Soba Noodles with Chicken and Almond Maple Sauce

The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan have left me stunned and with an aching heart. I haven't yet made my way to Japan, but it has long been on the top of my travel wish list as a destination and culture that fascinates me. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone there in their recovery.

Soba noodles are one of my favorite Japanese comfort foods. Soba are usually made from a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flours. Buckwheat, contrary to its name, is not a type of wheat, and is gluten-free. But most soba noodles also contain a bit of regular wheat flour as well to make them less fragile. I used Eden Selected 100% buckwheat soba noodles, available locally at Whole Foods. I'm still on the hunt for a certified gluten-free soba noodle, which Eden's is not, but I have used these repeatedly and have had no problems.

When I went to Seattle, Lara Ferroni turned me on to the cookbook, Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia. She said she was inspired by the gorgeous, natural photography by Jennifer Martiné. I can see why. This is a book you can get lost in looking at the photographs. Kale has never looked so sexy. I was also charmed by the hand-drawn graphics embellishing the book.

This book seduces you with its storytelling, all the while teaching you to "green your cuisine" and eat in more sustainable ways. I love the introduction... Shafia describes the magic of a power outtage in New York City caused by a multistate blackout. Disconnected from trains, computers, and air conditioning, New Yorkers took to the streets for an impromptu party on the sidewalk. With their tvs turned off, neighbors chatted under a full moon and enjoyed the simple pleasures of a summer evening.

One of my favorite recipes from Lucid Food is this one for soba noodles with an almond butter sauce sweetened with maple syrup. Shafia makes it with tofu. I'm off soy for now, so I subbed some roasted chicken. The soba noodles have a soft, nutty, earthiness that is bathed in a very seductive sauce. It's made with a base of almond butter sweetened gently with maple syrup and sesame oil.

The sauce also includes a shot of soy sauce for savory saltiness. As I mentioned, I'm off soy for now, so I found a substitute that works well in this kind of context as a seasoning. It's Coconut Secret brand raw coconut amino. It is a gluten-free, soy-free, organic, coconut-based amino seasoning sauce. It also has much less salt than traditional soy sauce. It's raw, vegan, gmo-free, and contains 17 amino acids. I found it at Whole Foods, next to the soy sauce.

Along with the sobas and almond butter sauce, these noodles have snap peas for a fresh, green crunch. One of the things I love about this recipe is that Shafia pours the hot noodle water over the peas in a colander (also draining the noodles) to quickly cook the snap peas just enough. I also added some strips of red bell pepper too.

One note: the Eden Selected web site recommended cooking these 100% buckwheat sobas the traditional Japanese way to create a firmer noodle. This is easily done by shocking the noodles while they are cooking. Bring your water up to a boil, add the noodles, stir, and then let them come back up to a boil. As soon as the water begins to boil, add about 1/2 cup of cold water to the pan to stop the boiling. Repeat this one or two more times until the noodles are cooked through — when the inside of the noodle is the same color as the outside and they are still firm yet tender to the bite. This will happen quickly, in about 5-6 minutes.

We liked this sauce so much that I increased the proportion of sauce to make a little more of it. You can serve the extra at the table to add as you like.

Soba Noodles with Chicken and Almond Maple Sauce

1 pound roasted chicken meat, shredded

sauce:
3/4 cup almond butter
2-4 tablespoons soy sauce or soy-free Coconut Aminos
6 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced or grated
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

noodles:
3 cups snap peas, ends trimmed and sliced diagonally
8-12 ounces soba noodles
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
one bunch cilantro
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
chili oil for serving

Make the sauce: Combine the almond butter, soy sauce (or aminos), maple syrup, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and rice vinegar. Whisk together until it becomes a cohesive sauce. Set aside.

Place the sliced snap peas in a colander in the sink.

Fill a large pot with water, sprinkle in a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the noodles, return to a boil. As soon as the water returns to a boil, add about 1/2 cup cold water to stop the boiling. Let it come back to a boil again, and repeat with another 1/2 cup cold water. Repeat one more time, if necessary, until noodles are cooked through. This should take only about 5-6 minutes.

When the noodles are completely cooked, drain them into the colander with the peas. The hot water will cook the snap peas just enough. Rinse the noodles and peas in the colander briefly with cool water. Drain and then pour them out into a large serving bowl.

Add the shredded chicken, bell peppers, cilantro and scallions to the noodles and peas. Drizzle with about half of the sauce. Toss together with tongs until all of the noodles are coated with the sauce.

Before serving, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with chili oil and more almond butter sauce to add as you like at the table.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia.

Burmese Crunchy Ginger Salad

As Thanksgiving approaches and most food talk is of turkey and gravy and stuffing and pie, I find myself craving lighter and brighter flavors. We had this salad recently and couldn't stop thinking about it and wanting more afterwards. It's like hitting the reset button on your tastebuds. It's fresh and crunchy with very bright, refreshing and incredibly addictive flavors.



So what's in it? You start with crispy, crunchy Napa cabbage. I'm really not a big cabbage or cole slaw eater, but the light, curly texture of Napa cabbage is the perfect vehicle for this salad. You shave the Napa cabbage easily with a sharp knife, then add toasted coconut (the big shavings, not the little withered and dried up bagged stuff that's been on the grocery store shelves for who knows how long), add some toasted nuts (the original had peanuts, we used cashews), a lot of fresh ginger in julienned sticks so you can bite into it — texture is everything here, you don't want ginger slush, fried, crunchy garlic, sesame seeds, tiny bits of a chopped jalapeño, and the secret ingredient that brings it all together... dried shrimp. Sounds weird, I know. I've had crunchy little dried shrimp bits in all kinds of Asian food, but I got intimidated when trying to buy some at the Asian market myself. I'd like to know a little more about where they come from and whether they're full of chemicals that I don't want to be eating. So we made it the first time without the dried shrimp. It was good, but not singing in the streets spectacular. A whole dimension of flavor was missing and it was the shrimp.



Then something wonderful happened. We happened to be eating dinner at our favorite Vietnamese cafe, Tam Deli, and talking to one of the owners, Tran. I love hearing her cooking tips. She mentioned that she dries her own shrimp for the restaurant. That stuck with me. I know the care she takes with everything she makes. So a few days later, we went back and asked if we could buy some of the dried shrimp from her next batch. What she delivered was gorgeous, fresh, shredded shrimp. It was soft and fluffy like peach snow. I tossed it around in a dry skillet for a few minutes to crisp it up and it was amazing in the salad. It added the savory but undefinable flavor the salad needed.

This salad is very easy, but takes a few minutes of prep. You need to toast the nuts and coconut and fry the garlic into little crunchy chips. But each of these steps can be done in the same skillet or wok. I'm ballparking the quantities here. You can put more or less of any of these ingredients, just don't skip any.

I dare you to try this and not get hooked. I could seriously eat this several times a week. And it's just the thing to balance out all that heavy turkey and stuffing coming your way next week.



Gluten-free note: I checked with the folks at Squid Brand fish sauce in Singapore and they assured me that their fish sauce is gluten-free.

Burmese Crunchy Ginger Salad

salad:
half a head of Napa cabbage
one bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup julienned ginger
3/4 cup roasted and salted cashews or peanuts, chopped
3/4 cup coconut flakes
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced into the thinnest slices you can cut
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup dried shrimp
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, like safflower

dressing:
juice of 2 limes
1-2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
2-3 teaspoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons honey (or more to taste)
3 tablespoons garlic safflower oil (from frying the garlic chips)

Hold a head of Napa cabbage horizontally on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut thin shavings straight down and it will make beautiful, fine, crunchy shreds. Put these in a large serving bowl.

In a dry skillet, toast the coconut flakes over low to medium-low heat, stirring continuously. Don't walk away. Stay present and keep stirring and letting it toast slowly until it's a golden brown. This will take several minutes but will be well worth it. The flavor and texture it brings out is amazing. Set aside in a bowl or on a plate to cool.

Do the same with the sesame seeds and dried shrimp, just to crisp them up.

Last, pour 3 tablespoons oil into the pan and add the garlic slices. Cook them in the oil over medium-low heat until they turn golden. This will happen quickly so stay with them. Remove them to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain (like you would with bacon). Pat the excess oil off with another paper towel and let them sit. They'll crisp as they dry.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl with the oil from the garlic. Whisk it all together and taste. Add more honey or fish sauce as needed for more sweetness or saltiness.

Combine all of the salad ingredients in either a composed salad or just toss it all together well. Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

Serves 3-4.

Adapted from The Providers.

Stir-Fry with Pork and Long Beans

This time of year, one of my favorite things to find at the farmers market is Chinese long beans. Sometimes called snake beans or yard-long beans, they look like exotic sea creatures in a tangled pile. My favorite way to prepare them is to stir-fry them with some ground pork, tomatoes and sweet peppers. Conveniently, all of these ingredients can be found at the farmers market now too.



The key to the sauce in this quick stir-fry is kecap manis — a thick, soy sauce sweetened with palm sugar. It's thick and syrupy like molasses, and adds a distinct caramel flavor that I love. Look for it next to the soy sauce in your grocery store or Asian market. It's one of my favorite Asian ingredients.

This is so easy to make it's the kind of thing I put together on a weeknight after a quick stop at the Wednesday farmers market on the way home from work. Serve it with some rice and you're ready to go. Make this as spicy as you like with dried chili flakes or Sriracha hot sauce.

Note: to make this a vegetarian dish, you could do the same thing with tofu in place of the pork.



Stir-Fry with Pork and Long Beans

2 shallots, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons kecap manis
3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
pinch of chili flakes or a squirt of Sriracha hot sauce, optional
1 1/2 pounds Chinese long beans, ends trimmed, cut into one-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, in bite-size chunks
1 orange bell bell pepper, in bite-size chunks
one pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
basil leaves, for garnish
cooked rice for 4 people

In a wok, over medium high heat, sauté the shallots and garlic in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes until shallots soften and become translucent.

Add pork, fish sauce, soy sauce, kecap manis, sweet chili sauce and chili flakes or hot sauce, if using. Stir-fry over high heat until pork is browned and cooked through.

Add the long beans and continue stir-frying for about 2 minutes. (Don't overcook the beans, you want them to retain some snap.)

Add the peppers and tomatoes and continue stir-frying for about 1-2 minutes more.

Remove from heat. Serve over rice with cilantro sprinkled over top and basil leaves as garnish.

Serves 4.

Uchiko Preview

Today, Tyson Cole's new restaurant, Uchiko, opens. A few days ago, we got the chance to attend an Uchiko pre-opening dinner. The restaurant offered a half-price menu to attendees willing to give them a trial run before opening and give feedback on how things went.

In 2003, Cole opened Uchi as executive chef and co-owner. His presentation of Japanese food flavored with modern ingredients from all over the world quickly made Uchi one of Austin's hot spots. From my first meal there shortly after Uchi opened, it's become my favorite restaurant — not just because of the food, but also because of their precision — from the service to the aesthetics to the consistency of quality. Cole was named one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs of 2005 and the acclaim kept coming.

Today, Cole opens his second restaurant with Paul Qui, Uchi's former chef de cuisine, and also, one of the guys behind East Side King — a food trailer in East Austin behind Liberty bar, in command. (We fell in love with East Side King's Asian-flavored bar food earlier this year.) Uchiko will take some of the familiar Japanese flavors and combinations that we love from Uchi, but spin them off in a new direction, so don't expect a duplication of experience. What is the same is the attention to detail in the food, the presentation, the space (like Uchi, designed by Michael Hsu) which they call "Japanese farmhouse." You'll see a wall of charred pine — a traditional Japanese method used to seal wood, hand-painted tiles, tansu furniture, an incredible art piece made of slices of recycled paper (photo), gorgeous modern light fixtures, and a clean, modern exterior with beautiful sculptural trees.

Another difference — Uchiko will take reservations. (Uchi only does reservations for early and late seatings.) Uchiko's bar is much bigger, seating 50, with 200 more seats in the restaurant.

The evening we ate there for the preview, we were seated at a table with no window and not enough light for decent photos. So I got to put the camera away and focus on the incredible flavors coming my way. But I've included links below to Uchiko's web site, Tyson Cole's blog which includes lots of behind-the-scenes info and photos, and other articles and interviews about Uchiko.

On to the food. We had heard from friends who dined earlier in the week, that they had experienced some hiccups in timing on their food. Clearly, those issues had been ironed out because our food delivery was executed perfectly and our server was knowledgeable and his suggestions were spot on. That's why they do these soft openings, to work out the kinks. Our only problem was in ambition. We were way past full by the time we were presented with dessert menus. But we couldn't help ourselves, we had to try the intriguing new flavors.

Here's what we tried:
Lobster Gazpacho — chantrais melon gazpacho, chunks of lobster, and thai chili oil
Koviche — scallop, tomatillo, kala­mata powder, and black lime
Hotate — diver scallop with avocado in aioli
Cobia — with cured cucumber and fresh mint
Madai — japanese bream with shiso, Meyer lemon zest, and olive oil
Wagyu Momo — grilled wagyu beef with peaches, and thai chimichurri
Tempura Nasu — Japanese eggplant crisps with mitsuba and sweet chili sauce
Bacon Onigiri — crisp bits of fried pork belly with rice, banh mi pickles and bonito flakes
Ao Saba — grilled mackerel with huckleberries and pickled mushrooms
Grapefruit Sorbet — with sliced grapefruit, candied fennel, avocado mousse, and fennel pollen
Tobacco Cream — chocolate sorbet served over maple budino, with huckleberry sauce and scotch

The lobster gazpacho was perfection. The melon gazpacho with chunks of lobster and a little spike of chili was just the right palate refresher to start off the meal. We were scraping the bowl. I loved the kalamata powder in the Koviche sushi paired with scallop. I'd never had madai (Japanese bream) before. It was my favorite sushi of the night. I also love shiso and Meyer lemon and they enhanced the mild fish without overpowering it.

From the grill, the eggplant tempura was hot and absolutely perfectly seasoned. And I don't even like eggplant. I'm also not much of a fan of raw mackerel, but the Ao Saba from the grill menu turned me on to mackerel in a new way. It was rich and savory and luscious and we loved the zing of the huckleberries.

And last, but definitely, not least, the desserts. Uchi's acclaimed pastry chef, Philip Speer, is also producing Uchiko's desserts. These offerings held up to the high standard of the rest of our meal. We tried the grapefruit sorbet and the tobacco cream with chocolate sorbet. One word of caution: the tobacco cream is infused with tobacco and my husband (an ex-smoker) got a pretty big hit from this dessert. The maple budino, which serves as the base of this dessert, was one of the most amazing sweets I've ever tasted. I couldn't tear myself away from it. But I ordered the grapefruit sorbet which consisted of three generous scoops of grapefruit sorbet sitting on top of thin slices of grapefruit, candied fennel, avocado mousse and fennel pollen. I loved, loved, loved this combination of flavors. And like the gazpacho we started with, this was the perfect light, clean flavor to end the meal with. I have to say, this was the kind of meal where I danced a little in my seat with every new plate and flavor presented to us.

One of my favorite things about eating at Uchi has always been that I leave there feeling inspired by the craftsmanship that goes into every element of the restaurant, especially the food and flavor combinations presented. I'm really excited to have had that experience at Uchiko as well. I can't wait to go back and see what else they have on offer.

More info on Uchi:
• Uchi and Uchiko web site

• Uchiko's menu

• Behind-the-scenes info and photos on Uchiko at Tyson at Uchi blog.

• Interview with Tyson Cole on KUT.

• Interview with Uchiko executive chef Paul Qui from Austin 360.

• What's in your fridge with Tyson Cole and Paul Qui from Relish Austin.

• Eastside King


Uchiko
4200 North Lamar, Austin
phone reservations: 512.916.4808
serving dinner, 7 days
online reservations

Uchiko is coming!

I've already had my nose pressed up against the glass trying to get a peak inside. Uchiko, the much-anticipated second restaurant from Uchi's Tyson Cole is coming soon.

The new Uchi/Uchiko web site went up today complete with Uchiko's new "Japanese farmhouse" menu. I can't wait!!

Uchi has been my favorite restaurant since they opened. From day one at Uchi, every single detail has been crafted and presented with precision and easy elegance. The food, the service, the design... it's become the standard by which I measure other restaurants. And most impressively, that standard has remained consistent every single time I've dined there. It is our special occasion restaurant of choice and the place we are always most excited to share with friends who come to visit Austin. I can't wait to see what Uchiko has in store for us now. I drive by the new Uchiko location every morning on my way to work and have been watching the progress and tapping my foot with impatience. I'm really excited that an opening date is in site next month.

In the interest of full disclosure, between the time I shot this photo earlier in the week (planning this post) and actually putting it up today, I've been invited to a half-price soft opening preview, which I most certainly will be attending. I can't wait to report back. But I would have made reservations on my own, and as a matter of fact, had already called last week trying to do so. I'll be doing so again, probably before we even make it to the preview. I am by no means a professional restaurant reviewer, nor do I pretend to be. But I will be happy to share my enthusiasm and the highlights of my experience with you. I won't be "reviewing" it, but I'm always happy to share food experiences that I'm excited about.

Until then, get a look behind the scenes at Tyson Cole's blog, TysonatUchi.com. He includes photos of the interior and the food.

Uchiko
4200 North Lamar
Austin
512.916.4808

Sweet and Sour Soup with Pineapple and Shrimp

It was 11 degrees overnight in Austin. On top of that, the cedar is plaguing most of us with allergies. This is my favorite soup when I have that sore throat, achey, runny nose kind of feeling. It has big, bright flavors that will wake up your taste buds and clear your head: lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, pineapple and lime juice, with shrimp and rice noodles.

The only downside to this soup is that it has to be made fresh and eaten immediately. It's not a good candidate for freezing and having on hand for later when you feel bad. The freshness is part of what makes it so good. So make it to keep yourself warm or to perk up a friend who's under the weather. It's just the thing.

I've been making and fine tuning this recipe for years. A long time ago, I had a sweet and sour soup at a Vietnamese restaurant that included tomatoes, which added a nice texture and tang. That got me started looking for a version I could make at home. The fresh pineapple is my favorite element. I think this is the version I'm sticking with. Wish I had a bowl tonight.

Sweet and sour soup with shrimp and pineapple

1 pound medium-sized shrimp, shells on
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons shallots, minced
8 cups of fish stock or chicken broth
3 stalks lemongrass
one bunch cilantro
2 kaffir lime leaves
4 slices of galangal
pineapple, peeled and cored, with core reserved; cut into bite-sized chunks
4 tablespoons fish sauce
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1/4 cup lime juice
16 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cut into quarters
4 tablespoons sugar
orange, red or yellow bell pepper, stem and core removed, cut into slices
one pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
approximately 14 oz. package rice stick noodles, soaked in hot water according to package directions and strained

Make the broth:
Remove the shells from the shrimp. Reserve the shells. Devein the shrimp and set aside.

Place the shrimp shells in a stockpot with vegetable oil. Add shallots and cook together for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring.

Add the broth, lemongrass, the stems of your cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, the pineapple core and the fish sauce. Stir together. Bring up to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer at least 15 minutes. (Longer will mean more flavor, if you have the patience.) Strain the broth through a sieve and then put the broth back into the pan. Discard the lemongrass, etc. that you've strained out.

Grind together in a mortar and pestle into a paste: garlic, peppercorns, 2/3 of the cilantro leaves. Add to the broth and stir together.

Turn the heat back on under the broth to about medium. Add the lime juice, mushrooms, sugar, about half of the pineapple chunks and the bell pepper strips. When the broth is just below a boil, add the shrimp and simmer until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through. Watch carefully, this will only take a few minutes. You don't want your shrimp to be tough and overcooked. When shrimp are cooked through, remove from heat and add tomatoes.

To serve, place one serving of rice stick noodles into each bowl. Ladle soup into bowls and top with remaining pineapple chunks and sprinkle with cilantro.

Enjoy immediately!

Serves 3-4.

Adapted from Terrific Pacific by Anya von Bremzen.

Japanese Hot Pot with Chicken & Mushrooms

I have the best husband ever. In true Santa fashion, he gave me just the thing I really wanted for Christmas but hadn't even thought of putting on my list... a Japanese hot pot and the perfect hot pot handbook to go with it, Japanese Hot Pots by Japanese chef Tadashi Ono and writer Harris Salat. I have a favorite udon noodle hotpot I love to order when we go out for sushi in the winter. I've tried replicating the luxurious broth at home without much luck. But with my first try from this book, I found the flavors I was looking for. You know that feeling you get when you sit in a hot springs (or hot tub) outdoors in the cold or better yet, in the snow? You get warm and radiant all the way down to your core. You feel like a wet noodle afterwards, but in the best, most relaxed way. Eating a good hot pot can give you that same warm, comforted and nourished to your core feeling, with noodles!



First, about the pot. A Japanese clay hot pot is called a donabe (pronounced doh-nah-beh). These traditional earthenware vessels conduct heat evenly and retain that heat better than any other cooking material. They have a rounded unglazed bottom and a domed, glazed lid that allows heat to circulate. The lid has a small hole which acts as a steam vent and gives you a heads up when your soup is boiling. The towns of Iga and Shigaraki in central Japan (where my hot pot came from) are famous for making these pots in the traditional way. One important thing to note: you must temper your new hot pot before using it. This is easily done by cooking rice in it and then allowing it to cool in the pot, then clean it and allow it to dry completely before the first use. I'd advise doing this on a separate day from when you plan to cook your first hot pot. It makes the cooking process a little simpler and less time-consuming and you won't be in a rush for your pot to dry. The most important thing about hot pot cooking is to make sure that the pot is completely dry before you fire it up. If not, the water in the unglazed portion of the pot could expand when heated and crack it. Check out this video for step-by-step instructions on how to temper your new hot pot.

If you don't have a hot pot or want to try a few recipes before committing, you can use an enameled cast-iron pot like a Staub or Le Creuset.

In Japanese culture, sharing a meal from a single pot is thought to bring people closer together. We cooked ours on our gas stove and then brought it to the table to serve. But if you have a tabletop burner, you can cook it right there at the table. I was pleasantly surprised by how our donabe retained heat throughout the entire meal. The soup was steaming when we brought it to the table. But even after taking a few photos and leisurely eating our meal, the last bite was still quite hot at the bottom of the bowl.

I made a mushroom hot pot. The recipe in the book uses a variety of mushrooms, tofu, napa cabbage, tofu and spinach. I switched the tofu to chicken and the spinach and cabbage to boy choy. Feel free to use whatever you like. That's the fun of a hot pot.

The first thing you'll need, after your cooking pot, is the dashi, or broth. If you're wanting to make your hot pot quickly as a weeknight meal, I'd advise making the dashi ahead of time so it'll be ready to go. The recipe below is the base dashi recipe from the book. You make it with kombu (seaweed) and dried bonito flakes. You can find these at Whole Foods in the Asian aisle or at an Asian or Japanese market. You can also find kombu and bonito online at Amazon.

Dashi (Kombu-Katsuobushi Dashi)

8 cups + 2 tablespoons water
2 6-inch pieces of kombu
1 1/2 ounces (about 3 cups packed) dried, shaved bonito flakes

Pour 8 cups of water into a large stockpot. Add the kombu. (Do not heat yet.) Let steep for at least 30 minutes.

After steeping, bring the kombu and water to a boil over medium heat. When the water has begun to boil, carefully remove the kombu. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of water.

Now add the bonito flakes and give them a gentle stir to break up the clumps. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. If any foam or bubbles form on the top of the broth, remove them from the surface with a spoon.

Turn off heat and let steep for 15 minutes.

Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. (The book says not to squeeze or press on the bonito, just let it strain through.)

At this stage, you can use the broth immediately or let cool and then refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Makes about 6 cups.




Mushroom Hot Pot (Kinoko Nabe)

4 cups dashi (from the recipe above)
1 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 heads of baby bok choy
1 pound chicken tenders
1/2 pound small shiitke mushrooms (about 16), stems removed
2-4 trumpet mushrooms
1/2 pound enoki mushrooms, trimmed and pulled apart into bunches
2-3 serving bundles of frozen udon noodles, defrosted
Shichimi togarashi (citrus, sesame, chile seasoning)

Combine the dashi, sake, mirin and soy sauce in a bowl. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.

Place your tempered hot pot or enameled cast iron pan on the stove or burner.

Cut your defrosted udon noodle bundles into quarters. Place them in the outside bottom edges of the hot pot. Leave space in the center for the chicken. Place chicken tenders into the center of the hot pot. Cover with dashi about 3/4 full - save some broth in reserve, if it gets too full. You don't want your pan to boil over. Place the lid over the pot.

Bring the hot pot with noodles and chicken up to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a boil, decrease heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the mushrooms and boy choy to the pot. Cover and simmer another 5 minutes. (If using spinach, add it in the last minute before serving.)

Turn off heat and take the hot pot to the table — place on a trivet or heat-safe surface. Serve sprinkled with Shichimi togarashi.

Serves 3-4.

Adapted from Japanese Hot Pots by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat.

To learn more about Japanese food, check out the Japanese Food Report blog by Harris Salat.

If you're in NYC, check out Tadashi Ono's restaurant, Matsuri.

Postscript: Listen to KCRW's Good Food (Jan. 9, 2010) for an interview with Harris Salat and Tadashi Ono about hot pots.

Spring Rolls with Fruit

Sorry to be a bit delinquent in posting lately. I've been sidelined with a tummy bug that had me eating baby food for a week. But I'm back and wanted to share these tasty spring rolls.

Before the tummy bug, I was foraging at the Whole Foods sushi counter for lunch and ran across a fruit spring roll. This was a new offering and a delightful and hopefully, recurring, one. It was served with a light peanut sauce that was a little sweeter than usual. Their spring roll included strawberries, lettuce, carrots, cabbage and cucumbers. The strawberries brought a whole new flavor to the party that I really liked. So I decided to try some myself at home.

The main thing about spring rolls is getting the hang of the rice paper wrappers. Once you've got that, you can put just about anything in them. So use your imagination. You just don't want anything too wet or it will weaken the structure of the wrapper too much.

You can also use rice stick noodles or not. You see them often in restaurant spring rolls. They make for a nicely textured filler. Sometimes I put them in, sometimes not. It's up to you. The flavors will be a bit more defined without the noodles.

Cut and prep all of your filling ingredients first. When everything is ready to go, you dip your rice paper wrappers in water and then start assembling immediately, one at a time. The rice paper wrapper won't seem soft enough at first, but as you are assemble it, it will continue to soften.

You can also use whatever herbs you'd like to pair with your filling. Use this as a guide and think up your own combinations. You can make each roll a little different, if you like. They can also be made with shrimp, pork, tofu, or not. It's up to you.



I made these on a weeknight and had enough on my hands assembling the spring rolls, so I picked up a bottled peanut sauce. I've also had them with sweet chili sauce and a ginger lime sauce. Again, your choice.

Below, I've put together more of a guideline than a specific recipe. How many you make and what you put in them is up to you. If you're serving them as an appetizer, you'll probably want two per person.


Spring Rolls with Fruit

strawberries, trimmed and sliced in half
mango, peeled and sliced into sticks
hothouse cucumber, peeled (or not), and sliced into sticks
greens of your choice: leafy lettuce, Asian microgreens
cilantro, chopped
mint, whole leaves stripped from stem
basil, whole leaves stripped from stem
zest of one lime
shrimp, peeled, cleaned, boiled and cooled, and split in half (optional)
rice paper wrappers
rice stick noodles, soaked in hot water briefly and drained (optional)
peanut sauce, for serving
lime cut into wedges for serving

Prepare all of your filling ingredients and have them lined up on the counter ready to go.

If you're using rice stick noodles, soak them in hot water for 2-3 minutes and then drain them. Let them cool while you move on.

To assemble: I tried a few different plates until I found the one that worked best. It had higher lip around the edge which seemed to keep the wrapper from sticking as much.

Take a large bowl or a sauté pan larger than the rice paper wrappers and fill it with 1-2 inches of cool water. Set it next to your assembly space.

Take one rice paper wrapper and submerge it in the water for 3-4 seconds. It won't seem soft enough yet, but go ahead and pull it out, let drip for a second, and lay it on your plate. Arrange your first filling ingredient in a row down the center of the spring roll wrapper. Leave a good 1 1/2 - 2 inches of wrapper clear at top and bottom.

Layer more filling ingredients until you're ready to roll up your wrapper. Be careful not to overfill it or it will be difficult to roll up.

To begin rolling, pull up the bottom portion of the wrapper up and fold it over the filling.



Now do the same with the top portion.



Then take right side and fold it over to the left, covering the center of the roll. Like a sushi roll, you'll want to tuck in the wrapper as tightly as possible into the crease along the left side. Tighten and tuck as you roll. Roll to the left and until it's completely rolled up.



Now start again.

With these ingredients, I made two combos -- 1) strawberries with mint, cucumber, and Asian microgreens; 2) mango with lime zest, cucumber, Asian microgreens, basil, cilantro and sometimes shrimp.

Happy wrapping and rolling.

Good Luck Foods for Chinese New Year

Tomorrow, January 26th, is Chinese New Year and begins the Year of the Ox. Specific foods are thought to bring good luck in the coming year. If you want to enhance your prosperity, happiness, success and long life, try incorporating some of these into your day tomorrow.

Long noodles for long life. Don't cut your noodles. Keep them as long as possible.

Long leafy greens and beans for long life of parents. Serve these whole.

Fish served whole, including head and tail, for good luck throughout the year. The word for fish sounds like the word for "plenty."

Whole chicken to ensure that your year will have a good beginning and end.

Foods wrapped in lettuce (lettuce rolls) because the Cantonese word for lettuce sounds like "plentiful wealth."

Serve shrimp for laughter and joy.

Oysters are good luck symbols for business.



Tangerines and oranges for good luck. The Chinese words for gold and orange sound alike and the word for tangerine sounds like "luck," so display and eat these for wealth and luck.

Dumplings for prosperity. Dumplings are shaped like ingots or currency so they are said to bring wealth.

Pomelo also for prosperity. The word for pomelo in Cantonese sounds like the words for "prosperity" and "status" so eating them is considered good luck.

Eggs symbolize fertility, so keep that one in mind!

Spring rolls signify renewal.

In Chinese, the number eight is considered to be a traditionally lucky number. So serving items in eights is also lucky. Avoid the number four as it symbolizes death.

Tofu is white and is also to be avoided because white symbolizes death and misfortune. So no tofu!

Serve desserts and sweets for a sweet year ahead. An excuse to eat dessert!

Here's wishing everyone much peace, love, health and prosperity in the coming year!



Sources: Chow.com, Epicurious, Allrecipes.com, and The Breath of a Wok by Grace Young and Alan Richardson.

Soba Noodle Salad

Monday, Jan. 26th, is Chinese or Lunar New Year. There are many foods you can eat for a feast on Lunar New Year that are supposed to bring good luck. My next post will tell you about several of them. But I wanted to share this noodle dish first.

For luck, serve noodles uncut, as long as possible, to represent long life.

This is definitely our favorite noodle dish. I learned this recipe in a cooking class with Lake Austin Spa's chef, Terry Conlan. The class focused on Asian grilling. He served this soba noodle salad alongside grilled lamb with a hoisin barbecue sauce. It's fabulous that way. But we have adapted it to make a main dish salad out of it. It's fresh and full of healthy veggies and bright flavors. It's light, but addictive and full of flavor.

The ingredient list for the dressing may seem a bit daunting if you don't have a lot of Asian staples in your pantry. But know that once you try these noodles, you'll want to try more of these kinds of flavors. It's worth the investment. And if you get most of these bottles at the Asian market, it's much cheaper.



I also added fried tofu from the Asian market to this recipe for protein. I'm not usually a big fried food eater, but this gives the tofu a firmer texture and a nice crust. You can find the cubes already freshly prepared in Asian markets. We get them in Austin at the Hong Kong Market. They have regular, lemongrass and chile, and mushroom flavors. These cubes are great in curries or sliced into strips for these noodles.

I always buy organic veggies when they're available, but I've had trouble finding organic boy choy, except when we grow it in our own garden. Most Asian markets don't carry organics, but I've noticed that the baby boy choy at Hong Kong Market is not only a great deal -- you can get a package of a dozen baby bok choy for $1.09, it's also usually pristine. In most other markets, the bok choy is usually pretty beat up. So if you're stopping in for the tofu and dressing ingredients anyway, be sure to get your bok choy too.



Another tip: I also used a julienning peeler to make fast work of the carrots. It's like a normal peeler, but cuts the carrots into fine strips like confetti.

Whether you eat them for luck or nutrition, these noodles will help you achieve long life.


Soba Noodle Salad

dressing:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons soy sauce (we like Yamasa low-sodium)
4 tablespoons honey or agave
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 teaspoons mirin
4 teaspoons peeled and grated ginger
2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
1/2 - 2/3 cup canola oil

salad:
9 ounce package soba noodles
12 ounces fried tofu cubes, cut into strips
2 bell peppers: orange, red and/or yellow, cut into bite-sized chunks
3-4 heads of baby boy choy, rinsed well and cut into slivers
2 large carrots, peeled and then julienned
one bunch cilantro, chopped
one bunch mint leaves
one bunch basil leaves, chopped
one small bunch chives, chopped

Put on a medium-sized pot of water to boil the soba noodles.

While the water is heating up, make the dressing: Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk together to combine. Set aside.

Boil soba noodles for 2-3 minutes until tender and drain. Place immediately in a large bowl and pour half the dressing over the noodles. Toss them with tongs to distribute the dressing over all the noodles.

Add salad ingredients to noodles: tofu strips, bell peppers, bok choy, carrots and herbs. Toss together again with tongs to combine. Pour over the rest of the dressing and toss again.

Can be prepared and refrigerated until ready to serve, no longer than 2 hours.

Serves 6-8.

Thai Noodle Salad with Shrimp and Pork

In my recent post about the opening of Thai Fresh, I promised a recipe that I learned in one of Jam's classes that has become a favorite in our house. It's fast, easy, has those big, bright Thai flavors we love, but is also very comforting. It's a noodle dish made with shrimp and pork on bean thread noodles, sometimes called glass noodles.

Bean thread noodles are made from mung beans. They are flavorless alone, but will take on any flavors you add to them. Since they aren't made with wheat, they're great for folks who eat gluten-free. I love their translucence and slippery texture.

This is a light dish. We've sometimes added a few red bell peppers strips and carrots strips to make a light meal of it. But it's also great served as part of a Thai dinner with some soup and spring rolls.

Note: Jam suggested you could substitute tofu and mushrooms for the pork and shrimp and make this a veggie dish. Also, we throw in the shallots with the meat to gentle them a bit. You can toss them in raw, if you want a little sharper flavor and more crunch.

Thai Noodle Salad with Shrimp and Pork

noodles:
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and minced plus
4 medium - large whole shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
one package bean thread noodles (approximately 14 ounces)
one bunch cilantro, chopped with stems, one handful set aside for garnish
2-4 shallots, sliced

dressing:
3 Thai chiles
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons palm sugar
1 cup lime juice
1/2 cup fish sauce or soy sauce

First, soak the noodles for 30 minutes in a large bowl of warm water. While the noodles are soaking, put on a pot of water large enough to hold the noodles. Boil the noodles for 1 minute (after soaking). Strain and then rinse with cold water to cool. Set aside. (Jam taught us that soaking and then briefly boiling the noodles gives them the correct texture.)

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan, add the garlic and sauté until golden and fragrant. Add the shallots, pork, minced shrimp and whole shrimp and cook through, about 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce to taste. Set aside the whole shrimp.

Put the cooled and drained noodles into a large bowl. Add the meat and cilantro and toss together.

In a small food processor (or mortar and pestle, if you're feeling hands on), whiz (or pound) together the dressing ingredients.

Add the dressing to the noodle mixture in small increments while tasting to get it just where you want it. You may not need all of the dressing. See how you like it.

Top each serving with a whole shrimp and some cilantro.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Jam Sanitchat. Check out her Thai cooking classes at Thai Fresh.

Salmon Rice Bowl with Meyer Lemon Dressing

This rice bowl we've come to know and love. It was inspired by the rice bowl recipe in Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking. (This book is a great resource for exciting new ways to eat healthy.) Her citrus-soy dressing is becoming my favorite Asian salad dressing and get this, it doesn't even have any oil. Guilt free! She uses a combination of orange and lemon, which would be a great substitute when you can't find Meyer lemons. But loving all things Meyer as I do, I can't help but use Meyer lemons here.

I use a lot of champagne vinegar and rice vinegar in dressings. I like their lighter, softer flavors. But I'd never tried brown rice vinegar before. It has just enough zing to have body, without being too sour. I keep it in my pantry all the time now.

We make our rice bowl with barely roasted salmon, avocado, mango, sweet bell peppers, baby bok choy and cucumber. Very clean, fresh flavors with big textural and visual sex appeal. This meal IS virtuous, but it's also sensuous. We usually make it with brown rice, but this last time (in the photo), we tried it with basmati rice. I love the delicate scent of basmati, but next time, I think I'll go back to brown rice. I like it's toothiness. You could make endless variations on this.

rice bowl:
1/2 pound wild salmon filet
2 cups cooked rice (brown rice, basmati, whatever you like)
1/2 avocado
1 ripe mango
2 heads baby bok choy, cleaned and sliced
red or orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
cilantro for garnish

dressing:
2 tablespoons sugar (or agave nectar)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
zest and juice of 1 large Meyer lemon
(or substitute zest and juice of one orange and 1/2 lemon)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roast salmon until it's just done on the outside and still pink inside. (This took 6-8 minutes in our convection toaster oven.)

While the salmon is roasting, combine sugar/agave, soy sauce and brown rice vinegar. I usually pop this in the microwave for about 20 seconds to make sure the sugar dissolves into the liquid completely. Let cool for a few moments, then add the citrus. Whisk together. Set aside.

Prep your veg: mango, bok choy, pepper, cucumber. (Leave the avocado til the last minute so it doesn't start browning.

Take a few spoonfuls of dressing and toss it or drizzle it into the rice. Make a bed of rice on each of your two plates. I like to serve the salmon sitting on a bed of the boy choy, but assemble this however you like. You can toss all the veg. together and tumble them out onto your rice, or style them all aligned. Channel your inner food stylist.

When the salmon is ready, set it on top. Slice and chop your avocado, sprinkle with the remaining dressing, top with a bit of cilantro and serve.

Serves 2.

Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking.

Pear Ginger Crisp

This recipe is adapted from Eric Gower's The Breakaway Cook. It's one of the best things we've ever eaten. I've made it my own by using my favorite crumble topping. His version has a lower ratio of oats to flour. I like equal parts. I also use turbinado or demerara sugar, which have larger grains and add some crunch to the topping. The smell of this baking will drive you wild. I've made it with Asian pears, as he calls for, and with Taylor Gold pears. I like them both. Even less than ripe pears are fine in this. His recipe says it serves six, but if you're like us, you'll be standing next to the oven digging in and burning the roof of your mouth trying to get at it. I'm not even embarassed to admit that this is excellent for breakfast the next morning, even cold from the fridge.

4-6 pears, peeled, cored, sliced and tossed with the juice of 1/4 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 1-inch matchsticks
1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 cup flour (white whole wheat works well too)
1/2 cup oats (not quick cooking)
1/2 cup demerara or turbinado sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375. Melt the 1T. butter in a skillet. Add ginger and sauté until it softens. Add maple syrup and cook for several minutes. Add pears and stir together to combine flavors. Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan.

Combine the flour, oats, sugar, salt and spices. Stir together. Slice the butter into small pieces and cut into the oat mixture using your hands (or you can quiz it all together in pulses in the food processor). Texture should be crumbly and lumpy. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake for 30 minutes or until you can't take the smell anymore. (I've done this in a convection toaster oven to avoid heating the whole kitchen up – because you'll want to make this in the summer too.)

You can certainly eat it blazing hot straight out of the oven, as we often do, but it's better if you let it cool down for 10-15 minutes. The juices come together and it's not so runny in the bottom. (That juice by itself is worth making this for. You could cook it down a little and turn it into an excellent ice cream sauce.)

Food for tummyaches

My husband had a tummyache this week. I wanted to make him something comforting so off I went to the store for applesauce and bananas and ginger and Gatorade and squooshy bread. (And, of course, the pink stuff.) Yesterday, he had recovered enough to adventure back into the world real food. And since we’ve just returned from backpacking in the Tetons, I was ready to get back into the kitchen. Boiling water for freeze-dried pouches is not cooking.

I started with udon noodles. The fat, pillowy noodles appeal to all tummies, especially recovering ones. (I use frozen udon from a local Japanese market. They're fatter and fluffier than the dried ones you cook in boiling water. You can defrost these in the microwave briefly and then pour your broth right over them. Almost instant.)

Add a little chicken, a lot of ginger, some onion, garlic and a splash of fish sauce for body. And finally, some bok choy, to make it interesting. He said he was up to it. On a normal day, this might benefit from a pinch of hot pepper flakes to give it a little kick. But this way it’s very smooth and soothing with just enough structure.

As a little bonus treat and to continue our ginger theme, I made pear and ginger crisp from Eric Gower’s The Breakaway Cook. It’s the ultimate in comfort food. Soft, smooth pears with ginger and little maple syrup. “It’s good on a lot of different levels,” the hubby said. So true. It’s so good you want to crawl in the pan and roll around in it. As it bakes in the oven, you’re drawn to the kitchen, standing at the oven window, wanting it to be ready now. “Do we have to wait for it to cool?” he said as soon as it came out of the oven. Then there’s the juice in the bottom of the pan. It’s pure pear heaven. I have a few ingredient crushes and pears are high on the list. This is one of the reasons why. (David Lebovitz pear caramel ice cream and King’s Cupboard’s pear caramel sauce are two of the other reasons.)

So if you’re tummy needs some soothing or if you’ve just had a bumpy day, this is your meal.



Ginger Chicken Udon Soup

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled, sliced into coins
splash of Asian fish sauce
2 chicken breasts, (I used boneless/skinless), about 1.5 pounds
2 quarts (reduced sodium) chicken broth
half of a bunch of cilantro, particularly the stems, finely chopped
4 heads of baby bok choy, cleaned, sliced
frozen udon noodles, defrosted, however much you want per bowl


Sweat the onions, garlic and ginger in a little olive oil until softened. I added the chicken before the broth so it could take in these flavors before being bathed in the broth. Brown chicken lightly on both sides. Add broth. Bring it up to a low boil. Lower heat. Add fish sauce and cilantro. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to cutting board and shred with forks, removing those chewy bits. Toss the chicken back in. Just before serving, drop in the bok choy, to preserve it’s crunch and color. Serve over a bed of udon noodles. (If you’re going to have leftovers, save some of the bok choy to put in after reheating the next day.) Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 4-6.