Sometimes I’ve just gotta have noodles. Noodles are different from pasta. Pasta is Italian; noodles mean a trip to Mitsuwa. I’ve been meaning to try that new noodle bar, Urban Belly, but till then I suppose I’ll have to settle for homemade. Sunday was definitely a noodle day, so I went and picked up some yakisoba and udon. Eric had kabobs on the brain, so he brought over a couple filets and his favorite marinade (Mr. Yoshida’s), and I cut up some pork and tossed it in my own favorite marinade, Culinary Circle Five Spice Teriyaki. Those Culinary Circle marinades are great. Try them, you won’t regret it. I’d also gotten a couple different kinds of mushrooms and baby bok choy. I’m not a bok choy fan, but Eric likes it and I was feeling benevolent. I do, however, love mushrooms and Mitsuwa has a great selection. In the end I decided on oyster and shiitake.
While our marinades were working Eric made our appetizer: sesame crusted scallops over spring greens with a sweet chili vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette he whisked together a half cup of sweet chili sauce (which you can probably find in the Asian section of your local market), a shake or two of ground ginger, a quarter cup of rice vinegar and a quarter cup of sesame oil. It was awesome. You could put it on any kind of Asian-inspired salad and it would be fantastic. The scallops were Eric’s first foray into the world of frying. I’m not a fan of fried food but, like I said, I was feeling benevolent. He dipped scallops into an egg wash, then rolled them in ground sesame seeds and panko (afterwards he consulted with a chef at work and decided that he should have used buttermilk instead of egg wash). I made a mental note of where the fire extinguishers were and watched as he dropped each one into a pot of extremely hot oil. They came out okay for his first attempt. The breading didn’t quite cling perfectly, but the taste was good, and when we combined it with the spring greens and the dressing it was a pretty successful appetizer.
Eric took his filet skewers along with some veggie and pineapple kabobs and grilled them outside, but I was determined to use my new grill pan for the pork. I think I overcooked it a little. Oh well, still tasted good.
I also sauteed the mushrooms and bok choy (which did not taste good- trust me, Eric felt the same way) with just a little salt and pepper so we could add them to the noodles as we liked.
Then I thawed and drained the noodles. Yay, noodles! Soba noodles…
…And udon. Delish.
Eric’s kabobs came out beautifully. He was exceedingly pleased with himself. I tossed my noodles with some plum sauce I doctored up, threw in some mushrooms and pork and was in noodley heaven.
Next week another special guest: my good friend and ex-roommate Eileen will be in the kitchen making cheese souffle. You’re not going to want to miss that one. I can’t wait.
