Food Court Noodles

Is it really 3 years since I blogged last time? Really?

 

As far as I know most major shopping malls have a place set aside where all fast food vendors set up small kiosk and every one of the malls we have visited here in Canada and Eastern States have at least one of Chinese fast-food chains represented. Not one of them failed to have a warm or room temperature vegetarian chow mien noodles on their menu. My guess is that at least 8 out of 10 times this is what we would order.
Since it is such a favorite of mine and also for so many other people I think, I thought that there will be hundreds of recipes on the Net replicating the taste but after trying few none was what I was looking for, there was always something missing. So, I have decided to give it a try and do my own version, I have done that dozens of times before after all and done quite well.
Most important part in this great and simple meal is the noodle and I knew that I will have to find them but problem was that we don't have Oriental Supermarket or even a small Oriental food store so I am dependent on local supermarkets: Zehrs, Metro and Sobeys, all of which do have Oriental Food section. As we talked about this meal on our weekly grocery shopping trip, I found fresh (actually previously frozen) noodles in fresh pasta refrigerator at our Zehrs Supermarket. They were exactly what I was looking for! In other part of the supermarket you are likely to find Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Oyster Sauce and Sriracha (all were already in my very well stocked pantry) which will make sauce. Other ingredients for this vegetarian version were in my refrigerator so it was off to the kitchen!

It is difficult to write a recipe where all ingredients are basically “to taste”; some like it hot, some like it mild and same goes with salty or sweet. Some like broccoli, some can’t stand it and same for onions that I just can’t imagine not to have in my pantry and use them! So, this will be more of a list of suggested ingredients followed by some important procedures or techniques then a real detailed recipe. 

Ingredients (for large bowl)

Fresh Chow Mein noodles (I use half a pack)
Carrot, grated or julienned
Broccoli, flowerets only and blanched (I use microwave for 1 minute)
Green onions, whole onion chopped
Asparagus (in season, blanched and cut into short pieces)
Green or Yellow Beans (in season, blanched and cut into short pieces)
Any vegie that you like… 

For Sauce

Sriracha, Sesame Oil, Hoisin Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Light Soy Sauce (Kikkoman),

Directions
Prepare your sauce in a bowl or as I do in a glass measuring cup. Since I cook by feel and never measure, except in baking, it is difficult to give exact volume of the finished sauce. Also, it depends on amount of noodles as well. I start with:
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
1 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce
1 tsp. Sriracha
1 tsp. of Sesame Oil

Mix, taste and adjust. Set aside.

Very important part is to loosen and untangle the noodles before boiling. If you don’t, you very likely end up with a mess of noodles where all the knots will be undercooked; not a great texture to bite into.

Notice the tangle of noodle strands

All nice and loose...

To boil your noodles follow manufacturer’s suggestion. Mine called to boil for 1 minute and it is very close. I always have a bowl with cold water next to boiling pot to test for doneness of pasta and start tasting a bit past half the suggested time. Also, salt the water just like for regular pasta.

When done, drain, rinse under cold running water and then transfer to bowl with cold water. When they are cool, less than half a minute, transfer them to salad spinner lined with a tee towel. Spinning the cooked noodles in salad spinner will ensure that noodles will separate and be ready to absorb the sauce. Omitting this step will result in soggy, mushy noodles.

 

When noodles are dry mix in about half the sauce and taste. Add more sauce and mix again; hands are the very best tool to coat all the noodles with sauce.

Mix in the vegies and serve.

By adding stir fried chicken, beef or shrimp makes this into a real restaurant dish. I used just chicken thighs cut into strips and shrimps in this version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schnitzel from Pork Tenderloin

Over the years I found that pork tenderloin makes the best Schnitzel regardless if prepared breaded or natural without any coating. Since it is so lean I shallow fry it in butter in less then 5 minutes. I usually serve it with boiled red potatoes so the meal is done in under half-an-hour. By the time potatoes are ready the tenderloin is cut up, flattened, seasoned and cooked. The browned butter from frying pan is the only sauce I serve it with. Sometimes I whisk in 1 Tbs. of hot mustard.

Here is how I divide and process whole small pork tenderloin with pointy ends cut off and used in other dishes like shishkebab.

Biftek with Mushrooms, Onions and Potatoes

Czech Version of Minute Steak

Biftek is a Czech version of “minute stake” that is cooked in a frying pan. "Biftek" comes from French "le biftek", which is borrowed from the English "beefsteak", while the English "beef" is originally from the French "le bœuf" and Czech cooks adopted French version “Biftek. What a linguistic mess, ne se pas?

This meal is relatively fast and simple; by the time potatoes are cooked the meat, onions and mushrooms are done as well and as a bonus all in just one frying pan.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)
1 large sirloin steak cut in 2 equal pieces
1 medium onion, peeled
Cremini mushrooms, 8 – 12
Salt and Pepper
Hungarian paprika
Flour
4 medium Red potatoes
Oil

Butter

Instruction

Trim the steak of extra fat and membranes, pound the steak with meat mallet or heavy frying pan till about 1/4” thin, season with salt, pepper and paprika. Lightly dredge in flour and set aside. Trim mushrooms leaving only about 1/2” of stem and cut in half. Cut onion in half and cut into thin slices.

Boil potatoes is lightly salted water till tender, about 15 minutes from time they start to boil. While the potatoes are cooking heat large heavy frying pan with 1 Tbs. of oil, add onions and cook while stirring until they start to turn color. Push on side of pan and place mushrooms cut side down in frying pan making sure that there is a coat of oil on bottom.  When nicely golden move mushrooms to the side next to onions. Add more oil if needed and start frying the steak for about 1 - 2 minutes. Turn over and repeat. If the steak is 1/4” thick it takes about 4 - 5 minutes to cook it to medium well done (hey, it is minute steak after all).

Serve on preheated plates with mushrooms and onions on top and potatoes drizzled with butter on side. Spoonful of Dijon mustard on top kicks it up a notch or two.

Italian Style Stir Fried Chicken Breast

This is my version of typically Italian pasta dish eaten with chopsticks. Yes, very weird but tasty and practical.

We just love wide egg noodles, especially the short twisted ones, but they are so difficult to eat with knife and fork so now we always use chopsticks and since there is no knife with table setting all ingredients have to be cut into bite sized pieces. It is that simple, just like any Chinese stir fry. I used chunky and thick tomato sauce with chopped zucchini, onions, garlic and roasted peppers.

First, cook noodles of your choice, drain and toss with little butter and olive oil. Set aside and keep warm.

While the noodles are boiling heat up non-stick skillet, add little olive oil and stir fry chicken breast that was cut into small, bite sized strips, together with julienned zucchini, sliced onion and sliced cremini mushrooms. At same time add the sauce, mix and cook till chicken is done, about 2 minutes.

Serve noodles on preheated plate, top with chicken, sauce and veggies.

That’s it. If you have a sauce ready it takes well under half an hour total.

Japchea with Baby Cuttlefish

This is my take on one of the best known Korean dishes. Actually, just like with so many Oriental dishes, there are as many versions as there are people that cook it. Very simple and fast to prepare and yet so tasty.

Ingredients:

1 Lb. bag frozen baby cuttlefish, cleaned

1 small carrot, julienned

6” piece of seedless cucumber

3 green onions

1/2 small cooking onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped and divided into 2 equal parts

1” piece of ginger, chopped and divided into 2 equal parts

Soy sauce

Peanut oil

Sesame oil

1/2 package of dangmyeon noodles (sweet potato starch noodles)

You can substitute cellophane noodles (mung bean or glass noodles) for dangmyeon but Korean noodles have nicer texture.

Directions:

Defrost cuttlefish in refrigerator overnight. Wash, pat dry and marinade in a bowl with 1 tsp. of peanut oil mixed with 1/2 tsp. of sesame oil and 1 part each of chopped garlic and ginger. Mix well and marinade in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Cook noodles till al dente, about 3 minutes, drain and drop in bowl with cold water. Drain again, cut into 6” long pieces and toss with 1 Tbs. of soy sauce, 1 tsp. of sesame oil and 1 tsp. of peanut oil and reserve.

In a skillet heat 1 Tbs. of peanut oil till haze forms over the pan. Stir-fry rest of garlic and ginger for few seconds and then drop in cooking onions, carrots and cuttlefish. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, add green onions, mix well and then transfer into bowl with noodles. Mix well and season with hot sauce and/or soy sauce to your taste. Serve on individual plates and garnish with cucumber slices.

Rice vermicelli with vegetables

 

This is another Chinese restaurant and shopping mall food court favorite and now you can even find it in a supermarket deli counter. And no wonder. It is fairly healthy, depending on amount of oil used, and quick and easy to prepare. As with most Chinese dishes the hardest and most tedious part is julienning all the vegetables. If you want a decent looking dish it just has to be done by hand. If you don’t care what the dish looks like a grater does a decent job. I use my trusty super sharp 40 year old Chinese clever and have it chopped in no time. Again, use any vegetable you have on hand but every version should have carrots, green and cooking onions, ginger, garlic and scrambled eggs.

Ingredients in today’s version:

Chopped: Ginger, garlic, coriander

Sliced: Cooking onion, green onions, Napa cabbage leafs

Julienned: Carrot

Egg, sesame oil, peanut oil, Hoi sin sauce, soy sauce, stock (few tablespoons) sugar, hot sauce (optional)

Rice vermicelli

Method:

Soak vermicelli in very hot salty water for 15 minutes, drain, separate strands and sprinkle with sesame oil and toss to coat.

In a hot wok or non-stick frying pan heat 1 tsp of peanut and few drops of sesame oil. Pour in egg beaten with little salt and scramble. When egg is still moist remove to large preheated bowl and reserve.

Add another scant tsp. of oil into wok and stir fry carrots for 2 minutes then add cabbage or bean sprouts, cooking onions, half of coriander and half of green onions. Add Tbs. of Hoi Sin sauce, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 Tbs. soy sauce and 1 Tbs. stock or water.

When hot, add vermicelli and combine all ingredients. Stir fry till vermicelli are soft but still with a lot of bite. Add stock or water as required. Remove to bowl with egg and combine.

Serve and sprinkle with remaining coriander and green onions.

Chicken Tenders with Gnocchi

In this recipe I used frozen Gnocchi. Just drop frozen Gnocchi in boiling water and cook same way as fresh. Do not thaw or they will stick together.

Sauté chicken tenders or skinless and boneless chicken breast cut into strips for about 3 minutes on each side, steam or microwave broccoli, heat up tomato sauce. Toss Gnocchi in the sauce and serve with chicken and broccoli flowerets on the side. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Meal is ready in 15 minutes.

Potato Gnocchi

(Pronounciation)

This recipe is the simplest, fastest and as foolproof as you can get. Main reason is because the Russet potatoes are “baked” in microwave. You can serve gnocchi as a starter or as a light meal.

To serve 3 as meal or 6 as starter.

2 Russet potatoes, washed and pierced in 4 places with tip of knife

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

½ cup of flour plus more for dusting

Salt

Nutmeg, freshly ground

Place potatoes in microwave safe dish with paper towel on bottom and nuke for 4-½ minutes. Turn over and nuke 4 minutes more. Remove and cut in half, lengthwise, to release steam. As soon as they are cool enough to handle remove the skin, cut in smaller pieces and pres through potato ricer, food mill or as Chef John of Food Wishes does use spatula and strainer. Mix in egg yolk until well combined and then add pinch of nutmeg and start adding flour one tablespoon at a time till dough doesn’t feel tacky. This is very much cooking-by-feel. As Chef John says on his Blog:

“There is no such thing as an exact recipe for gnocchi. If you don’t like cooking by feel, and need exact measurements before attempting to cook something, this recipe is not for you. Potato sizes vary, the starch/water contents vary, how you cook it, and how much flour you add not only depends on the aforementioned factors, but also on the desired texture/density of the gnocchi.” Amen.

When dough feels right, roll it into a log and divide it into 8 parts. Roll each piece into a “snake” about ¾” in diameter and then cut into pieces about 1” long. Roll each piece over fork tines to create ridges for sauce.

Drop gnocchi into boiling water and when they float to top count 15 seconds and remove. You can drop them into a tomato sauce, pesto or frying pan with hot butter and olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmigianino cheese and serve.

Watch this great video.

  



To riced potatoes add egg yolks, salt and nutmeg and mix.

Mix the flour in tablespoon at a time.

Roll into a log and divide into equal smaller pieces...

then roll into snakes about 3/4" diameter.

Cut 1 inch long pieces...

and shape over fork tines.

Drop into boiling water and when they float to top let simmer for 15 seconds more.

Scoop gnocchi out, drop them into a hot tomato sauce and toss.

Grate Parmigianino on top and serve.