Yakisoba with eringii and abura-age

Today, yakisoba, the Japanese version of Chinese fried noodles. Well, that’s my version of it… well, one of them. See others at the end of this post.

Yakisoba is fast-food normally. It’s often sold cheaply on street stalls, at festivals and the teppanyaki (hot plate) shops propose it too. The basic version is made mostly with :

-chuka soba (fresh Chinese noodles that are sold fresh and cooked, they look like thick spaghetti and if you have none, cooked thick spaghetti can be used)
-oil

That’s why we said it’s fried noodles, no mystery. And low amounts of :

-cabbage (cut in big squares)
-additional veggies (cut in thin slices), few and cheap ones (bean sprouts, onion, carrot, some kind of leeks…)
-a little raw meat (thin slices of pork), or cheap seafood, or ham…
-sauce (specific sauce or thickened Worcester sauce or a mix of Worcester + ketchup…), plus additional ketchup or mayo if you want
-pickled ginger, toppings…

My version uses what I have in my fridge, and it’s usually healthier.

So, I had abura age (fried tofu) as meat.

A few Eringi mushrooms as meat too.

I had a leftover of green papaya.

I first toasted the abura-age (fried tofu pockets), set aside. Then with a little garlic and ginger : onion, eringi mushrooms, green papaya, cabbage and shishito green peppers. To the veggies, I’ve added fresh Chinese noodles (chuka soba), sauce (Bulldog).

I’ve added the abura-age to the rest. I have about half of veggies, less than one third of noodles. That’s how I like it.

On top, a little more sauce, shichimi togarashi (7 spice mix) and cut green negi leeks.

Sudachi somen

Somen + Sudachi = Freshness.
Here is another simple Summer meal.

Tsuyu dip with eringi sudachi tsukemono.

Natto with freshly grated wasabi.

Green chili polenta

Today polenta, and as usual, a variety of season produce.

I cooked the polenta grain. Added minced and salted sweet green chili, small bits of hot chili (red). Pepper, nutmeg. Let chill overnight in a mold. Then put on a dish, paint with olive oil and pass a few minutes under the grill. Pour a little tomato juice around in the dish. Serve hot.

Frozen cotton tofu (momendofu). I froze the whole block in its water. Thawed. Press to push out the water, cut in cubes. As you can see, it has a bread like texture now.

Stir-fried frozen tofu with eringi mushroom, garlic, olive oil.

Na no hana no ohitashi (rape blossoms). They are blanched and refreshed. With tomato juice agar jelly.

Edamame pesto salad. Boiled edamame, onion, yellow pepper, the broken leaves of na no hana. I mixed in a leftover of sesame basil pesto. Let a few hours in the fridge.

Nashi. Japanese pear.

Mouth refreshing “pickles”

They are not really pickles… but how to say ? Small bits siding a dish.

Eringi tsukemono.

Spicy tomato agar.

スダチ sudachi is a small green citrus from the area of Tokushima. It is thought to have lots of medicinal properties to fight diabetes and allergies. And it’s fragrant, fresh, delicious too.

Eringi mushroom.

Eringi tsukemono :
I’ve used only the stalks for this recipe. I sliced them thinly, mixed with the juice of a sudachi, its cut peel and a pinch of sea salt. Cover. Let 1 or 2 days in the fridge, mixing twice a day.

Tomato juice, salt, powdered jalapeno chili and agar. I have not used enough agar for a solid result (you have to follow the proportions on the package). It’s still good and refreshing, but I need a spoon to eat it. Ideally, you want to make cubes that can be grabbed with chopsticks or a fork.

Pink young ginger, a hot touch for soothing soupe du jour

Hi, I’m Ginger Pink, the young spicy sensation…

Nobody shines as much as me in a noodle soup.

Before adding the chicken broth : chicken breast, salted wakame seaweeds, eringi mushroom…

…colored somen/niumen. This type of soup is quick to digest and ideal for a dinner, if you feel a little bloated.

About wheat noodles :
Serial udon (Japanese white wheat noodles)

Kombu seaweed (that served to make kombu dashi).

Young ginger… It’s mild, and thin slices can be eaten without ruining your tastebuds for the next 48 hours as would mature ginger. It favors smooth digestion.
Well, this is not a pharmacy year. Young ginger soup is a delight !