Hong Kong Style Dry Noodles

Posted by Vivian in Chinese, Noodles

0 comments

Earlier this week, I decided that I wanted to attempt to make some wontons but by a twist of fate the noodles has become the main subject of this post.

While unpacking the groceries that I brought home last night, to my horror the packet of wonton skins cannot be found.  Not too sure what happened... might have left it at the checkout counter.  Today was a chaotic day with the aircon cleaners swinging by to do the usual quarterly service and the delivery of our new television set.  It was just too stressful having to drive out this morning to get a pack of wonton skins.  I ended up blanching the minced pork and prawns to serve by the side.

What made me really pleased was the texture of the egg noodle that we had today.  To think that it took me 10 minutes trying to decide whether to get that big bucket of Sau Tao brand egg noodles or some unknown brand but had only 5 servings in a pack which would just be enough for us.  Because I know that Sau Tao brand's noodle will give me the desired taste of how a plate of Hong Kong style wonton noodles is suppose to be (based on prior experience from the instant noodles under this brand!), I decided that I shall bite the bullet and carted back the big bucket.  No regrets and I look forward to dishing up more noodles with the wontons for sure!

Ingredients:

• 4 servings of Chinese egg noodles 
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil 
• 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce 
• 5 tablespoons of oyster sauce 

Preparation:

• Mix sesame oil, light soy sauce and oyster sauce together.
• Divide mixture of sauce equally onto 4 plates. 
• Bring 2 litres of water to boil and add in noodles. 
• Use a pair of chopsticks to help separate the noodles and cook evenly until al-dente. 
• Drain noodles and add noodles to sauce. 
• Mix noodles with sauce thoroughly. 

Number of Servings: 4

Japanese Noodles with Shimeji Mushroom

Posted by Vivian in Japanese, Noodles

0 comments

I wish I had chosen to make this noodle dish with udon instead of soba.  Somehow the buckwheat taste doesn't go well with miso.  I should have guessed as much because I don't recall ever seeing soba noodles served in miso soup.  Anyway I am putting this down for records so that I will remember to try it again with udon that is!

To round off the meal, I made yakitori to go with the noodles.  Yakitori is a once in a while treat for the family because I find it quite time-consuming having to skew the chicken one piece at a time... and it didn't help that Elaina was in a cranky mood today.

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces dried udon or soba (cooked according to instructions) 
• 2 garlic cloves (minced) 
• 6 ounces shimeji mushrooms 
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce 
• 2 teaspoons miso paste 
• 2 tablespoons finely minced parsley 

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a skillet over a low heat and add the garlic cloves. Saute until fragrant. 
• Turn up the heat and add the shimeji mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft. 
• Lower the heat and add a ladleful of water, soy sauce and the miso paste. Stir until the miso is dissolved well. 
• Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and leave the sauce to simmer. 
• Add noodles to the sauce. Stir well to coat every noodle 
• Serve with chopped parsley. 

Number of Servings: 2

Italian Omelette

Posted by Vivian in Egg, Italian

0 comments

Not too happy with 2 things today... one, the cheddar cheese which I bought last week had gone moldy even though the expiry date stated on the packet says "14 June 2009".  As a result I had to live without the topping for this dish.

Second thing that upset me was the photo selection which took me less than 10 minutes - simply because none of the photos turned out well enough to do justice to this savoury dish.  They all look like a blob of mess!!  For now, I will have to make do with this photo until the next time I cook this again.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion (finely chopped) 
• 125 gm ham (sliced) 
• 6 eggs 
• 3 tablespoon of milk 
• 2 cups of cooked fusilli (yielded from 150 gm of uncooked dried fusilli) 
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley 
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil 
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese 

Preparation:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan. 
• Add onion and stir over low heat until tender. 
• Add ham and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. 
• Whisk egg together with milk, salt and pepper. Stir in pasta, Parmesan, herbs and onion mixture. 
• Preheat grill to hot. 
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the same pan. 
• Pour mixture into pan. Sprinkle with Cheddar and cook over medium heat until the omelette begins to set around the edges. 
• Then place pan under grill until lightly browned on top. 
• Cut into wedges and serve hot. 

(If pan is not oven-proof, transfer the mixture from the pan to an oven-proof dish then sprinkle with Cheddar before putting under grill.)

Number of Servings: 3 to 4