Chilled Capellini with Tomato& Basil

Other than pasta salad, have you had pasta served cold?  In Japan, "Chilled Capellini (angel hair pasta) with Tomato" is quite a popular dish many Italian-style restaurants serve during summer time. Apparently this is not an authentic, traditional Italian dish..  But nowadays, I heard some restaurants in Italy serve cold pasta dishes, inspired by Japanese cold noodle dishes...Kind of like California Rolls which is no way traditional / authentic Japanese, but recently gaining popularity in Japan.
Anyways, I love noodles, and I like them cold especially on the hot summer day. This recipe uses roasted tomatoes, which you prep the night before (super easy, you just have to turn on the oven!) and chilled overnight. Tossed with fresh basil, you know you have a winner. Simple, fabulous, refreshing, wonderfully tomato-icious ; P


Ingredients (enough for 4 people):
1 (796 ml/ 28fl oz) Canned Diced tomato
2-3 TBS Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or as much as you like)
1 tsp  salt

1. Place the chopped basil and the salt in a large bowl.
2.Drain the juice from the can, and place the diced tomato in a bowl. Toss with the olive oil and minced garlic.
3.Spread the tomatoes out in a baking pan or cookie sheet in single layer, and roast at 400F for 25-30 minutes.
4. Scoop the tomatoes directly into the bowl with the basil. Toss to mix. Chill overnight or at least 2-3 hours until the tomatoes are completely chilled.

Pasta (Capellini, 80-100g per person)
1. Cook capellini (or angel hair pasta) al dente.
2. Drain the pasta into a colander, while running a cold water onto the pasta. Leave the water running for a while over the pasta. Once the pasta is cool enough to touch, take handfuls and gently swish and rub them in the running water, as if you are washing the noodles. The goal here is not just to get the noodle ice cold, but to get rid of the starchiness from the noodles.
4. Very important! Drain the excess water from the pasta really well. 
5. Add the drained pasta to the bowl with the tomato & basil. Toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper, and if you like, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Serve very cold.

Bukkake Udon Noodles

It finally feels like summer here! After what seems like months of endless rain and cloud, I was starting to wonder if we will be getting any summer..., but temperatures are rising & sunshine is here : )  I skyped with my Mom today - she said the temperature there (Nara, Japan) is 35 C and humidity is close to 70%..  Summer in Japan is very hot & humid..
To beat the summer heat, I decided to make Bukkake Udon for dinner. It is basically cold Udon noodles, splashed with soy sauce based dashi broth and a few toppings. Cold noodles is a very popular dish in Japan, especially during the hot and humid summer time.

Ingredients:

Udon Noodles (please use the frozen or dry one.. not the one packed in the vacuum sealed package... they are awful... )
Broth (enough for 4 people):
3 TBS Japanese Soy Sauce
2 TBS Mirin
1 tsp   Sugar
a pinch of Salt
200ml Water
1 tsp   Dashi powder * see note below

1. Mix Soy sauce, mirin, sugar and salt in a pot and bring to the boil.
2. Once it is boiled, turn off the heat and add water and dashi powder. Stir until the dashi powder is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool. (or if you can, make this in advance and keep it in the fridge. It's best served cold)
3. Cook the udon noodles according to the package instructions. Once the noodles are cooked,  quickly drain the noodles into a colander, while running a cold water onto the noodles. Leave the water running for a while over the noodles. Once the noodles are cool enough to touch, take handfuls and gently swish and rub them in the running water, as if you are washing the noodles. This is a critical step- the goal here is not just to get the noodle ice cold, but to get rid of the starchiness from the noodles.
4. Drain the excess water from the noodles and place the noodles in a bowl.
5. Pour the broth and top with desired toppings.

Suggested toppings:
Green onion, chopped
Grated fresh ginger
Roasted sesame seeds
Grated daikon (type of radish that is white and long. In my local grocery store, it is called Lo Bok)
Tempura (any kind, but prawns are my favorite)

*about Dashi

Dashi is a Japanese soup stock that is used in a variety of Japanese dishes.  Dashi is made by boiling dry bonito fish flakes  and kombu (type of kelp). Just like the chicken stock powder / cubes, dashi powder is available to make dashi much easier / quicker. - I used the dashi powder in this recipe. Dashi powder is available in many Asian grocery stores, or if you cannot find it, I've just discovered that it is available at the Amazon.com

Pan Fried Noodles with Stir Fried Vegetables



wonderful aroma to this dish.

Quick, easy, vegetable-packed, and super tasty...! It's a great way to clean out the fridge and use up any lingering vegetables.  Some call this "Hong Kong Style" Fried Noodles. Noodles are pan-fried until crispy, and topped with varieties of vegetables in oyster gravy sauce.

You can use less oil to make it even healthier. Just a drip of sesame oil will bring
Ingredients:


Chinese dry noodles or Hong Kong Style Noodles
Vegetables of your choice (suggestoin: Bok Choy, Yu Choy, Carrot, Red Bell Pepper, Cabbage, Bean Sprouts, Bamboo shoots, Black Fungus, Mushroom, Onion,, Baby Corn etc. ) - anything you like!
Sliced pork and / or Tiger Prawns 
*Can be done without meat. 


1. Mix together the oyster sauce, soy sauce and 1 cup of water in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 TBS of water and 1 TBS cornstarch.


2. Add sesame oil (about 1TBS) to a heated frying pan.  Add the noodles.  Using chopsticks, stir constantly so that noodles are browned evenly.  If the noodles are too dry and too hard to separate, add 1TBS water or so to break apart the noodles. You can cover the pan after adding water, just to kind of steam cook the  noodles (so they come apart and be easy to fry).  Press the noodles against the pan, and if you need to, add some more oil to brown the noodles.  I like mine a bit crispy, so I like to fry the noodle until a bit dark brown. The crispy part goes really well with the sauce ; )


3. Once the noodles are fried (brown and crispy), remove from the pan and set aside.


4. In a wok or frying pan, heat sesame oil (about 2tsp or less) and add ginger. Stir fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add pork and prawns (if using) and all the vegetables and stir fry until they are cooked. 


5. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. When the sauce thickens (it doesn't take very long!), turn off the heat. Pour it over the fried noodles.  

Avocado Wasabi Dip

If you are looking for a new twist to the ordinary Mexican style guacamole, try this one.  Imagine that slight wasabi tang with the creamy avocado... mmmm! The ultimate combination ; )

Serve with baked pita bread (like hummus) or french baguette, and top with sliced black olives.  I didn't have black olives this time, but please try it if you have one.. It is WAY better that way!


Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1 tsp   wasabi paste
1 1/2  tsp  Japanese soy sauce
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Mix everything together until smooth.

Omurice

Roughly speaking, Japanese cuisine can be divided into two major categories, Washoku and Yoshoku.

Washoku literary means Japanese dishes.  They are the "traditional" Japanese dishes, using the "traditional" Japanese ingredients such as soy sauce, mirin, miso, dashi etc.

Yoshoku refers to a Western-influenced Japanese cooking , which originated in the Meiji Restoration(1860's), a period of rapid modernization when the country opened its doors to Europe and America after two centuries of economic and cultural isolationism . Quite often, yoshoku involves ingredients like tomato ketchup, Worcester sauce, butter, milk, etc. 

Today's recipe is for Omurice, one of the most popular Yoshoku dish.  It is basically a ketchupy fried rice wrapped in a thin sheet of fried egg. Omurice is a very popular dish among kids, and it is also a popular lunch menu. It's quick and easy, and can be nutritious if you add a variety of finely chopped vegetables in the fried rice. (my suggestions: broccoli, carrots, green peppers, spinach etc)

Ingredients (for one):
200ml  Cooked Rice (short grain rice)
25g Chicken thigh or breast (cut into small cubes)
1/4  Onion (minced)
3 mushrooms (sliced)

For the thin sheet of fried egg:
1 large egg + 1TBS milk whisked together

1. Heat oil or butter in a skillet and saute chicken. Add the vegetables and saute together until softened.

2. Add 1-2 tsp oil. Add the rice. Stir-fry for a few minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart. Stir in 1TBS ketchup and toss rapidly - you don't want to make it soggy, you just want to season the rice with ketchup, evenly.  Season with salt and pepper.

3. Now we will make the fried egg. In another skillet, heat oil and pour the egg mixture into the skillet.  Quickly spread the egg and make a round omelet (kind of like a crape). Place the ketchpy fried rice in the centre of the omelet and fold top and bottom sides of the omelet over the rice.

4. Cover the skillet with a plate and carefully turn them over to place the "omurice"on to the plate.
Squirt with a little ketchup on top - Drawing a smiley face or spelling a name with ketchup is fun, too!
Serve immediately.

Herb Crusted Salmon with Lemon Mustard Sauce

Pan-frying is such an easy & quick way to cook fish, so I often cook fish this way.
This recipe is sooooo simple and easy, takes about only 10 minutes, and very tasty. I love the combination of dill & lemon : ) I sometimes drizzle a tiny bit of Japanese soy sauce at the end, which goes really well, too.

Ingredients:
Salmon fillet
Generous amount of fresh dill (chopped ) - more the better!
Dry oregano (the amount you like, but much less than the dill)
Garlic (1-2 cloves, minced)

Lemon Mustard Sauce:
Combine the following
Suggested ratio - Lemon Juice (3): Dijon Mustard (1) : Olive Oil (0.5)

1. Season both sides of the salmon fillet with salt and pepper.
2. Coat salmon fillet on both sides with olive oil.
3. In a bowl, combine dill, oregano and garlic. Coat salmon fillet with the herb mixture. Press firmly so that the herb mixture sticks to the fillet well.
4. Heat olive oil or butter in a non-stick pan and fry the salmon fillet for about 5 min (medium-high). Turn over and cook 5-6 minutes until the salmon feels firm to the touch. Drizzle the lemony mustard sauce.

Ginger Spice French Toast

I wanted to try something new for my ordinary (really basic) French toast recipe, so I decided to use one of my favorite spice, "Ginger". While I was adding ginger to the egg mixture, I thought, why not add all of my favorite spices that will go with Ginger?  So here it is, cardamon, cinnamon, nutmeg.. All my favorite spices are incorporated in this french toast. Considering this is my first attempt, it turned out decent, but can be better! I like the idea of using all these spices though, so I will experiment some more.. !  If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them please : )

Trial size recipe (using one slice of bread)

Ingredients:
5TBS Milk
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Ginger powder
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
a pinch of cardamon
a pinch of salt
2 tsp Honey
1 tsp Pure vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, whisk egg until foamy. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients.

2. Heat butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Dip the bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat thoroughly.

3. Place coated bread slice in heated skillet. Cook, turning, until both sides are nicely browned. Sprinkle powdered sugar. Serve with maple syrup, if desired.