Rei-kishimen, fresh noodles for a tropical lunch

We are now having a nice Summer weather, as during official Summer, we were inside a sauna. So it’s ideal to lunch with rei men (chilled noodles) and enjoy hot weather fruits.
You don’t see the noodles ? It’s because they are hidden under.

They are kishimen, a type of flat udon particularly popular in Aichi, the region of Nagoya. (read more)
Served cold, they remind some white Chinese noddles they serve in Pekin’s streets.

Salmon slices ready for sashimi (it has to be frozen, don’t forget if the fishmonger didn’t do it).

Ceviche : I just covered with kabosu citrus juice cut at 50% with water, kabosu zest, a little sea salt. Let only a few minutes. The more you wait, the more your fish will be cooked.

My grandma’s technique to cut parsley thinly (yep, with scissors).

4 layers :
-a bed of grated cucumbers and minced parsley, slightly salted and later pressed to get out excess water
–kishimen noodles, boiled, refreshed in iced water
-onion slices (salted, let, rinsed) and kikuna chrysanthemum greens
-salmon kabosu ceviche

Mix and you have a very fresh salad meal.

Dragon fruit and litchis for dessert. Natto-wasabi as a side :

The most refreshing salad

We are in the middle of a heat wave. That was hot before that’s hard now. Here is a dish based on refreshing ingredients. I already told you the konnyaku noodles were ultra refreshing and another benefit is their fiber greatly helps digestion.

Melon (Provence style). Itokonnyaku (aka shirataki, konnyaku noodles). Hot green chili peppers.

Rinse longly the noodles. Add bits of chili pepper and raw ginger. Put in the fridge to get it very cold.

Carve pearls of melon.

Lay on the noddles. Add the juice that escaped.

Serve very chilled. At the last minute, decorate with ribbons of basil and balsamico reduction.

Ninja onigiri

I simply wrapped the nori (sheet of seaweed) around onigiri (rice balls) like the scarf of ninjas. That’s not really a recipe. I’ve just thrown a fresh Summer lunch with lots of refreshing produce.

Molokheya leaves stir-fried with miso. That gives a nice salty condiment, ideal for filling an onigiri.

Brown rice (genmai) + sticky rice (mochigome) and sesame. I filled the balls and wrapped in a sheet of nori seaweed.

Daikon radish, goya bitter squash and mashed favas to make a green salad (with salt, black pepper, minced green hot chili and rice vinegar).

A Summer kabocha pumpkin. I steamed a wedge. The mashed flesh is the base for the second salad :

Garnished with minced onion, diced white cucumber. With black pepper, rice vinegar and salt.

A refreshing soup : chilled green tea + molokheya leaves in the blender.

Suika (water melon) is the dessert.

The 2 salads.

Mountain of veggies green curry

Yeah, all those veggies inside a curry trying to recreate the mountain green curry of the mountain people in the North of Thailand and South of China. It’s very sour, very bitter, very green… and the combination is refreshing. Well, that’s my arranged version with what I had in stock, as they surely never get favas and okras, but they have many local produce I can’t get.
I think the sansho (lemony, bitter), the goya (bitter), the ginger (hot) bring the good balance.

Green sansho peppercorns (frozen), onions, ginger, bay leaves.

Goya bitter cucumber, broad beans, okras, carrots.

I used green curry paste, brown sugar, citrus juice for the broth.

Ready.

Served with jasmine rice.

A side-dish totally fusion : white sashimi konnyaku, yellow bell pepper and balsamic reduction sauce.

So simple walnut brownie ice cream

It’s addictive… I already made it 3 times.
The idea of this delight is not from me. It’s from the shop. Walnut brownie…mmmm…. ice cream…mmm. I had to try that.
Actually, it lacked flavor of chocolate, there was nearly no bits of walnut. Names are always mouth watering but I find most commercial ice creams disappointingly bland, mostly fat and sweet. So I made mine.

Super easy :
Slice and freeze 2 small bananas. Place them in a blender with 3 tbs of good unsweetened cocoa, a pinch of instant coffee a 1/3 cup of water. Blend it into a cream. Mix in a handful of walnuts broken in big pieces.

Pour in 3 cups. You can eat them immediately if you like soft cream type.

Cover with a film and place in the freezer at least one hour and your have an ice-cream texture.
And you can really feel the chocolate and walnut brownie melting in your mouth. The banana flavor is extremely light, it simply brings sweetness and enhances the nuances of the cocoa.