Tag: East Asian
Pan Fried Noodles with Bacon
Pan Fried Noodles with Bacon
This is a quick and easy noodle stir fry dish utilizing basic ingredients that you can find at any grocery store. You can substitute any protein of your liking if bacon isn’t your thing, or add tofu or more vegetables and make this dish vegetarian. I ate the leftovers the next morning with 2 fried eggs on top of the noodles…good at all times of the day.
Ingredients
- 8 oz Chinese egg noodles prepared according to package directions
- 1/4 lb thick cut bacon diced
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium white onion thinly sliced
- 2 cup green cabbage chopped
Sauce
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
- Cook the bacon in a large sauté pan or wok over medium heat until crispy and the fat has rendered out. Pour the bacon and it’s grease in a bowl and set aside.
- Heat up 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1 tbsp of the bacon grease in the same pan over medium high heat. Place the noodles in the pan in a single layer. Fry for 3 minutes.
- Flip the noodles. Fry for 2 minutes on the other side and move to a plate.
- Heat up the last 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Sauté the cabbage and onions for 3 minutes.
- Add the bacon back in. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the noodles back in; tossing with bacon and vegetables.
- Pour in the sauce and sauté for 3 minutes, making sure that the noodles are evenly coated.
String Beans with Smoked Tofu
String Beans with Smoked Tofu
Stir fried green beans with black bean sauce is a popular Chinese takeout menu item. You typically will see it with chicken. Instead, I made it with my smoked tofu recipe, making the dish vegan now. Honestly, just as good. You can make this entire meal in 15 minutes or less!
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 brick smoked tofu sliced into 1/2” thick squares
- 1/2 lb green beans trimmed
- 4 shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp ginger minced
- 3 green onions chopped
Sauce
- 1/3 cup veggie stock or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
- 2 tbsp fermented black beans of black bean sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the tofu.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes a side until crispy. Remove from the pan.
- Add in the last tbsp of oil. Stir in the green beans and shiitake mushrooms. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add in the ginger and garlic and fry for 1 more minute.
- Add the tofu back in. Stir fry for a minute.
- Mix together the sauce ingredients.
- Pour the sauce in the pan. Make sure to coat everything evenly.
- Turn off the heat. It only will take a minute for the sauce to thicken.
Smoked Tofu
Yes, you can smoke tofu. All you have to do is press the liquid out of it for 30 minutes. I recommend extra firm tofu. It will have the least amount of moisture. Marinate for 2 hours. Smoke for 2 hours. That’s it. Really any type of wood will work. I used apple and cherry woodchips. You can eat the tofu as is or use it in numerous recipes. Check out the recipe for string beans with smoked tofu below.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 2 blocks extra firm tofu pressed for 30 minutes
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Wood Chips
- applewood chips
- cherrywood chips
Instructions
- Mixed together the marinade ingredients.
- Cut the blocks of tofu into thirds.
- Place the tofu and the marinade into a gallon sized storage bag. Squeeze out the excess air. Marinate the tofu for 2 hours.
- Place the tofu on a rack. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Preheat your electric smoker to 225 degrees according to the manufacturer’s directions. Smoke for 2 hours.
Spinach and Peanut Salad
Spinach and Peanut Salad
Spinach and peanut salad is a popular cold appetizer served in China. It is a combination of 2 other cold appetizers, vinegar peanuts and Chinese style spinach salad; both using the same gingery vinegar dressing.When cooking the spinach, bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the spinach for 2 minutes. Put the spinach in an ice bath to stop them from cooking. Shocking the spinach in ice water also preserves the green color of the spinach. Once the spinach is cool, squeeze out all of the water. You may have wondered why I used a lb of spinach for and appetizer for 2. 1lb of spinach yields an amount smaller than a baseball once squeezed. It cooks down that much, but the flavor is highly concentrated.To cook the peanuts, heat them up in cold oil over medium heat. If you were to toss the peanuts in hot oil, they would burn quickly. The good thing is that the peanuts don’t absorb any of the oil starting out in cold. Letting them cool afterwards will crisp them up. After that, mix the peanuts with the spinach and pour the dressing over. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby spinach
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup raw peanuts
- 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp ginger minced
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
Garnish
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Toss in the spinach. Blanch for 2 minutes.
- Strain the spinach in a colander. Place in an ice bath to stop the spinach from cooking.
- Squeeze out all of the excess water from the spinach. Roughly chop and place in a bowl.
- Heat up the raw peanuts in a small skillet in cold oil over medium heat. Constantly stir for 5 minutes until the peanuts are browned. Remove from the pan and let cool.
- Mix together the black vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and salt in a bowl.
- Mix together the peanuts and spinach. Pour the dressing over. Garnish with sesame seeds.
