Tag Archives: mushrooms

Asian Fusion Soba Noodles

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The fact that I haven’t shared a recipe in so long should really highlight that: this recipe is worth sharing.

No surprise, America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook blasted us away with another awesome number. After realizing my life wouldn’t be complete until I shared it with you all, I made it a second time just for the purpose of blogging.

Think: amazing pork. Amazing mushrooms. Amazing texture. Amazing and I love it.

Okay, wow. Obviously I haven’t blogged about food in way too long, because I can’t think of a single adjective beyond “amazing,” which is such a subjective evaluation that it means nothing to anyone . . . so let’s try again.

Umm . . . it’s got umami! That magical salty/sweet/savory thingamaging that I barely understand but know that I love. It tastes fresh and light but also has depth. The pork is so flavorful and juicy it makes me want to become a vacuum cleaner just so that I could inhale it.

The recipe is a little more involved than some, but still nothing crazy. And it’s so darn good that the very first chopstick-full of crunchy green onion and delicate noodle dripping with the sweet/savory sauce makes up for any extra knife work involved. It’s good with noodles as the recipe has it, but the pork sauce itself would be great over rice too.

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Even Alice endorses it!

Right, sweetie?

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(Sorry, but without a gratuitous picture of Alice my mom is sure to speak up . . . so here you go, Mom! This one’s for you.)

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

¼ cup soy sauce
3 TBS sugar
2 TBS oyster sauce
2 TBS chili garlic sauce
1 TBS sesame oil
4 tsp mirin OR sake (different—but both work)
1 lb boneless country-style pork ribs, sliced crosswise thinly
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS minced ginger
4 tsp peanut oil
6 baby bok choy, sliced crosswise
8 oz white button mushrooms, sliced
4-8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
8 oz dried soba noodles
1 bunch scallions, sliced on the bias

1. Whisk together first 6 ingredients.

2. Combine 3 TBS of the mixture with the sliced pork and marinate in the fridge for 5 minutes. Reserve the rest of the sauce.

3. Combine garlic, ginger and 1 tsp of the oil in a small bowl.

4. Start to boil some water in a large pot for the noodles.

By the way, I’d never cooked with soba noodles before. So in case this is helpful to anyone, here’s what my package of noodles looked like:

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5. In a large 12’’ nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp oil. When shimmering, add half the pork in one layer. Let it sit for 1 minute, then stir for 2 more minutes until browned. Remove, and repeat with the remaining pork.

6.  Heat the last teaspoon of oil in the now-empty skillet. When hot, add the mushrooms and bok choy; cook 5-7 minutes, until browned.

7. Clear a space in the center of the skillet and add the garlic/ginger/oil             mixture. Smash it around with your spatula and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

8. Add the pork and sauce to the skillet; stir it all around and simmer for             about 1 minute, until the sauce has thickened. Cover and set aside.

9.  When the pot of water is boiling, add the noodles and cook for a couple minutes, stirring often. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, and when the noodles are tender, drain them immediately.

10. Put the noodles back in the pot and add the pork, tossing them together. Add the ½ cup cooking water if you need to loosen up the mixture. Sprinkle on the green onions and serve!

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Thai Coconut Curry Soup

During my maternity leave I was super blessed by our church’s meals program for new moms. Basically, people sign up and bring you food. Heaven on earth. During those days when it seems like all you are doing is feeding an insatiable infant (lovely and wonderful, but dang do they eat a lot in those early days!), having a hot meal brought to your very doorstep is glorious.

It was especially glorious because of the number of incredible cooks in our congregation. We got fabulous lasagna from Traci. A savory and comforting brussel sprout and chicken sausage roast from Peter and Jamie. These awesome slow cooker pork chops from Jana that fell apart practically as soon as you looked at them. You can believe that I sent email after email asking for recipes during that time.

First up for recreation in my own kitchen was this fabulous Thai soup from Sarah. The soup has zip without being too spicy. It’s a burst of awesomeness on the palate that also sits lightly in the stomach–you won’t be going to bed with a rock in the gut after eating a bowl of this. And the lime juice–oh the lime juice. So bright! So zesty! In my mind, fresh lime juice is just another finger pointing to a loving Creator, and I’m not kidding either. (Any other lime juice fanatics out there?) And Sarah amped things up by adding shiitake mushrooms, which I happen to absolutely love. After emailing her and asking for the recipe, she said it came from America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook. Irony of ironies, I had that very cookbook from the library sitting in my living room (also the source of the amazing Cajun Corn Chowder that I’ve already made three times in the past two months). So go Sarah! Go America’s Test Kitchen! And with some of Sarah’s modifications plus some of mine, here’s the recipe.

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

1 TBS vegetable oil
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 large shallots, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2-14 oz cans coconut milk
2 TBS fish sauce
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS sugar
8 oz white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal into thin ovals
8 oz snow peas, strings removed, cut in half
Juice of 2 limes
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 bunch green onions, minced
Salt, pepper, and more sugar to taste

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Just when it starts smoking, add the chicken breast and brown on both sides. Set the chicken aside.

3.  Add the minced shallots to the pot and cook over medium heat until softened.

4. Add the broth and coconut milk to the pot along with 1 TBS of fish sauce, the soy sauce and the sugar. Stir everything together, scraping up any browned bits.

5.  Add the chicken breast back in, cover the pot, and simmer the soup for about 10 minutes.

6. Remove the chicken breast to a cutting board and dice or shred into bite-sized pieces.

7. Add all the vegetables to the soup and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until just tender.

8. In a small bowl, whisk together the curry paste, lime juice and remaining fish sauce. Add it to the soup along with the chicken.

9. Taste, re-season if needed, stir in the green onions, and serve hot!

Thank you Sarah and thank you church friends for bringing such great food and being such a blessing to our little family!

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