)

for the salad

• 125 grams mangetout (snow peas)
• 150 grams beansprouts (rinsed)
• 1 red pepper (deseeded and cut into small strips)
• 2 spring onions (finely sliced)
• 550 grams egg noodles (ready prepared)
• 20 grams sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
• 2 tbsp of crushed peanuts (my own addition)
• 2 pieces of tau gua, cut into pieces and lightly pan fried (my own addition)

Method

• Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl or jug.
• Put the mangetout, beansprouts, red pepper strips, sliced spring onions and the noodles into a bowl.
• Pour the dressing over them and mix thoroughly to coat everything well.
• Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and chopped coriander and pack up as needed.

My notes: 

• I added 4 tbsp of water to the dressing as I found it too dry
• I used 500 g of cooked spaghetti.
• I stir fried the bean sprouts, snow peas and red peppers over medium heat for about 3-4 mins before adding into the noodles.
• I didn't mix in all the cooked vegetables, I left some as garnish.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Anuja from Simple Baking. 

Korean Jap Chae

When I was first saw this Korean Jap Chae dish on Herbavoracios, I was immediately drawn to the vibrant colours of this stir fried dish. I've only eaten the Chinese type of "Chap Chye" where there's a mix of different types of vegetables fried with some glass noodles/vermicelli. I've never cooked Korean food before and this one didn't look too complicated so I made this for dinner one Sunday.  

This recipe calls for sweet potato starch cellophane noodles called dangmyeon - I found these at the Korean section of the supermarket.

The recipe is fairly straight forward, but a little time consuming. This is because all the ingredients for the dish is cooked individually before it is combined to form the dish. According to the recipe's writer, Alice of Savoury Sweet Life, by frying them individually, the flavor and color of each vegetable is preserved without any cross blending of the other ingredients. As a result, the frying pan becomes more seasoned as layers of umami (pleasant savoury taste) build on each other.  

The final dish is a delightful and flavourful mix of noodles, colourful vegetables and tofu. I'd have to say this is one of the most beautiful Korean dishes I have seen. It is tasty and aromatic - the noodles are springy and firm to the bite. The noodles, vegetables, tofu and sesame seeds provide a wonderful blend of texture to the dish, while the sesame oil and pepper makes it amazingly fragrant.

There appears to be quite alot of oil and sesame oil used in the recipe. Because I prefer a less oily dish, I have cut down on the amount. Do adjust it according to your family's taste. My whole family gave this amazing Korean dish a big thumbs up.

Korean Jap Chae

Recipe Serves 2-3 as a main dish, or 4-6 as a side dish

Recipe from Herbivoracious

Ingredients

• 1 bundle of sweet potato starch cellophane noodles called dangmyeon (I used 200 g)
• 1/2 bunch of fresh spinach
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, julienned
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into match sticks
• 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
• 8-10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 2 stalks green onions, sliced in 1.5” slices (green parts only)
• ½ block of firm tofu, cut into small rectangle pieces (approx. 1.5”x1”x.25”)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Olive oil or Canola oil  (amounts will vary, please see directions)
• soy sauce  (amounts will vary, please  see directions)
• sesame oil (amounts will vary, please see directions)
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Method

• Boil one bundle of noodles for 5 minutes until softened and al dente in texture.  Drain the noodles and do not rinse.  Add noodles to a large mixing bowl and cut them three times with kitchen shears.
• Add 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce and sesame seed oil (I added only 1 tablespoon of each).  Toss noodles until sauce is evenly distributed and set aside.  Using the same pot as the noodles, add enough water to boil spinach for 1 minute.  Remove spinach from water and allow to cool just enough to squeeze as much water out as possible. Cut spinach in thirds, and massage it while seasoning with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Add spinach to the large noodle filled bowl.
• Heat a wok or large frying pan on high.  Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and cook sliced onions for 2 minutes stirring them as they start to turn translucent.  Season with a 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add onions to the large bowl of noodles.  
• Repeat the same process as the onions except reduce cooking times to 30 seconds for the carrots, 2 minutes for the bell red pepper, 1 minute for the shiitake mushrooms, and 10 seconds for the green onions.  
• Fry tofu squares for 1 minute per side – but do not add tofu to the large bowl of noodles.
• Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (I used 1/2 tbsp), and 2 tablespoons of sugar (I omitted), and ½ teaspoon of ground pepper to the large noodle bowl and toss everything until well mixed.
• Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (I added just a few drops) to the hot wok and add minced garlic.  Allow garlic to cook for a few seconds and add the entire bowl of mix noodles and vegetables to the wok/pan.  Stir-fry everything for 2-3 minutes and turn off heat.  Gently add tofu and transfer noodles to a large serving platter. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top.  Serve warm or cold.  Enjoy!.

I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up event, organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen for my little favourite D.I.Y., and hosted by Joyce, kitchen flavours.

This is for Made for Love Mondays by Javelin Warrior. 

Hakka Mee

I’ve always enjoyed my bowl of Hakka Mee. Though I don’t eat much pork on a daily basis, I’m quite happy to break that rule for this delicious minced pork noodles garnished with lots of spring onions. I can’t remember exactly when I started eating and loving this so much, but its probably from my childhood days of spending holidays in Malaysia with my cousins.

The mouth-watering pictures of Seremban Hakka Mee on my friend Baby Sumo’s blog brought back those cravings. Thanks to her easy recipe, I managed to whip up a bowl for the Malaysian Food Fest.

I am surprised that a simple topping of pork stir-fried and mushrooms with garlic and soya sauce can be so flavourful! The Seremban version uses hand-made noodles. To create the home-made version, I found a non-fried broad noodle (dried) from the supermarket’s noodle section which was surprisingly springy and smooth. As the noodles are not flavoured, the more topping you put on it, the more flavourful the dish will be. This is perfect for days when one is rushed for time and wants to prepare something simple.

Hakka mee (3 servings)
Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients

• 220g non-fried broad noodles
• 400g pork mince
• 2 stalks spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2-3 tbsp soy sauce, to taste
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• Shitake mushrooms, diced (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Add the pork mince and mushrooms and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Season with soy sauce and remove from heat.

2. In a separate pot, bring water to boil. Add the noodles, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until noodles are firm to the bite. Drain well and divide the noodles between 3 bowls. If noodles stick together, rinse it under cold water.

3. Top the noodles with minced pork and drizzle with some of the oil which have been released during cooking. Garnish with some spring onions. Serve with pickled green chillies or jalapenos.

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I am submitting this post to Malaysia Food Fest, Negeri Sembilan month, hosted by Hody Loh of Cook 4 you & me

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

I’m a huge fan of Thai food and this Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad is not only easy to do but is perfect as a light meal after all the feasting during Christmas.

The secret is really in the sauce which is made of readily available kitchen sauces, which most of us would already have the pantry.

The dish is salty, sweet, spicy and crunchy (raw vegetables and peanuts) all it once. It is very aromatic from the basil leaves and very refreshing. The addition of mint leaves gives additional flavour and goes well with the basil. 

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad (4 servings)

A Martha Stewart recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds (550 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced crosswise or minced
• Spicy Asian Dressing* (recipe below)
• Coarse salt
• 3 1/2 ounces (100 g) Chinese rice noodles, broken in half if long (I use Tang Hoon/Glass Noodles)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 2 carrots, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
• Bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, fresh mint leaves, red-pepper flakes, and sliced scallion greens, for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Place chicken and half of dressing in a resealable plastic bag (reserve remaining dressing). Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to overnight).
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until tender. Drain, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a platter.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken (do not crowd skillet) until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to platter on top of noodles.
4. Top with carrots, cucumber, and basil. Drizzle with reserved dressing, and sprinkle with garnishes, if desired.

Spicy Asian Dressing
Ingredients

• 4 thinly sliced scallion whites
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (I used 1/2 tsp reduced salt fish sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Method

1. In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients.

Mee Kedah

My whole family loves noodles. After seeing the bowl of delicious Mee Kedah on Phong Hong’s blog, I made this dish for lunch over the Deepavali holiday recently. Mee Kedah is a noodle dish from the Northern Malaysian state of Kedah. It reminds me somewhat of the prawn noodles we eat in Singapore but is a spicier version. I love my noodles with lots of condiments so I have practically piled my entire bowl with them such that the noodles and soup can’t even be seen!

Condiments aside, the soup is the real reason why this dish is so absolutely delicious. The rich meat, prawns and dried prawns-infused broth with chilli and spices, is simply irresistible. I did not leave a single drop behind!

Mee Kedah (Kedah Noodles) – Serves 4
Recipe adapted from Phong Hong Bakes

Ingredients

• 600 g Yellow noodles
• 1 tbsp cooking oil for oiling the noodles
• 300 g beef, thinly sliced (I replaced with chicken)
• 1.5 liter water (I boiled some chicken bones in the water)
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• 120 g dried prawns, pounded
• 300 g fresh prawns, shells removed
• 1/2 can (285g) tomato soup (Substituted with 2 tablespoons of tomato puree added with 250 ml water)
• 1 teaspoon seasoning powder (omitted)
• Salt to taste (omitted)

Blended ingredients

• 20 dried chillies, soaked (replaced with 1 tbsp chilli paste)
• 8 shallots
• 3 cloves garlic

Garnishing

• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 2 pieces beancurd, fried and cut into strips
• 300 g beansprouts
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 5 red chillies, sliced
• Fried shallots
• Spring onions
• Chinese parsley
• 300 g mustard greens, blanched

Method

• Blanch noodles in boiling water and drain.
• Toss noodles with 1 tablespoon cooking oil to avoiding them from clumping together.
• Boil beef until tender (I boiled the chicken and chicken bones together)
• Heat 4 tablespoons oil and saute blended ingredients for a few minutes.
• Add dried prawns and continue to fry until fragrant.
• Add beef together with the water it was boiled in. Bring to a boil.
• Add fresh prawns, tomato soup, seasoning and salt.
• To serve: put noodles in serving bowl, pour soup over the noodles and garnish accordingly.