A few weeks ago the lovely Jess visited from Barcelona and requested that I teach her to cook
something easy and healthy. Well, this is another one of my 'Bowl Food' favourites (in fact, it's by far the dirtiest page in the book - always a good sign) and it's got vegetables in and is a stir fry, so it must be healthy, right?! Since making it, Susan has been on at me constantly to put it up, so it must have been a success! I think it's a particularly good recipe because it gives you a good liquid to add to pretty much any stir fry style ingredients and make them totally delicious. It's totally worth buying rice wine vinegar and pickled ginger for. Personally I skip the mushroom bit as I don't like the little fuckers, but I suppose some people must, so I'll leave it in the recipe for you weirdos.
5 dried shitake mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, one crushed, one finely chopped
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
half a cup Japanese soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar (actually I found it a bit sweet, so usually only put about half a tablespoon in)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 lb fresh udon noodles (the really cool big fat squishy noodles!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cabbage
4 scallions (aka spring onions, I believe)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
white pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons drained shredded picked ginger
Place the mushrooms, if you really must have them, in a bowl and soak in boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain, saving a quarter of a cup of the liquid. Discard the stems, squeeze the caps dry and thinly slice.
Combine the crushed garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice and soaking liquid.
Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 2 minutes or until soft and tender. Drain.
Heat a wok over a high heat, add half the oil, and swirl to coat. Add the chicken in batches and stir fry for 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from the wok.
Add the remaining oil and swirl to coat. Add the chopped garlic, mushrooms, pepper and cabbage and stir fry for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add the noodles and stir fry for another minute. Return the chicken to the wok and add the scallions, sesame oil and soy sauce mixture, stirring until well combined and heated through. Season with white pepper and sprinkle with the pickled ginger.
Oh, and serves 4. As you can see. Enjoy. I'm off for some Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream. Mmmmmmmmm!
something easy and healthy. Well, this is another one of my 'Bowl Food' favourites (in fact, it's by far the dirtiest page in the book - always a good sign) and it's got vegetables in and is a stir fry, so it must be healthy, right?! Since making it, Susan has been on at me constantly to put it up, so it must have been a success! I think it's a particularly good recipe because it gives you a good liquid to add to pretty much any stir fry style ingredients and make them totally delicious. It's totally worth buying rice wine vinegar and pickled ginger for. Personally I skip the mushroom bit as I don't like the little fuckers, but I suppose some people must, so I'll leave it in the recipe for you weirdos.5 dried shitake mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, one crushed, one finely chopped
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
half a cup Japanese soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar (actually I found it a bit sweet, so usually only put about half a tablespoon in)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 lb fresh udon noodles (the really cool big fat squishy noodles!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cabbage
4 scallions (aka spring onions, I believe)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
white pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons drained shredded picked ginger
Place the mushrooms, if you really must have them, in a bowl and soak in boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain, saving a quarter of a cup of the liquid. Discard the stems, squeeze the caps dry and thinly slice.
Combine the crushed garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice and soaking liquid.
Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 2 minutes or until soft and tender. Drain.
Heat a wok over a high heat, add half the oil, and swirl to coat. Add the chicken in batches and stir fry for 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from the wok.
Add the remaining oil and swirl to coat. Add the chopped garlic, mushrooms, pepper and cabbage and stir fry for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add the noodles and stir fry for another minute. Return the chicken to the wok and add the scallions, sesame oil and soy sauce mixture, stirring until well combined and heated through. Season with white pepper and sprinkle with the pickled ginger.
Oh, and serves 4. As you can see. Enjoy. I'm off for some Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream. Mmmmmmmmm!
