Soba Noodle

Soba Noodle is Japanese buck wheat noodle that is usually eaten cold. At restaurant it is usually server over a bamboo serving plate and accompany with dashi sauce. Some time fried vegetable tempura top it off for another great yummy flavor all together. I prefer my plain and simple so that I can savor the nice aroma and sweetness of the dashi sauce with the noodle. It a very simple noodle to make and always put a smile your eater faces. With it chewy texture and melt in your mouth flavor this noodle can be a complete lunch or dinner, for it very filling. I often make this with sashimi instead of rice it fill in the carb void.

3 Bundle of soba noodle (usually 6 in a package)
1 Tbsp grinded to paste diakon
2 Tbsp minced scallion
1 Cup bonito flavored soup base
2 Cup of water
½ Cup dried seaweed chopped into tiny strips

Methods:

1. Fill pot up with water and bring it to boil.
2. Place noodle in and cook for 7 minutes or to package instruction.
3. Remove and run cold water to stop the cooking process. Leave it in the water for 5 minutes.
4. When it cold, pick the noodle up by the handful and roll into a ball and carefully press your hand together with the noodle in between it so that you can drain the water out. Place the ball of noodle on a strainer to dry it.

To serve, place on or two ball of noodle in a bowl. Add enough bonito flavored soup base and top with dry seaweed, scallion and diakon paste. In some restaurant would add tempura vegetable or fish ball sliced. No matter how it is serve it is just so good.

Serve cold.

Kimchi

Watching Jewel in the Palace a long, long time ago, I learn that napa cabbage was first introduce to Korea by Chinese for medicine purpose. It supposed to be good for your digest system and stomach, because of it cooling effect to your body. Later on it become the vegetable of the poor, because if was easily grown and cheap vegetable. Thus, the poor learn to ferment it and it that how it all started the kimchi obsessions. And over the years the recipe is past down from generations to generations as it changes to the taste of the maker.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make Korean B.B.Q for our traditional Sunday dinner. Therefore I decided to make some kimchi with napa cabbage, daikon and Japanese cucumber. Using the same ingredients and process, I managed do all three kind of kimchi. Of course to get it done by Sunday, I usually soak it on Thursday night after work and finished on Friday night. Then by Sunday its ready to eat with the Korean B.B.Q. And what a Korean B.B.Q without kimchi right? A little warning, if you don’t have Korean chili powder. Do not replace it with just any other Asian chili powder. I did this once and it didn’t taste so good. Actually it didn’t even taste right or the original kimchi flavor. Sadly my husband can’t tell the difference, but I can and I have to endure a whole week of that kimchi. You named it I eat it all with kimchi….kimchi dumpling, kimchi noodle, kimchi with meat, kimchi with rice… Needless to say, it a lesson well learnt. lol






Ingredients:

1 Head of Napa cabbage
1 Cup + 1 Tsp of sea salt or kosher salt
½ Cup of Korean chili powder
2 Inches ginger clean and cut to small pieces
6 Scallions and cut diagonally
¼ Cup of fish sauce or to taste
5 Jalapenos slice your way
6 Cloves of garlic
1 Cup shredded carrot or thinly sliced diakon

Methods:

1. Wash the napa cabbage and pull each leaf and cut it in half down vertical then place it a plastic container fill with water and dissolve salt.
2. Cover it with a heavy plate or whatever heavy to put the pressure down. Making sure the cabbage is completely cover in water. Soak overnight.
3. The next day clean the salt out and drain the water out. Leave it flat to dry completely on a strainer. For a couple of hours.
4. In mortar, put the garlic, ginger grind it into tiny pieces.
5. Add the jalapeno, carrot (diakon) and scallion and lightly mesh together.
6. Now add the chili powder, salt and fish sauce, mix well almost paste like.
7. Now with gloves on, take the paste and rub all over the cabbage inside and out.
8. Lay it in a glass jar piece by piece and layer by layer until completely done.
9. Now close the jar air tight and let it fermented for 2 day for slightly sour and 3 day for sour. Do not touch or shake the jar in the process or you’ll crushed it.
10. Remember to put it in the refrigerator after opening. It last over a week.

Chinese Choy with Oyster Sauce

This dish could be use with many other Chinese vegetable such as Chinese broccoli, bok choy, dandelion stem, morning glory etc. With Chinese cooking vegetable like soup always accompany the man entrée. Most typical Chinese household in every meal you must have at least one vegetable entrée for those who doesn’t eat meat. And soup, because it supposed to be good for you heath wise. I often follow this tradition, because I just love vegetable and can’t live without soup to wash down my rice. Lol

There not much to instruct regarding this easy to make dish. Except to soak the choy really well and wash it really well. Drain and soak again to get rid of all the dirt that accumulated during it stay in the dirt. If not, well let just say that you will be chewing on lots of dirt. Yuk! Hate that feeling of dirt on your teeth. Hurt my head and ears.



Ingredients:

1 Bunch of any kind of choy cut four times
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce (fish sauce Thai style)
½ Tsp of kosher salt
2 Tbsp oil vegetable
½ Sugar (optional)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp water

Methods:

1. Heat wok to hot then add hot to hot.
2. Add the minced garlic until golden brown and aroma.
3. Add the choy, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt and water.
4. Toss a three to four time, don’t over cook this.

Serve hot.

Bamboo Salad

This is one of my first Thai dishes that I love and learn to make. This pickle bamboo salad it originated in more of Southern Thai called a ha E San. E San foods are rich in spices and flavor. It is very good in it being very bold, spicy and lots of herbs. I love almost all the E San dishes and had learned to make most of them.

If you’re wondering how I of Chinese heritage, love to cook Thai food. Well it simple really. I used o owned a long time ago, over 15 years to be exact. And running beside from running the business, I love to sneak into the kitchen and learn from the chiefs there.
Since there fours chiefs I learn everything from them. One of them is an old lady that I called grandma that teaches me traditional methods to make desserts, salad, curry and craved fruit and vegetable into roses. From the other chiefs I learn to make all kind of fried rice, stir fired dishes and my favorite fried noodles!

Therefore I may not be a chief by degree or certified, but I consider myself to be very knowledgeable in Thai cooking. And over the years I think I had learned to perfected it!



Ingredients:

1 Bottle of pickle spice bamboo shoot
1 Tbsp roasted rice ground to fine
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
½ Tsp kosher salt
5 Thai chilies minced (this is super spicy)
2 Clove red scallion thinly sliced
3 Tbsp cilantro chopped into ½ length
Hand full of mint leaves sliced in half


Methods:

1. Open the bottle of the pickle bamboo and drain out he water.
2. Put it in a pot and cook for a couple minutes.
3. Remove from the stove and put in salad mixing bowl.
Add the fish sauce, salt, lime juice, grounded rice, minced chilies, scallion and mixed well. Add more fish sauce or lime juice to your tast