Tag Archives: noodles

Almost Instant Noodle Soup in a Jar

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With this recipe, you can make your own tasty (almost) instant noodle soup with very little effort. You can prepare this recipe the previous day, and you have the perfect, quick office lunch – just add boiling water! And you can customize and make this recipe your own by adding different vegetables. See my suggestions below.

I first came up with this recipe on my vegetarian cross country road trip. When I was on the road and stopped at places where I couldn’t get a proper vegetarian meal, I used to make my own ‘instant’ noodles by soaking dried mushrooms, fresh greens and rice noodles in boiling water. I posted the recipe on the blog, and to my surprise many of you were making it at home! To me, it was an improvised recipe for the road trip, but when I saw how many of you were actually making it, I decided to come up with this version.

Assemble the seasonings, vegetables and rice noodles in a jar the previous night and keep it in the fridge. Take it to work the next morning, and just add boiling water to the jar – you have lunch in minutes! Mason jars or empty pasta sauce jars work well. And if you use a wide mouth jar, you can eat directly from the jar. And change up the vegetables however you like; just remember that the vegetables should be the easily wilting kind, so they can “cook” on the boiling water soak.

Other ingredients you can use in your almost instant noodle soup
Sweet corn
Baby corn, chopped
Shredded kale
Dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted
White button mushrooms, sliced
Tofu cubes
Paneer cubes
Seaweed
Bean sprouts
Watercress
Sliced jalapeños
Kimchi
Chopped scallions
Chopped cilantro
Crushed red pepper
Powdered lemongrass

Almost Instant Noodle Soup in a Jar Recipe

serves 1

Ingredients
an approximately 16 oz glass jar, preferably a wide mouth one, with lid
1.5 oz rice noodle sticks
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/4th of a stock cube
1/8th teaspoon garlic powder, optional
1/4th teaspoon grated ginger, optional
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup shredded napa cabbage
12 leaves of baby spinach

Method
1.  Remove the rice noodles from packaging, and measure out 1.5 oz. Place it in a zip lock bag. Grab the ziplock  bag with your hands and carefully break up the noodles into smaller pieces. Set aside.
2. Wipe the jar clean, and add in all ingredients from soy sauce through to baby spinach, in that order.
3. Then pack the broken up noodles into the jar. Screw on the lid and store in the refrigerator for upto a day.
4. When you are ready to eat, pour boiling water into the jar. Pour in enough water to cover the noodles, about 1 1/2 cups. Replace the lid and let the noodles soak for about 12 minutes or till they have softened. Mix the soup gently so that the stock cube dissolves evenly. Be careful, the jar will be very hot, use a towel or oven mitts to handle the jar.
Note: Adding hot water to a very cold glass jar can cause the glass to crack! If your jar is very cold (or if your fridge is set to very cold), leave the jar out at room temparature for about 15 minutes before adding hot water.
5. Tip your almost instant noodle soup into a bowl and serve. Or eat it directly from the jar!

Easy Vegetable Pad Thai Recipe

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I love Pad Thai and have been experimenting with a recipe that is easy, vegetarian and something you can make with just your pantry ingredients (no tamarind or palm sugar!). When I eat Pad Thai at restaurants I always have to ask for it vegetarian and without fish sauce, and even then sometimes they give it to me with the fish sauce! Probably because the pad thai sauce is pre-made.

My Pad Thai is totally vegan and vegetarian, and the Pad Thai sauce is very easy to make!

But before we get to this delicious home made Pad Thai recipe, here’s a story of how it happened..

Emilee is a Veggie Belly fan and has been following the blog for a few years. She, her husband and new baby recently moved back home to Portland after living in Beirut, Lebanon.

As a special surprise for Emilee, her family arranged a cooking session for her with me! How sweet is that?! Emilee had no idea what she was in for until she arrived at my door! Imagine her surprise!

We made this Pad Thai together, and had so much fun chatting and cooking! We talked about food in Lebanon, adjusting to life with a new baby, how awesome Portland, OR is (it really is, trust me!)…all while chopping garlic, squeezing lemons and soaking noodles. My kind of evening!

And the noodles turned out delicious! Below, Emilee squeezes a wedge of lime over her noodles because she likes it tangy.

Check out her nails, I love the color!
Thanks Emilee, for cooking with me!
I love hanging out with my readers!

Some tips for making veggie Pad Thai

- The Pad Thai sauce needs to have a balance of sweet, salty and sour. Everyone likes it a different way. Follow my sauce recipe to start with, and then feel free to adjust the sugar (for sweetness), soy sauce (for salt) and lime juice (for sourness)

- Pad Thai noodles are called Banh Pho. Look for the flat wide ones, sometimes labeled as size “XL”. The ingredients must only have rice or rice flour and water.

- Make sure you soak the noodles correctly (see package instructions). If they get too mushy, you’ve either soaked them too long or they’ve spent too much time in the wok. Or both. And if you don’t soak them long enough they will be crunchy.

- When you soak the noodles, they don’t have to soften all the way, but make sure they are soaked enough that they become pliable, and are no longer stiff.

- I like the boil the pad thai sauce. It gives it a deeper flavor, and caramelizes the sugar a bit. If you dont want to do this extra step, thats fine, simply whisk the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Easy Vegetable Pad Thai Recipe

serves 2-3
Ingredients

for the sauce
3-4 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup water

for the noodles
8 oz wide Pad Thai rice noodles, also called Banh Pho
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
crushed red pepper, as much as you like
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of broccoli florets
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
1 heaping cup of cubed fried tofu, available at Asian stores
a big hand full of bean sprouts
2 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons roasted, chopped peanuts
3-4 cilantro sprigs, chopped
1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Method
1. Place all the sauce ingredients in a non stick sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer on low for about 2 minutes, or till the sauce has thickened just a little. Turn off heat and set aside.

2. Soak and drain the noodles according to package instructions. If the package does’nt have instructions, soak the noodles in warm water for about 15 minutes or till they become pliable. Then drain.

3. Heat the oil in a large wok. Add the crushed red pepper. As soon as they sizzle, add the garlic, broccoli and carrots. Toss on medium-high heat till the broccoli turns bright green and the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.

4. Add the soaked noodles, tofu and the sauce. Toss on medium-high heat till everything is well combine and the noodles are cooked, but still a little chewy, and not mushy.

5. Turn off heat, and add the bean sprouts, and green onions and mix well.

6. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

Stupidly Easy Peanut Noodles

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Can you cook pasta? Do you know how to chop garlic? Yes? Then you’re in business! This peanut noodles recipe is easy and fool proof! You can make it ahead of time and it will keep well in the fridge for up to two days. Plus, it tastes great warm or cold. This easy peanut noodles recipe is perfect for a quick dinner, packed lunch or picnic.

Broccoli is easy to chop, and cooks very quickly, so its perfect in this easy, fuss free recipe. But If you want to add other vegetables to this noodle dish, here are some suggestions. Just make sure the total amount of vegetables is about 3 cups.

- Shredded raw cabbage
- Shredded carrots
- Chopped cucumber
- Red peppers cut into strips
- Bean sprouts
- Wilted kale
- Baby corn
- Fried tofu cubes

Easy Peanut Noodles Recipe

serves about 3

Ingredients
2 cups broccoli florets
8 oz linguine or spaghetti

for the sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil. Substitute with canola oil.
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
Crushed red chili flakes, as much as you like

2 tablespoons chopped green onion or cilantro or parsley for garnish

Method
1. In a large pot, bring plenty of salted water to a boil.

2. While water is coming to a boil, work on the sauce. Place all sauce ingredients (peanut butter through red chili flakes) in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of water, and whisk everything together till a sauce forms. Set aside.

3. When the water boils, add the broccoli florets and continue boiling till the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the broccoli from the water and place in a wok.

4. Bring the same water back to a boil. Then add pasta to the water and cook according to package instructions. Make sure you dont over cook the pasta. Drain well.

5. Add the drained pasta to the wok with broccoli.

6. Pour the peanut sauce all over the pasta and toss well. Taste the pasta, if it needs more salt, add soy sauce half a tablespoon at a time, tossing and tasting as you go.

7. Garnish with chopped green onions, cilantro or parsley. Serve warm or cold.

Singapore Rice Noodles Recipe

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I love Singapore rice noodles – pan fried thin rice vermicelli with curry powder and turmeric. But most the ones you get at restaurants have fish sauce and or meat. So I make my own vegetarian Singapore rice noodles. Funnily, this dish is not Singaporean –  you won’t find it in Singapore. It is most likely an invention of Hong Kong chefs. Irrespective of its origins, this is a great vegetarian noodle dish!

I use S&B Oriental Curry powder for this recipe. For more about curry powders, read this post.

And the mushroom flavored soy sauce I use is Healthy Boy brand. If you cant find it, substitute with regular soy sauce.

Tips for perfect Singapore rice noodles

  • Don’t over soak the noodles. Read package instructions and make sure the noodles aren’t sitting in water longer than needed. Drain the noodles well. If you land up over-soaking the noodles, try to rescue them by spreading the drained noodles on a large platter and placing them under a fan, this should dry them out a bit.
  • Don’t over cook the vegetables, they will get soggy.
  • Use medium-high heat, this will ensure that the vegetables and noodles don’t get soggy.
  • Work quickly. Have all the ingredients prepped before hand, and then work quickly. Don’t let the vegetables or the noodles sit in the wok for too long. When you add the noodles and sauce to the wok, if you feel you are taking too long (over 2 minutes) to mix everything well, take the wok off the heat, and mix the noodles. You can then re-heat the noodles before serving.
  • Remember that every curry powder is different. Some are spicier/hotter than others. You may have to use more or less depending on the curry powder you use. Taste the noodles at the end, and add more curry powder and soy sauce if needed, then re-heat.
  • The taste of Singapore rice noodles develops over time (because of the curry powder), so it tastes even better the next day!

Singapore Rice Noodles Recipe

serves about 4


Ingredients
6 oz rice sticks, also called rice vermicelli or rice noodles
For the sauce
2 teaspoons curry powder, I recommend S&B Oriental curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
Crushed dry red pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar, optional
½ teaspoon vinegar, optional
1 tablespoon mushroom flavored soy sauce (available in Asian markets), substitute with soy sauce

For the noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 heaping teaspoon garlic paste (use a mortar and pestle or grate in a microplane)
1 heaping teaspoon ginger paste (use a mortar and pestle or grate in a microplane), optional
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup cubed fried tofu, available in Asian markets
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 heaping cup beansprouts
3 scallions, chopped
4 lemon or lime wedges
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Method:

  1. Soak the rice noodles according to package instructions. (This usually involves soaking them in warm or cold water for 2-5 minutes).Drain well and set aside in the colander.
  2. Whisk together all ingredients for sauce, along with 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside.
  3. Heat oil in a large wok, that is atleast 12 inches wide. Add the ginger and garlic and let them sizzle on medium heat, till fragrant and lightly browned.
  4. Pour in half of the sauce. Work quickly, and mix everything together, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Cook till the sauce starts to bubble, about 20 seconds.
  5. Throw in red peppers, carrot, cabbage, and tofu.
  6. Crank up the heat to medium-high and sauté till the vegetables just start to wilt, about 2 minutes. Don’t over cook the vegetables.
  7. Add the soaked, drained rice stick noodles to the vegetables. Also add the remaining sauce. Working quickly, and using two spoons or tongs, toss and combine everything till the noodles are well coated in the sauce.
  8. Turn off heat and add sesame oil, bean sprouts and scallions. Toss well.
  9. Serve immediately garnished with chopped cilantro and lemon or lime wedges on the side to squeeze over the noodles.

Teriyaki Tofu Noodle Bowl

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My dear friend Mahi loves my tofu recipes and recently requested a ginger tofu recipe. This is what I came up with. Mahi, this ginger teriyaki tofu noodle bowl recipe is for you ♥

Teriyaki sauce is really easy to make at home. Just whisk together sugar, mirin and sake (or vinegar), and let it boil to thicken. You can use this sauce as a marinade on vegetables, brush it over anything you are grilling, or toss it in some rice or noodles. My ginger teriyaki sauce recipe is sweet, you could ofcourse adjust the sugar according to taste.

I love using thin rice noodles for this recipe. All you have to do is soak them in hot water till they have softened. You can find rice noodles or rice vermicelli in the Asian section of the grocery store. For a larger selection of rice noodles, head to an Asian store. When buying rice noodles for this recipe make sure that rice and water are the only ingredients. Some brands use corn starch in their rice noodles, and thats ok too.

Teriyaki Tofu Noodle Bowl Recipe

Serves 1 as a main dish

For the Ginger Teriyaki Tofu
Half of a 15 oz package of tofu, pressed. Read this post on how to press tofu.
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar (this will produce a sweet sauce, use less if you dont want it sweet& remember mirin is sweet too!)
2 tablespoons mirin (look for ‘mirin style seasoning’ in the asian section of the grocery store ot substitute with 1 tablespoon rice vinegar+a pinch of sugar)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Cut the tofu into 1 inch long pieces. Lay the tofu pieces on a non stick skillet and brown each side on medium heat (no oil needed).

Place all remaining ingredients in a non stick sauce pan, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 minutes or till the sugar dissolves and sauce thickens slightly. Take care not to boil the sauce too much and burn the sugar. Taste the sauce, and adjust sugar or rice vinegar if needed.

When the tofu pieces are browned, pour half the teriyaki sauce over the tofu. Save the other half of the teriyaki sauce to serve for dipping.

Turn the tofu pieces so all sides are coated with sauce. On low heat, let the sauce bubble away and thicken (but be careful not to burn the sauce), about 1-2 minutes.

Serve ginger teriyaki tofu over rice noodles (recipe below) and the remaining teriyaki sauce on the side for dipping.

For the Rice Noodles
2 oz dry rice noodles or rice vermicelli
1/4 cup carrots peeled and cut into thin sticks
1/4 cup of cucumber cut into thin sticks
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon dried chili flakes, optional
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped mint or cilantro

Soak rice noodles in very hot water for 10 minutes, or prepare according to package directions. Drain well.

Gently toss the noodles and all other ingredients together in a bowl. Top with ginger teriyaki tofu. Serve reserved teriyaki sauce on the side for dipping the noodles.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Mango and Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

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Another no-cook recipe – these Vietnamese summer rolls or Goi Cuan are bursting with fresh herbs and vegetables. And they will be perfect to take along for a vegetarian picnic.

I used mangoes here for some summery, fruity, sweetness. But you can use pretty much any combination of vegetables in this summer roll. I’m not a fan of mangoes, so I made this recipe for our guests (they loved it) and I made myself a roll with carrots and purple cabbage.

Set up all the ingredients on a clean surface. Dip a rice paper wrapper into a large bowl of water. Make sure all sides get wet. Then remove the rice paper and gently shake it dry. The rice paper will now be pliable. If it isnt, let it stil on the table (not in the water) for a few more seconds.

Place the softened rice paper wrapper on a clean surface. Place filling ingredients on the front (closest to you) 1/3rd of the rice paper wrapper in this order – cilantro, mint, lettuce, noodles, carrot, mango.

Now fold the front part over the filling and roll. Then fold both the sides in. Roll gently but firmly.

Its that simple! With practice, you will get better and better at rolling. Serve these Vietnamese summer rolls with sweet chili dipping sauce. Regular Vietnamese dipping sauce or Nuoc Cham has fish sauce. See below for my vegetarian Nuoc Cham recipe.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls or Goi Cuan with Mango Recipe

makes 6 rolls

2 oz dried rice sticks or rice vermicelli (available in Asian section of most grocery stores)
6 rice paper wrapper sheets (called ‘bahn trang’ - available in Asian section of grocery store)
a large bowl of water to dip rice paper sheets
6 sprigs cilantro
6 sprigs mint
6 leaves lettuce, rib/stem removed (I like boston lettuce)
1 small ripe mango, peeled and cut into strips (substitute with shredded purple cabbage, cucumbers, savoy cabbage, bean sprouts)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into match sticks

Soak rice sticks in boiling water for about 3 minutes or till soft. Drain well.

Dip the rice paper sheets in water, making sure all sides are wet. Shake off excess water. Place on a clean work surface. Place a sprig each of cilantro and mint in the front 1/3rds of the rice paper sheet. Then place lettuce leaf, a little rice noodles, carrot, and mango slices. Fold and roll the summer roll – see photos above for details on how to roll vietnamese summer roll.

Serve immediately with vegetarian vietnamese dipping sauce (recipe below). To store, put rolls on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel. Then cover plate completely with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce or Vegetarian Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) Recipe 

makes little less than 1 cup

4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
1 garlic clove peeled and crushed
Red pepper flakes or chopped fresh chili to taste

Whisk everything together till the sugar dissolves.

Thai-Burmese Curry Noodles (Khao Soi). Thailand part 3.

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Before I tell you about this amazing noodle dish I learned to make in northern Thailand, here are more pictures from my recent trip. (And in case you missed my previous Thailand posts, they are here and here).

A Thai Market Outside Bangkok

I visited several markets in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The format seems to be pretty much the same everywhere – vegetable section, fruit section, then there are some bug vendors (yes, insects), rice vendors, fresh noodle vendors, dessert section and prepared foods section. Every single market I went to was extremely clean and organized.

This one was outside Bangkok, in the suburbs where I was staying with my uncle. So this market wasnt touristy, which is always a bonus.

Left: Sapodilla vendor. Right: My uncles wife Da, on her phone & buying guavas. Da showed me around here and so patiently explained everything and translated for me so I could communicate with the vendors 

Left: bugs and insects; I was feeling very Andrew Zimmern-ish.  Right: lime, red and green chillies

 

Pink preserved eggs (Chinese thousand year old eggs or century eggs) and pink noodles

Khao Soi Curry Noodles from Chiang Mai (Kow Swear or Khauk Swear in Burma)

Now lets travel up north to the cool mountains of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Chinese Muslim traders have greatly influenced this region’s cuisine. Their delicious, spicy noodle dish, influenced by Burmese cuisine, called Khao Soi was everywhere in this city. My favorite vegetarian Khao Soi is from Aum Vegetarian Restaurant. in Chiang Mai.

Left: Chiang Mai Aum restaurant’s Khao Soi topped with coconut cream. In the background, chilli paste, lemon iced tea, and British kid.    

Right: My home made version

When I took a Thai Vegetarian cooking class at May Kaidee’s, Duan the owner and instructor was kind enough to show me how to make Khao Soi, even though it wasnt on the class schedule. See this post  for more on Duan and the cooking class.

Khao Soi, also spelled Khao Suey or Khao Soy, is also eaten in Myanmar or Burma and Laos. The Burmese version of Khao Soi is called Kow Swear or Khauk Swear. From what I understand, the Burmese curry noodles, are also in a coconut milk broth, but use more Indian influenced spices like coriander and do not have the crispy noodle topping. Since both the the Thai and Burmese versions are quite similar, I’m sending this post off to AWED Burma, hosted by Kitchen Swathi 

Other Khao Soi recipes:

Khao Soi by the amazing Chez Pim
A Khao Soi battle between an American guy in Bangkok and a Thai girl in Iowa
A Khao Soi recipe from Rosas Yummy Yums
And then there is this whole blog dedicated to the quest for the perfect Khao Soi in New York city!
A recipe for the Burmese version – Kow Swear on We Are Never Full blog

The version I learned to make at the cooking class had shredded chinese cabbage, cauliflower, and tofu. Ive used shiitake mushrooms, baby corn, carrot, zucchini and beansprouts. But I highly recommend adding some pan fried or deep fried firm tofu to this.

If there is an Asian store where you live, that is best place to buy the specialty ingredients for this recipe. But you may be able to find fresh chinese noodles (not the dry stuff) at the regular grocery store. For the pickled mustard greens, you may have to make a trip to the Asian store (if you want to make your own, here is a good recipe).

All the amazing Khao Sois I had in Chiangmai were topped with crispy fried noodles – the best part! I didnt feel like deep frying, so I used store bought La Choy brand crispy Asian noodles.

Curry Noodles in Coconut Milk Broth or Khao Soi or Khao Soy Recipe

serves 2-3

1 tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped shiitake mushroom
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped baby corn
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 teaspoon curry powder or according to taste
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
2 cups fresh Chinese wheat based noodles or about 3 oz dried thin wheat based noodles
1 cup bean sprouts

Toppings and garnishes
1 cup store bought crispy noodles (I used La Choy brand)
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pickled mustard greens (available at Asian stores)
3-4 lime wedges
Chopped cilantro
Chopped green onion

Heat a large wok with oil. Add shitake mushroom, zucchini, baby corn and carrot and cook on high for about 2 minutes. Then add curry paste and curry powder. Toss to coat the vegetables. Add light soy sauce and cook about 30 seconds so the vegetables absorb the liquid. Then add dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and coconut milk. Let the curry simmer for about 2 minutes.

Then pour in water and bring back to a simmer. Taste curry and adjust soy sauce, and sugar to taste. 

Bring a large pot full of water to boil noodles. If using dried noodles, cook in boiling water till noodles are very al dente. If using fresh noodles, boil for about 1 minute. No matter what noodles you use, make sure not to over cook them. Drain well.

Add cooked noodles and bean sprouts to the curry broth. 

Serve Khao Soi in individual bowls, topped with crispy noodles. If you dont have store bought crispy noodles, increase the fresh or dry wheat noodles quantity in this recipe by 1/2 cup. If using dried noodles — deep fry this extra half cup of boiled, drained noodles in oil, till golden. If using fresh noodles, deep fry them as is. Then top Khao Soi with the fried noodles.

Serve with chopped shallots, pickled mustard greens, lime wedges and cilantro on the side.

Buckwheat Soba Noodles in Leek Ginger Broth

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I was thinking of my August trip to England. On a chilly, rainy day much like today, I went to a Wagamama restaurant in Bristol, England. (It can be chilly and rainy in even in the summer; its England!). I had pan fried Soba noodles at Wagamama. Ever since then, Ive been wanting to make Soba noodles at home. Its getting colder here, so the cooking needs to get warmer. An added benefit to this recipe is that I get my soba fix and soup fix in one dish!

We had this for dinner and some store bought mochi for dessert. The mochi vanished in 12 seconds, so I don’t have a picture!

Soba noodles are made with buckwheat. In Japan, they are eaten cold with a dipping sauce in summer and in a warm broth in the winter. My broth is not traditional, but it does pair well with the soba. You can buy soba noodles in an Asian grocery store.

Ingredients
 
Soba Noodles – 3 bundles
Garlic – 3 cloves
Ginger – 2 inch piece
Leeks – 1
Green Onion – 1 stalk
Red Bell Pepper – 4 tbsp finely chopped
Broccoli – 8 florets
Pickled Ginger – 8 pieces
Soy Sauce – 2 tbsp
Mirin – 4 tbsp (substitute with rice wine or cooking wine and 1/2 tbsp sugar)
Lemon Juice – 2 tbsp
Water – 5 cups
Salt
Oil – 1/2 tbsp

Peel the ginger and cut into large pieces. Trim the tough leaves of the leeks, chop into rings and wash them in cold water to remove the grit. Chop the red bell pepper finely. Chop the green onion stalks at an angle.

Heat oil in a stock pot or similar heavy bottomed pot. Turn the heat to high, when the oil is almost smoking, add the ginger, garlic and leeks. Saute on high for about a minute. Then reduce heat and saute another 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the water and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, reduce heat and simmer the broth for about 10 minutes. Strain the broth, reserving only the liquid.
Return broth to the stove. Add the soy sauce, mirin and lemon juice. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings and salt. Simmer another 4 minutes. In the last 1 minute of cooking, add the broccoli florets.

While the broth is simmering, work on your soba noodles. Bring water to a boil in a pot. Then add the soba noodles. Bring back to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer the noodles. They should be done in about 5 minutes.

Drain the noodles into a colander and wash them with plenty of cold water. Drain well before using.

To serve, place some noodles in a bowl and pour the stock over the noodles. Sprinkle chopped red pepper on top. Garnish with green onion and pickled ginger.

Some Tasty Variations
 
Add seaweed in the broth for a healthy ocean flavor
Try shelled edamame instead of broccoli
For a simpler broth just use vegetable stock and soy sauce
Add miso paste to the broth for miso-soba soup
Top your soba noodles with Flexitarian’s wonderfully unique Tofu Croutons

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