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October, 2009:

Kua Gai – Thai pan fried noodles

Oct 28th, 2009
by dave.
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Kua Gai

It’s been getting cold lately…and I don’t like it. I’m not ready for this yet after having rain in most of June and half of July. And now it’s raining again every weekend, 2 out of the 3 in October have been wet so far. Means that soon I’ll be spending some cold winter nights bundled up on the couch…bummer.

So this dish is another of those dishes I seem to get regularly at Rod Dee or S&I Thai. There’s not a whole lot to it really but it sure tastes good. And it feels pretty light, with most of the flavor coming from the noodles. Again, the biggest part of this is having fresh rice noodles, they make all the difference in the world!

I found that there’s a pile of different sauces that people have used (including this version at Appon’s Thai Food). It always seems to be a mix of a few ingredients : soy sauce, fish sauce, maggi seasoning, and oyster sauce. Just a word of warning though, if maggi is used, be careful of the saltiness!

Kua Gai

Serves 4
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
- 1.5 lb flat wide rice noodles
- 1 lb boneless chicken breast, sliced thin
- 4 eggs
- 5-6 tbsp light soy sauce (or 3-4 tsp Maggi)
- 6 tbsp fish sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp ground white pepper
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- 1-2 tbsp fried shallots
- Fresh lettuce to garnish

Method:
1. Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil and garlic, stir fry until fragrant.
2. Add chicken, stir-fry until chicken is cooked through (2-3 minutes).
3. Add noodles, toss, add eggs.
4. Add sauce, sugar, fried shallots, stir fry another 2-3 minutes.
5. Add scallions, season with white pepper, toss for another minute.
6. Serve over some freshly cut and washed lettuce.

Instant noodles, and some random stuff from the freezer

Oct 21st, 2009
by dave.
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Noodle Soup

Even though I try to make it a point to try new recipes and new techniques, there’s nights where I just want to get something on the stove quickly so that I can take care of other errands. And in the past, I usually would just eat takeout (Rod Dee among my favorites), definitely not healthy by any means.

One thing I’ve been trying to be good about lately is keeping enough food in the fridge/freezer that if I don’t have anything specifically in mind to cook one night, I can quickly whip something together like some frozen veggies, chicken, and rice. Lately, I’ve been putting together noodle soups out of the various things I had lying around.

To be honest, I had my share of instant noodles back in college and have been abhorrent to the stuff since. But lately, I’ve been finding a good use for the noodles at least (and discarding the sauce packets!). I’ll open a can of broth, mix some spices in, add in whatever I have in the freezer, boil some bok choy, and there you go, my version of instant noodle soup!

I’ve tried a bunch of different ingredients that worked out pretty well : Roast pork (char siu), Cha lua, fish/pork/beef balls, fish cakes, and wontons. Something that also adds a little flavor is a sunny-side-up egg.

Dukboki – Rice Cakes in Red pepper sauce

Oct 14th, 2009
by dave.
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Dukboki

So I’m now on a bit of a diet. I mean, that’s not necessarily going to stop me from eating what I want, but maybe just less of it. Just will have to work out more if I’m going to hit my goals =P

Here’s another pretty quick meal if you have the ingredients on hand. I bought two kinds of rice cakes at H-mart last week with the intention of making a couple different dishes. Dukboki is something I get every now and then at Misono Wok at Super 88 (Usually with ramen or japche mixed in there too) but I’ve never really had a whole ton of success making it myself. But then I stumbled on a couple nice cookbooks and an archived post on My Korean Kitchen and it was off to the races.

The main ingredient needed for the sauce (and it’s used a lot in Korean cooking, I’ve found) is Gochujang paste, or hot pepper paste. Gochujang mixed with a few other household ingredients nets a really tasty sauce that can be used in a whole bunch of different stir-fry dishes. So now I keep a tin of the stuff in my fridge at all times, just in case I need to put something together in a hurry (and without any kind of meal planning in advance).

Dukboki – Rice Cakes in Red pepper sauce

Time : 20 minutes
Serves : 4
Ingredients:
- 1 – 2 lbs rice cakes
- 3-4 fish cakes, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2-3 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- Optional : Hot dog, hard boiled eggs, ramen, cellophane noodles
- Sesame seeds for garnish

Gochujang seasoning sauce:
- 4 tbsp Gochujang
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp Korean chili powder
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Method:
1. Boil rice cakes as instructions dictate. Usually a couple minutes to soften them up a little.
2. Heat a wok over high heat, add some oil, toss in the onions and green peppers and stir-fry for a few minutes.
3. Add in everything else but the scallions. Mix well. Stir fry for another 4-5 minutes or so.
4. Add in the scallions, give a final few stirs, then serve with some sesame seeds.

Hotate Hokkaiyaki (Baked Scallops in Spicy Mayo)

Oct 7th, 2009
by dave.
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Hotate Hokkaiyaki

Everytime I’m in a Japanese restaurant, I absolutely crave this stuff. Really. I get it every time…provided they have it. And if they don’t, I ask. Trust me, I’ve embarrassed myself a couple time doing this already =P

But anyway, I’ve never figured out how to make it. And lacking good resources online and in the two cookbooks I have, I was forced to improvise. And if you know me, that’s never a good thing ; I’m no good at balancing ingredients together. So off I went, with the bare minimum of ingredients, hoping for the best.

And wow, it actually turned out alright! A bit spicy, which was great but it definitely had evidence of the flavor I crave. I bet there’s more mayo but I can’t bring myself to use more than I have already.

Hotate Hokkaiyaki

Serves 4 as an appetizer
Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients:
- 6 Sea Scallops, sliced
- 12-18 Crab Sticks (Kani) – Pulled apart
- 4 tbsp Flying Fish Roe
- 6 tbsp Japanese Mayo
- Generous squeeze Sriracha
- Optional : Sliced up Enoki mushrooms

Method:
1. Mix everything but the scallops together in a bowl. Taste and adjust flavor as necessary.
2. Add scallops, mix again, then set in a bakeable dish.
3. Bake for 10 minutes at 475 or until done.

Hotate Hokkaiyaki