Miso Soba 味噌そば Soba Noodles In Miso Soup With Hot Spring Egg

I know this is not the most traditional way of serving soba noodles but after a 10 km run, a bowl of miso soup just won't cut it so I added some soba noodles and a hot spring egg to the everyday Japanese staple. Despite being a meatless meal; this nutritious bowl of noodles is both comforting and satisfying, the best thing is it takes very little effort to prepare. 

This will be my last Japanese or Japanese inspired dish for the time being, see you on Monday for the latest Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup. Please send in your entries to sureshchong@hotmail.com if you would like any of your post to be included by 6am Melbourne time on Monday.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen

recipe per serve

you'll need;

100 g of soba noodles, cooked until al dente

1 onsen tamago (hot spring egg)

chopped spring onions

a strip of nori sheet to serve

for the broth;

3 cups of water

1.5 tbs of instant dashi powder

1 heap tbs of red miso paste

a small block of tofu, cut into strips

2 tbs of wakame seaweed

First prepare the broth - heat up 3 cups of water in a pot, season with instant dashi and miso paste then add in the tofu and wakame seaweed. Check for seasonings.

Cook soba noodles in a pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain and place noodles in a bowl.

Pour the hot broth over the awaiting noodles, top with a hot spring egg, chopped spring onion and nori.

I  couldn't help but to also tempt you with the perfectly cooked hot spring egg.

Egg Tofu, Prawns And Peas In Silky Egg Sauce 滑蛋蝦球玉子豆腐 - "Malaysian Monday 79"

Well guess what? Home alone again and that means time for my beloved tofu to make another appearance. This comforting childhood favourite of mine is extremely delicious and will only take a mere 20 minutes to prepare.

I used silken egg tofu that I shallow fried first to alter the texture but any type of soft tofu will work equally well. You may use chicken or some of my everyday pork and prawns mince if you have some prepared.

P.S Last month's MMM roundup is up, please head to my friend Shannon's (Just as Delish) to check out the delicious offerings.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
recipe per serve
you'll need;
1 tube of silken egg tofu, cut into 1 cm discs
oil for frying
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.5 cups of stock
2 tbs of oyster sauce
1 tbs of light soy
1 tsp of sesame oil
dash of white pepper
6 prawns, peeled reserving tails, deveined
1/2 a cup of frozen peas, thawed
2 spring onions, sliced
corn flour solution
1 egg

Shallow fry tofu until golden, drained well and set aside.

Saute garlic with a little oil then add stock and seasonings, bring it to a boil.

Add tofu and peas and cook for a minute.

Add prawns and cook for a further minute before thickening the sauce with a little corn flour solution. When the sauce thicken, break in an egg and stir it through the sauce before adding the spring onions.

Fill a large bowl with steamed rice and pour the content of wok over.

I will be the host this month so please send all your entries to sureshchong@yahoo.com

To find out more about the event and on how to enter please click here.

Vegetarian Spring Roll 齋春卷 - "Malaysian Monday 76"

Though not the most devout buddhist of her time; my late grandmother followed a mainly vegetarian diet and on the 1st and 15th of every lunar month the whole family would join her for some ethical and guiltless eating.

Vegetarian spring roll is one of the non meat dishes served during the twice a month cleansing exercise for the mind and body. Serve this golden crispy snack with some chili sauce of your choice, preferably washing down with a cold beer or two.

For something equally delicious but slightly more sinful check out my fried popiah.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
makes 10 to 12
you'll need;
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 of a cabbage, finely shredded
200 g of green or long beans, topped and tailed and finely chopped
2 carrots, cut into thin batons
1/4 block of fried firm tofu, cut into thin batons
1/3 of dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, drained and roughly chopped
1.5 cups of bean sprouts
1 cup of vegetable stock or the mushroom soaking water
3 tbs of light soy
3 tbs of mushroom oyster sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of white pepper
corn flour solution
10 to 20 large readymade spring roll wrapper
peanut oil for deep frying
chili sauce to serve

Prepare the vegetables.

Prepare the mushroom and tofu.

Heat up a wok and saute garlic with 2 tbs of cooking oil until lightly brown, add mushroom and tofu and stir fry on high heat for 2 minutes.

Add cabbage, green bean and carrot and continue to cook until wilted.

Add stock and seasonings and cook for a further minute, add bean sprouts and thicken the mixture with a little corn flour solution.

To wrap the spring roll - loosen a piece of spring roll wrapper from the stack and place 2 heaped tbs of the fried vegetables in the middle of the wrapper.

While pressing down the filling, lift the corner closer to you over the filling.

then fold in the two sides. Roll into cylinder about 1.5" wide and 5" long. Brush a little egg white on the upper corner to secure the roll.

Fry spring rolls (in batches) in hot oil until golden and crispy. Drain well before serving.

Serve with chili sauce of your choice.

Our friend Shannon from Just As Delish will be our host for the month of June, so please send all your entries to shannoncclim@gmail.com 

For more information about the event and on how to enter, please click HERE

Simple Braised Tofu 醬燒豆腐

More is less is all I can say about this simply prepared tofu dish. My grandmother used to say "a good cook must be able to serve the simplest dishes and be proud of everyone of them" and I can't agree more.

I think this will be a perfect dish to have before or after the impending big Christmas meal many of us are going to have.

Feel free to play with the seasonings a little; hot bean paste, hoisin sauce or a handful of mashed up fermented black beans perhaps?

recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serve 2 to 4 as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
1 container of fresh soft tofu, halved sidewise
oil for cooking
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 to 3 bird chillies, chopped
3 tbs of oyster sauce or  mushroom sauce*
2 tbs of light soy
1 tbs of dark soy
1 tsp of sesame oil
2 tbs of sugar
dash of white pepper
dash of Chinese cooking wine
1 cup of water
3 spring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths
* use mushroom sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce for a vegetarian version

Prepare the garlic, chillies and spring onions.

Pan fry tofu on both sides until golden,  remove and set aside.

Saute garlic and chillies with a little cooking oil then add in the seasonings and water.

Return the tofu to the wok and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

When the sauce has reduced by half add in the spring onions and cook for a minute more.

A bowl or two of pipping hot steamed rice is all you need to go with this simple but delicious dish.

Phat Thai ผัดไทย And An Appeal For Thailand's Flood Victims

Phat Thai (meaning Thai style stir fry) has always been one of the most well known and popular Thai dishes around the world. Its popularity was further confirmed when it came in 5th on the recent World's 50 most delicious food (readers' poll) by CNN Go. 

A product of a nationalist campaign some 80 years ago, it can now be found on every street corners throughout the Kingdom and on every Thai restaurant's menu.

There are many versions of Phat Thai and everyone has his or her own preferences. Often Phat Thai vendors will cook each portion slightly different according to customers' requests. I personally prefer my Phat Thai to be on the drier side, a little charred and not overly sweet - unfortunately I have yet to find a restaurant or cafe in Melbourne that manages to produce a plate of Phat Thai that caters to my taste.

I think it is hard to conclude what a good Phat Thai is without sounding too subjective but I can certainly point out those bad ones where carrot, broccoli and ketchup are added or Chinese chives are being replaced by spring onions. 

serve 3 to 4 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1/2 kg of prawns, peeled reserving heads and shells (optional)
oil for cooking
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 eggs or 2 duck eggs

250 to 300 g of dried rice noodles, soaked in warm water till soft and drained well

2/3 cups of Phat Thai sauce (see below)
1 piece of pre-fried firm tofu*, cut into 1/2 cm cubes
2 tbs of chopped preserved turnip*
3 tbs of dried shrimps*
3 tbs of crushed roasted peanuts*
1/2 tbs of roasted chili powder
1 bunch (about 25 to 30 blades) Chinese chives*, cut into 3 cm lengths
2 cups of bean sprouts*
All ingredients marked * are crucial for a successful Phat Thai

for the Phat Thai sauce, (makes 1.5 cups);
1 cup of tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup of palm sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of fish sauce
pinch of salt
* simmer everything in a saucepan until sugars are dissolved, transferred to a jar or bowl.

recommended  garnishes and condiments;
crushed peanuts
roasted chili powder
bean sprouts
Chinese chives (uncut)
lime or lemon wedges
raw cabbage
raw long beans
star fruit
banana blossom
pennywort

Peel the prawns and mix in with a pinch of salt, rinse off the salt after 20 minutes and pat dry. This optional  step will give the prawns the extra crunch and also intensify the flavour.

Prepare the chives and firm pre-fried tofu, 2 of the most important ingredients in a good Phat Thai.

Heat up a wok until smoking and saute the reserved prawn shells with 4 tbs of cooking oil. Leave the flavoured oil in the wok and discharge the solids. This is an optional step but the flavoured oil will greatly extra dimension to the finished product.

When the wok is smoking again, add in the prawns and cook on high heat until they are 80% cooked, removed and set aside. 

Heat up the wok again and saute the chopped garlic for 10 to 15 seconds. Push the garlic to aside and crack in the eggs, when the eggs are half set give it a scramble then add in the noodles and mix well. Stir fry the mixture on high heat for a minute or two.

Add in half of the sauce and mix well, a pair of chopstick together with a spatula make this an easy task. Add in the tofu, preserved turnip, peanut and dried chili flakes and mix well. Pour in the rest of the Phat Thai sauce and continue to stir until noodles are tender. (add a little water or extra cooking oil from time to time if the noodles are sticking to each other).

Just before the noodles are ready, return the prawns to the wok together with Chinese chives and bean sprouts. Continue to cook for a further minute to slightly wilt the vegetables and finish cooking the prawns.

Serve Phat Thai with extra Chinese chives and bean sprouts on the side, top with some crushed peanuts, chili flakes and a wedge of lime or lemon. (lime is selling at $3 @ atm so I opted for the much cheaper lemon instead) You may of course choose the other recommended sides for your Phat Thai.

A year ago Thailand was brought to a standstill by red shirt thugs, this time around it is mother nature's turn. With more than a third of the country affected by the worsening flood, many flood victims who have lost their homes, businesses and jobs are now relying on food aid. If you wish to do lend a hand, here's a link to the Red Cross Society Thailand

Aromatic Soy Braised Pork Belly With Egg And Tofu 滷三寶 - "Malaysian Monday 46"

If you are wondering what to do with the pot of poaching liquor after making soy poached chicken, here is the answer for you. 

The method of braising meat in an aromatic soy stock called lu shui, 滷水 (popularly known as master stock in most English publications) originated in southern China centuries ago. It followed the migration routes of the Teochews (潮州人) and it is now a popular way of cooking in Taiwan and all over Southeast Asia.

It was quite common to visit a Teochew porridge restaurant after a night of drinking and dancing (during my younger days in Malaysia and Singapore). All sorts of simple dishes can be ordered to go with the pipping hot rice porridge, that would include different types of meat, poultry and tofu braised in lu shui of course. 

P.S I served this when my friends J and G was over for a simple meal. J is Taiwanese and I can't think of a more appropriate MM dish that would cure her homesickness. 

serves 4 to 6 as part of a Chinese meal
you'll need;
1.5 l of lu shui, 滷水 (aromatic soy poaching liquor*)
1.2 kg of pork belly, cut into large pieces
2 tsp of five spice powder
1 packet of tofu puffs, halved
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

*if you haven't got the soy poaching liquor, this is what you'll need;

1 cup of light soy

1/2 cup of dark soy

6 cups of water

1/2 cup of rock sugar

1 cup of chinese cooking wine

5 cm knob of ginger, sliced

3 garlic cloves

1 spring onion (white part only)

1 cassia bark or cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns

Cut pork belly into large pieces. Prepare the hard boiled eggs and tofu puffs.

Place pork belly in a large bowl and mix in the five spice powder. 

Pan fry pork belly until golden and set aside. You may just blanch the pork belly before the next step but I like the texture after the frying process better.

Bring the lu shui to a boil then add in the pork belly. Turn it down to a very slow simmer and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours. Skim the surface of any scums to ensure a nice clean broth.

In the final 10 minutes of cooking, add in the eggs and tofu puffs. Check for seasonings.

Serve immediately as part of a Chinese meal. The sauce is more like a broth here and if you are after a sticky and thicker sauce, tau yew bak (soya sauce pork belly stew) might be what you are after.

My friend Sharon from Test With A Skewer is hosting the event for the month of July, please send all your entries to its.sharon@gmail.com. To find out more about MMM, please click here.