Shirataki Noodles with Peanut sauce

I read about these 'miracle' noodles that were 20 calories in comparison to 120 calories for 'normal' noodles per serving except...they are made from tofu. However I still really liked them and so did Alex however I do NOT recommend using these noodles for non-Asian meals. The trick to feeding someone tofu noodles is to not tell them they are tofu noodles till about 15 mins into dinner :)

5 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp rice vinegar
5 cloves crushed garlic
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (any hot sauce to you like)
3 tsp ground ginger
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup broccoli
2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup green onions.
2 8-oz packets shiritaki noodles

You can find these noodles at whole foods in the tofu refrigerated section they are sort of pricey but worth it every once in a while. They must stay refrigerated until you are ready to use them.

So they sort of smell, but I swear if you do this they won't ...Open Shirataki Noodles. Drain, rinse and boil for 3 minutes, don’t get it on your hands. Boiling gets rid of the stench.

Once boiled drain the water and add to your chopped green onions in a mixing bowl.

Since I made this there are a few things I would adjust so my directions may not match my pictures exactly but trust me its  better this way. I would combine all 'sauce' ingredients (everything but noodles/veggies) to a microwave safe bowl/mixing cup.... Microwave for about 45 seconds, stir it up, and repeat if necessary to get a nice smooth peanut sauce.

Add about 3/4 of the sauce mixture to your veggies in a saucepan (big enough to add in your noodles later.)

I added everything in separately but I think making the sauce first is better

Meanwhile you will need to bake your chicken with some peanut sauce you can do this however you like, I used my deep covered baker. Take your raw chicken... (that is one breast butterflied) I recommend making two full breasts for meat eaters. Add your peanut sauce to cover...

I popped it in the  microwave for about 11 mins in the baker, you could also just bake in the oven, stove top however you want. 

Dunzo with the chicken, meanwhile add in your noodles/green onion mixture to your veggies after they have sauteed in the sauce for about 5 mins... Give it a toss for about 2 min, then serve with a side of chicken. You could also cut up the chicken and serve it mixed with the veggies.

Hot & Cold, Sweet & Spicy

I was craving Chinese food sans the MSG and I have had a cold the past few days so I really wanted something to clear up my sinus congestion, so I knew I needed something spicy.

For the Hot & Spicy

1 Chicken breast
1 onion
4 carrots
2 cups green beans (ends cut off)
3 cups broccoli (I thawed frozen broccoli)
1/2 bag shelled edamame (frozen veggie section)
Stir fry or Teryiaki sauce
Sriracha sauce (hot sauce)

For the Sweet & Cold

Sobu buckwheat noodles (used them in this post)

Dressing ingredients:
Rice vinegar
1/4 tsp Ground or fresh ginger
2 tsp Sugar
Soy Sauce
Vegetable oil
1 clove garlic-crushed

First you want to get together your 'cold' part of the meal. Boil your buckwheat noodles according to the directions, typically 5-7 minutes, Strain in a colander  and pour cold water over the pasta in the colander to cool it down, set aside while you make the dressing.  One of my first pampered chef products was a gift from our close family friend Carrie. I would always tell her how much I loved her dressings and apparently this contraption held all her dressing secrets in one place :)  I was in love. As a housewarming present she got this for me. There is an Asian dressing on there that is better than any Asian dressing I've bought/tried etc.  Anyway..... Per the directions on the container I made the dressing...

There are very few actual measurements written on the container so I have a hard time translating the liquids in the recipe if you don't have one of these bad boys. I highly recommend one, the Caesar dressing is the bomb.com which I'll be making Friday night!

Measure

Mix



Pour

 Add the noodles to your serving dish, then Pour the dressing over the noodles, Mix well. And place in the fridge.




Once this is in the fridge I was onto the stir-fry.







Chop up you veggies however you like.

I really wanted crinkle carrots so I brought out the mandolin.

Shelled Edamame:

Once all the veggies are in the pan, Top with your Stir fry and sriracha sauce and cook and medium high for about 7mins.

Once the veggies are semi-cooked add in your diced chicken breast

Cook the chicken till it is fully cooked, about 12 mins on medium high heat.  Once the stir fry is done your noodles should be chillin out in the fridge. Serve noodles with stir fry on top. I also added some dressing to lettuce for a side asian salad as well.

Lefties

So the lettuce wraps were such a hit that lefties turned out to be one cabbage wrap leaf and two handfuls of meat mixture which would be enough for Alex but leave me starving, no thanks. It was a late dinner and the last thing I wanted to do was think/cook. So I looked at the cup and a half of meat mixture and one lonely cabbage wrap leaf and decided I would turn this into Lo-mien.

Recently I picked up some SOBA Japanese Buckwheat noodles from the Asian Market (they have them at Harris teeter but in the asian market for about 1/4 of the price) and have been hooked on them(more recipes to come.) Buckwheat is much better for you and don't leave that heavy feeling in your stomach.

A little health blurb about Buckwheat noodles compliments of Google: Buckwheat is a gluten-free grain that contains no wheat, Soba noodles because of their buckwheat content are a slow-releasing carb. aka skinny girl. full boyfriend.

Just like any other noodle, go ahead and boil them in water for about 7-10 mins the drain the pasta water. Back in the same noodle boiling pot add in your meat mixture leftovers and tear up any left over cabbage wrap leaves add the noodles back in, stir around for about 3-5 mins adding soy sauce/hot sauce anything to liven up the noodles/meat. Then......... you EAT!

PS. You could also make a 'fried-rice' with the leftovers, make some minute brown rice (my Persian mother is probably appalled at my reference to microwaved minute rice) and stir that up with the leftover meat content and soy sauce , etc.

PF Changs at Home!

Last night I threw together a mini Asian Feast. I made lettuce wraps with Cabbage instead, an egg-drop hot & sour soup and egg rolls. Don't get all excited I had help with the soup and the egg rolls.

What you'll need for the Cabbage wraps:
1 head of Cabbage
Hoison Sauce
Any Asian Hot sauce (I had chili paste)
Ground ginger (or Fresh)
Soy Sauce
2 Large Carrots
1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 diced chicken
20 large uncooked shrimp
two handfuls of fresh basil (optional)

Soup:
2 Soup packets (Egg Drop or Hot & Sour or one of each!)
2-3 Eggs

Egg rolls:
Store bought veggie egg rolls
Egg rolls Stacked like Jenga pieces (pictured right)

I swear the meal is much better than it looks, I really didn't even remember to take a pic until everyone had gotten their 2nd serving... oops!

Now the only reason there are three different meats is because I was looking in the freezer and I had one small baggie of beef that wouldn't be enough for any full meal, some Chicken thigh meat that Alex bought that I don't know what to do with and shrimp because to begin with I wanted to only make Shrimp Cabbage Wraps. So really use any meat you want just one, or all three it doesn't matter.

Start to peel off the bigger cabbage leaves, you will use these as your wraps (they are way sturdier than lettuce and iceberg lettuce is like eating air) once you get to the smaller not wrap worthy pieces just chop it up to add to your meat mixture. In the pan you'll have some olive oil, beef, diced chicken, cabbage and shredded carrots. Start to saute probably a good 5-7 mins over medium heat. During this you'll add your hoison sauce (maybe 2 tbsp, a little ginger and add chili paste to taste. I'm a big 'taster' while cooking however be careful tasting when raw meat is involved. Do not add the shrimp until the other meet is thoroughly cooked through.

Meanwhile dice up the shrimp into bitesize pieces, turn down the pan to medium low heat once the meat is fully cooked and do your taste test, also be wary that with time the heat in the chili paste gets stronger. Toss in the shrimp and give it a swirl, shrimp cooks extremely fast and sucks when its overcooked. So if you are preparing this in advance, to turn off the heat, add the shrimp and remove the pan from the burner. This will allow for the shrimp to cook about half way. Once you are ready to eat. turn the pan back on high add your fresh basil, give it a 1-2 min swirl and you will notice your shrimp pinking (perfectly cooked shrimp) and this will also heat it up enough to serve.

To go with the lettuce wraps I took some store bought mini veggie eggrolls that my mom gave me, put them in the oven to cook. I then took them out glazed them lightly with a hot pepper jelly that I had in the fridge to make them delish and not blah placed them back in the oven on the 'Lo" broil setting for about 2-5 mins. Make sure you watch them closely the broil setting on ovens have proven disastrous for me in the past.

For the soup, I have recently discovered a $2 packet mix for egg drop soup or hot and sour soup at the store. Because it was more than just me and Alex for dinner, I added about 4 mugs of water(I told you I don't measure), the two packets, and brought them to a boil. Meanwhile whisk 2-3 eggs (I love eggy soup so I did 3) in a separate bowl, once the soup mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and slowly stir in the egg as your pour is very lightly from the bowl. It is important to constantly stir in the same direction when adding the egg. The slower you add the egg the thinner the 'egg ribbons' are.

Egg roll Jenga Stacker himself