Throw Together Noodle

Yakisoba can really be prepared with any combination of meat, tofu and vegetable, though most commonly made with cabbage, carrots, onion and pork.
I am not a huge fan of pork, but I will cook it when specifically asked to do so. (ie: pork and raspberry sauce.) I prefer a small amount of chicken or use tofu in yakisoba.
I do love cabbage, though! This is a great way to use purple cabbage.

I usually skip the sauce, citing the uselessness of sugar and grease for dinner; if anyone asks. Instead throwing a bit of mushroom flavored soy sauce, drop of teriyaki or worchesterhire sauce over it and cutting it with broth before it gets too salty. Too much broth, and they won't fry. Just so you know!

The sauce can be bought at any local Asian grocery. I am the clueless white girl perusing the nearby Local H Mart and buying rice in bulk on a regular basis. (The one I went to before I moved had nicer vegetables.)

Supposedly you aren't supposed to use soba noodles, but that's how they were served the first time I had them. I like them that way. I haven't yet found pure buckwheat noodles; most are made from a combination of wheat and buckwheat, so this recipe does not pass the gluten-free test. The recipe above uses soba, but most recipes will call for top ramen (without spice packet) or udon.

Tonight I used buckwheat soba noodles, two chicken thighs cut very small, 1/2 lbs white mushrooms sliced, ginger and mung bean sprouts. I also added about a 1/4 of super delicious celery/mushroom broth I'm making. We were supposed to have chicken soup for dinner, but somehow ended up with this.
Clean plates all around!

(Lucky had rice noodles with egg, broth and cashews. There may have been carrot and mushroom in there, but no one noticed...)

Tempura Batter

2 egg whites
1 cup cold water
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 baking powder
2 icecubes




 Whip egg whites until they are quite foamy but not yet stiff. Sift flour and salt into egg whites and mix lightly. Add baking powder and then water. Stir very gently, only until just mixed. Batter will be very dry and lumpy. Do not overstir or batter will lose it's crispiness when fried.
Add icecubes and let sit until melted.

After ice is melted stir once more, batter is now ready for vegetables.
Salt after frying or serve with dipping sauce.



Vegetable suggestions: zucchini, onion, green beans, asparagus, sweet potatoes, baby corn, mushrooms, potatoes, green peppers
Protein suggestions: 2 inch pieces of chicken, fish, shelled shrimp, tofu







Note: this video is a very good guide to the proper texture for your tempura batter, also gives an egg-less recipe and the traditional dipping sauce recipe.

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce

1 x 28-oz can (whole or diced) plum tomatoes, with their juices
5 tablespoons (75 g) unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
salt, to taste


Mush tomatoes with your hand into med saucepan. Do not drain out juices. Add butter, and onion halves in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch or two of sugar. Place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, mashing up the tomatoes gently with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook, uncovered, at a very slow but steady simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free from the tomato and the sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir occasionally, continuing to mash any large pieces of tomato with the wooden spoon. Taste and salt as needed. Discard the onion.




From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Polenta

•  7 cups water
•  2 tsp sea salt
• 1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Polenta 
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil 

Bring water and salt to boil. Add polenta and flax slowly. Add oil. Don’t worry when it separates immediately—it will come together once it sets.
Bring back to boiling, then reduce heat to low simmer. Stir constantly; continue cooking over low heat for 30 mins. Polenta will become very bubbly and thick.
Spoon cooked polenta into desired mold. Let set for a minimum of ten mins. Turn mold upside down on flat surface. Slice about 1/2 inch thick.

Fry polenta in med-high heat skillet with small amount of olive oil for approx. 4 mins per side. Top with tomato sauce.

Salmon Patties

1 lb smoked salmon
1 lb mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons coarse grain mustard
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopeed
1/2 lemon, juice and rind of, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups gluten-free breadcrumbs



Flake salmon with a fork and place in a large bowl with potatoes, butter, and mustard and mix well.
Add dill, parsley, chives, lemon rind and juice, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
Divide mixture into eight portions and form into balls.
Flatten each ball to about 1 inch thick.
Dip each cake in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs thoroughly coating with each.
Fry fish cakes in oil over medium high heat until golden brown and crispy about 5-8 minutes on each side.
You can serve with a tartar sauce or some other condiment but really they are great just with a squeeze of lemon or a dash of tabasco.

Miso with Tofu and Green Onions

4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dashi granules
1/2 cup miso paste
1 tablespoon dried seaweed (for miso soup), soaked in water
1/2 cup cubed tofu
2 tablespoons chopped green onion


1. Pour the water into a pot and bring to a boil. Add the instant dashi and whisk to dissolve. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the tofu. Drain the seaweed and add the seaweed to the pot. Simmer for 2 minutes.
2. In the meatime, Spoon the miso paste into a bowl. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot dashi broth into a bowl and whisk with chopsticks or a whisk to mix and melt the miso paste so that it becomes a smooth mixture.
3. Turn the heat off, add the miso paste to the pot and stir well. Do not bring miso to a boil!
Top with green onions and serve immediately.


 *Note: The miso makes this soup not gluten-free.




(This is not the recipe I use, but the comment about kelp fortified with Prozac makes me laugh. And this is a very easy version.)

Simple Fried Rice For One

1 cup cold, cooked rice
1 egg
3 baby carrots, shredded
1/4 inch ginger root, shredded

Heat drop of peanut oil in small frying pan. Lightly saute rice over high heat for 2 mins. Add carrot, sauteing another minute.
Mound rice in center of pan. Make an open hole in middle of rice mound and crack egg into it. Quickly scramble egg into rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook until egg is cooked to desired temp. approx 5 mins.



Chicken, broccoli, peas and other veggies are all quick easy additions if you prefer more ingredients!

Baked Sweet Potato Disks

2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced 1/2 thick rounds
cooking spray
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 TB molasses
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 cayenne
Salt & pepper


Preheat oven to 425°

Place potato rounds in large bowl and coat lightly with oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix seasonings thoroughly, then add syrup and molasses. Marinating them ahead of time is great.
Cover baking sheet with wax paper to prevent sticking. Place rounds on sheet, being careful not to crowd (overcrowding leads to steamed potatoes). It's best to bake similar sized rounds per batch to prevent burning.
Bake 15 mins, then flip and continue baking another 10 mins. Place in broiler for 1-2 mins per side, for crispier fries. Serve hot.






(Sweet potato fries are trickier than you may expect. It's hard to get them crispy without deep-frying them. Also, you can cut them into strips if that's what you prefer, but I've found that it's harder to get them to cook uniformly this way, and much harder to flip. You can also do wedges. Adjust baking times accordingly.
I also recommend playing around with the seasonings until you find one that suits your tastes.)

Finnish Egg Pancakes

3 eggs

2 cups milk
1/4 cup honey (or sugar)
3/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 tsp salt 

4 Tbs butter

Preheat oven to 425°.

Sift flour. Beat eggs and milk together. Beat in honey or sugar, then add flour and salt. 

Melt butter in a 9" frying pan until it sizzles and immediately pour the batter into the hot pan in a circle around the center so butter will not be pushed to the tops and sides. 
Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the pancake is set and puffed and golden brown on top. 

Serve with maple syrup or homemade jam. Serves four. 



(I made these for dinner last night. They were surprisingly good! I burnt the first batch, so be careful! They turn golden very fast! We topped them with apricot jam and ate them with sweet potato fries.)