Tag Archives: Noodles

U is for…

Posted in Asian, Lunch, Main Dish, Noodles by

Udon Noodles!

Tofu, Miso, Udon Noodle Soup (for one)

Udon Noodles are chewy, soft and silky-textured and tied with soba are my favourite noodles to use. You can find them in their dried form and boil them like pasta, and the pre-cooked type which can go straight into your wok or soup pot.

Either way, they’re a fabulous option for a whole variety of dishes, from piping hot noodles in broth to satisfyingly rich stir fries, and succulent salads. Tofu, Miso, Udon Noodle Soup (for one)

This hearty bowl of slurpy noodles was inspired by Wagamama, a Japanese restaurant and noodle bar, and one of the few restaurant chains over here that I really love.  I went a few weeks ago and had a delicious vegetable udon stir-fry but was very tempted by all the warming soups on the menu.

This recipe for Tofu, Miso, Udon Noodle Soup takes just minutes to put together and is great for cold-weather lunch option when salads and sandwiches are less appealing.

Don’t feel constrained by the listed ingredients either. It’s very much one of those dishes which works well with any number of vegetables. Don’t have spinach on hand? Try bok choy or broccoli. No shitake mushrooms? Use a different type. I sometimes also add seaweed for a different flavour profile.

Tofu, Miso, Udon Noodle Soup (for one)

Tofu, Miso, Udon Noodle Soup (for one):

3 Dried shitake mushrooms (or use fresh)
1 1/2-2C Water
1/2t Grated ginger
50g Dried udon noodles (or use fresh)
1/2 Large carrot, julienned
Large handful of spinach
1/2T White miso
1t Tamari
75g Silken tofu, cubed
1 Green Onion, thinly sliced
Drizzle of toasted sesame oil (optional)

If using dried mushrooms, soak in boiling water for at least 30 minutes to rehydrate. Drain (reserving water) and slice.

Cook noodles according to packet instructions, drain and set aside in a bowl

Boil 2C Water (including the reserved mushroom soaking water), add ginger, sliced mushrooms, carrot and spinach and cook for 1 minute to wilt the greens. Remove from heat and stir through miso and tamari.

Pour vegetables and the broth over the noodles. Top with silken tofu, green onions and sesame oil (if using)

Serves 1

PRINT RECIPE HERE

pasta please (200x143)

I’m submitting this recipe to the Monthly Blog Challenge, Pasta Please

Tofu, Miso, Udon Noodle Soup (for one)

A few other Udon noodle recipe ideas from the web:

Udon Noodle Salad with Peanut-Lime Sauce

Gingered Sesame-Coconut Udon with Roasted Broccoli

Curried Udon Noodle Stir-Fry

What’s your favourite type of noodle?

Hope you’re all having a lovely weekend, and that those who’ve finished their Vegan MoFo posts are having a good break!

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10-Minute Raw Peanut Noodles

Posted in Asian, Main Dish, Noodles, Raw, Salad, Salad Dressing by

I’ve been a raw food fan for a while now. I love the taste of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts + seeds in their natural state and especially love how a raw meal makes me feel- nourished and energized! I’ve done a week eating all raw before and even celebrated my 21st birthday at Saf, a fantastic raw restaurant in London.

Despite how much it now, when I first came across raw cuisine I was a little intimidated by all the gourmet recipes I came across that took days to prepare and lots of expensive superfoods I’d never heard of before. But I soon came to realize that raw food doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated to taste good, and in fact sometimes the simplest dishes are the best. I’ve got a few raw recipes on the blog so far, a couple of salads, a smoothie and desserts and wanted to post a super quick everyday recipe that I make variations on frequently.

I have a spiralizer (the Benriner, pictured) that I use to make raw veggie noodles, but a julienne peeler works just as well, or you can even make thick “pappardelle” type noodles with a regular vegetable peeler. Courgette noodles are the classic but I wanted an extra colourful dish this time so I made carrot noodles too and added thinly sliced red pepper and lots of fresh herbs.  Edamame and cashews turned this into a more substantial meal, and finally I coated everything with a slightly spicy peanut sauce, so good I couldn’t resist licking my plate after finishing!

10-minute Raw Peanut Noodles

10-Minute Raw Peanut Noodles:

1 Medium courgette, spiralized
2 Small carrots, spiralized
1/2 Red pepper, sliced thinly
1/3 C Edamame, cooked and cooled
2T Fresh basil, julienned
2T Fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2T Toasted Cashews (I actually used some Tamari-roasted Cashews from Clearspring that I had on hand)

For the Spicy Peanut Sauce:

1T Peanut butter
1T Lime juice
1/2T Agave
1/2t Toasted sesame oil
1 Small clove garlic, minced (optional)
1/2t Tamari
A little water to thin (to make as runny as you like it- though bear in mind the vegetables will release water when coated in the sauce so don’t make it too thin!)

Note: Most store-bought peanut butter uses roasted not raw peanuts, so if you’re concerned about the “raw” status of this dish try almond butter instead. The edamame are also cooked so omit for raw and add more nuts instead.

10-minute Raw Peanut Noodles

Prepare dressing first: Simply stir stir all ingredients in a jar or bowl together until completely smooth and add a little water, a teaspoon at a time, if necessary (depending on consistency of your peanut butter), until it reaches your desired consistency. Set aside.

Spiralize your vegetables and chop your herbs. Mix all the ingredients, except the sauce, in a large bowl, you might want to cut some of the noodles if they’re particularly long to make them a little easier to eat (!). Finally drizzle over your sauce and toss to coat everything.

Serves 1

I’m submitting this recipe to the weekly blog hop Raw Foods Thursdays

10-minute Raw Peanut Noodles

Are you a raw food fan? What are your favourite simple and speedy raw recipes?

Ginger Cashew Tempeh + Sugar Snap Peas

Posted in Asian, Main Dish, Noodles by

Tempeh is unfortunately not too easily found in the UK, even in health food stores. But I’ve fallen in love with the stuff so on a recent order from Goodness Direct (I buy all my raw nuts and seeds, dried beans etc. from here as it’s great value and you can buy in larger quantities than elsewhere) I bought several packages to keep handy in the freezer.

Although tempeh, like tofu, is made from soy beans, it’s quite different. Tempeh is made from whole cooked fermented soy beans whereas tofu is made from coagulated soymilk. Tempeh is generally firmer and chewier and is mildly flavourful on its own, unlike tofu. As tempeh is less processed it’s also considered healthier, with even more protein than tofu (approx 18g per/100g) and high levels of calcium and iron.

If you haven’t tried it yet or aren’t a fan of tofu I’d definitely suggest giving tempeh a go. Both have a place in my kitchen.

Some find the flavour to be a little bitter straight out of the package but steaming it can help. Simply place sliced tempeh in a saucepan and cover with water or vegetable broth. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove the tempeh and proceed with marinating, grilling, baking, or however you’re preparing it.

This recipe is a nice introduction to tempeh as it’s not particularly complicated  and the ginger and garlic mean the tempeh flavour doesn’t come through hugely strongly.

If you can get hold of water chestnuts I highly recommend them in this dish, their sweet flavour and crispy texture really worked for me.

Ginger Cashew Tempeh + Sugar Snap Peas

Ginger Cashew Tempeh + Sugar Snap Peas:

1C Broccoli, broken into florets (don’t throw away the stalks! Just dice them up and throw them in too)
1C Sugar snap peas
1/2T neutral oil + 1/2T Toasted Sesame Oil
1/2 225g/8oz pkg Tempeh, cubed [pre-steamed if desired, see note above]
1/4C Cashews
1/2T Minced fresh ginger
2 Cloves garlic
1/4t Chili flakes
1/2 225g/80z Can water chestnuts, sliced thinly
1T Tamari or Bragg’s
1/2T Rice vinegar
1/2-1C Vegetable broth (I use Marigold Vegan Bouillon)
1T Flour (any)
Noodles (pictured are Clearspring Organic Udon), or Rice to serve

Prepare your noodles or rice first as the stir-fry is quick to come together

Steam Broccoli and Sugar Snaps for a few minutes until bright green and tender, set aside in a bowl.

Heat oils in a large pan or wok over medium-high and when hot add tempeh. Toss frequently and when it’s a little brown on all sides add cashews and continue to cook until golden. Add tempeh and cashews to the bowl with your vegetables.

In the same hot wok add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute before adding the remaining ingredients, except for the flour. As it begins to bubble gradually whisk in the flour- it should thicken up the sauce fairly quickly. At this point, if you prefer it a little more saucy add a touch more water, but not too much as you don’t want to dilute the flavours.

Toss in reserved vegetables, tempeh and cashews, mix to coat in sauce and warm through.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Serves 2

Ginger Cashew Tempeh + Sugar Snap Peas

Have you cooked with tempeh before? What do you think?

Japchae

Posted in Asian, Main Dish, Noodles by

Japchae- Korean vegetable noodle dish

I’ll soon be heading home for the summer now I’ve finished my exams, with university term officially ending in a week and a half. I’ve been gradually trying to reduce my food supplies so I don’t have to cart too much home and don’t have repeats of everything in my home kitchen.

A quick rummage in my pantry staples turned out a bag of mysterious noodles. The writing on the package was all in Japanese and I vaguely remembered having bought them in the Japan Centre on a visit probably a year ago! I think I thought they were rice vermicelli and planned to use them in a cold noodle salad or rice paper rolls. But, when I opened up the package they didn’t look at all as expected so I decided to rethink my cooking plans. Turns out they were harusame (Japanese name) , dangmyeon (Korean name), or potato starch noodles.

Japchae- Korean vegetable noodle dish

A search for recipes led me to this vegetarian Japchae at Herbivoracious.

“Japchae(chapchae)is a Korean dish made from  potato starch noodles, stir fried in sesame oil with various vegetables and flavoured with soy sauce, and sweetened with sugar. It’s usually served garnished with sesame seeds ” (Wikipedia tells me so…)

Everyone knows stir-fry is a student staple- cheap, healthy, quick + cheap so this seemed just the ticket.

It was very simple to make, using the traditional stir-fry method of cutting all your vegetables before you start cooking as it’s very quick to come together. Unlike most stir-fry dishes I’ve made in the past, this one called for stir-frying each ingredient separately which made a huge difference in preserving the flavour and colour of the vegetables- definitely a tip I’ll be reusing.

You could make this with any veg but I stuck to the listed: onion, spinach, carrots, red bell pepper, shitake mushrooms (I would say the mushrooms are essential as they really add a great texture). I didn’t have any tofu to hand so I omitted it but next time I’d add it for a more substantial meal.

Have you had japchae before? Or used potato starch noodles? I have half a packet left so I’m looking for another recipe.