Miso Ramen

I have an obsession with Ramen. My two favorite places in Pittsburgh to go to are Ramen Bar in Squirrel Hill and Fukuda in Bloomfield (my old stomping grounds!) Just Yelping it now, Fukuda is now closed. RIP best ramen ever with pork belly. 

It's crazy how much the restaurant scene in Pittsburgh has changed since I've left!! So many new places to try. To be honest, I'll probably just continue to go to my favorites like OTB. I do want to try the new Smoke location though.

I haven't had ramen yet in Philly but I heard there's some good hipster Jewish ramen in south philly!! My cousin told me about it!! Can't wait to try.

I have had ramen at Momofuku in NYC and it is fantastic. Also when we had ramen in Japan, there were lots of hungover dudes at the same place as us. Ramen = the best hangover food ever I guess?? Either way I'm all about ramen for breakfast.

I found large packets of ramen noodles (instead of the instant ones) at whole foods. You can also find fresh ramen noodles at certain whole foods or Asian grocery stores.

Sorry in advance for sucky pictures. I was in a hurry to eat. Will replace later.

Lo Mein Noodles

Like the dumplings that I make pretty often and like to have in the freezer, I also like to have fresh noodles from Lotus around to make lo mein. It's very quick, filling dinner that's easy to have on hand and fun to make different variations of based on what's in the fridge. Britt likes lo mein but does not want to learn how it make it because apparently she would rather I make it for her. However, she is very good at baking blondies!

LAURA'S LO MEIN 

1 package fresh noodles 

4-5 tbsp soy sauce (just squirt in as needed)

2 tbsp sesame oil

2-3 tbsp hoisin 

1 tsp + Sriracha

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs

2-3 cups chopped veggies (peppers, onions, bok choy, spinach, carrots, brocoli...)

Do you want to add in...

2-3 chicken thighs, cut up and sauteed with a little soy sauce and sesame oil

1 cup bean sprouts

Noodle Salad Bowl

It's way too cold today, so I tried to counter all the never-ending wintery terribleness with this light summery noodle-y salad bowl. Like the even simpler Rice Noodles, Fried Egg & Stuff that I posted almost a year ago, this is based on my favorite dish at Tram's, a Vietnamese place in Bloomfield. It's cheap and easy and full of great fresh flavor. 

Also, Michelle & Nick are in Vietnam!!!! They are probably eating the actual authentic version of this right now. 

Noodle Salad Bowls

(Serves 3-4)

I'm listing all the ingredients that ideally I would use to make this dish. I always seem to be missing a couple things, but this is what I aim for. This time I was missing thai basil, cucumber and peanuts, and it was still great.

2 handfuls rice noodles (when I buy them at Lotus, they normally come in bundles within a package)

4-5 cups romaine lettuce, roughly chopped 

1 cup bean sprouts

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup diced cucumber 

1/4 loosely packed cup mint - roughly chopped right before serving

1/4 loosely packed cup thai basil - roughly chopped right before serving

5-6 frozen egg rolls, baked and cut into about 1" thick slices

hoisin sauce & Sriracha (for squirting on top)

1/4 cup peanuts, crushed into little pieces (put them in a bag and smash with the bottom of a mug)

Nuoc mam cham for dressing (see below for recipe)

Prepare the rice noodles - I usually boil a pot of water, pop the noodles in for just a couple minutes and then turn off the heat. Drain the noodles and run cold water over them. 

Build the bowl - start with a base of romaine lettuce, then top with the noodles. Pour a couple tablespoons of nuoc mam cham on the noodles. Then add the other toppings (bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, mint, thai basil, egg roll slices, peanuts, hoisin and Sriracha). I usually spread them out on top and them mix it all together when I'm ready to eat.

Twilly's "Before" pic - he got a haircut yesterday! I need to take a picture of his new look.

Nuoc mam cham (dressing or spring roll dipping sauce)

1 ½ cup water

8 Tbsp fish sauce

6 Tbsp fresh lime juice

6 tsp rice vinegar

6 Tbsp sugar

1 deseeded and finely chopped fresh red chili

4 cloves of finely chopped garlic

¼ cup finely sliced carrots (optional)

1. Combine water, rice vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and bring to boil.
2. Remove from heat and cool.
3. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, chili, garlic and carrots.
4. Note: If you have any leftovers, just put it into a container and freeze it for another meal.

Haluski

I'm going to admit, I had to double check the spelling of this dish before posting it! Well I'm definitely not Polish. The first time I had this was from a Croatian church and it was drowned in butter : ) This is the perfect dish to serve with pierogies (carbs plus carbs!). Nick, Laura, and I rolled these homemade egg noodles out pretty quickly. The recipe is from the food blog, Sugar Aunts.

For the egg noodles:

2 cups flour plus more for kneading

1 tsp sea salt

4 eggs

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp warm water

Whisk the flour and sea salt together. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Mixing with a fork, beat the eggs and start incorporating the flour a bit at a time. Add additional flour as needed until the dough forms a ball and does not stick to the mixing bowl too much. (I added maybe half a cup of flour since the  eggs I used were pretty large)
Cover mixing bowl with damp tea towel and let sit for 10 minutes. On a floured surface, knead the dough until it no longer sticks to the counter.
To roll out the noodles: divide out the dough, roll it out thinly, and then slice into thin strips of pasta (like linguine). Slice again to make shorter egg noodles. We also just formed some noodles by breaking off small pieces of dough and shaping rough noodles with our hands.

For the haluski:
1/2 head cabbage (1 whole head if it's a small cabbage)
1 large yellow onion
2-3 tbsp ghee
homemade noodles!

Sesame Soba Noodles

These noodles have been a staple for me ever since college. I usually make them with whatever vegetables I have on hand. This time, I stopped at the farmer's market and picked up some heirloom varieties of asian eggplants. They come in all colors-white, pale green, and lavender.

Ingredients:
1- 8 ounce box soba noodles (buckwheat noodles)
3 shallots, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic
1 medium eggplant
1 small zucchini
3 banana peppers
1 large handful spinach
1 bunch green onions, chopped (white and green parts separated)
1 small bunch thai basil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2-3 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 splash fish sauce

Heat some vegetable oil in a medium saucepan. Fry the shallots and the whites of the green onions until golden brown. Then add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and peppers into thin, long strips. Saute in the oil until softened without overcooking. Add in the spinach until soft. Set vegetables aside to cool.
Meanwhile cook the noodles. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Then cook the noodles until just soft enough to eat for about 5-7 minutes. Watch closely since they tend to cook quickly. Strain the noodles as soon as they are done, then rinse under cold running water in a strainer. This will prevent them from sticking together. Set aside to cool.
Mix the dressing together with the sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and the fish sauce. Pour over the noodles and mix in the cooked vegetables. Mix in the sesame seeds and the chopped thai basil to your liking. Serve cold or hot. These make a great packed lunch!

Rice Noodles, Fried Egg & Stuff

I LOVEEE Tram's Kitchen in Bloomfield and pretty much every time I go there I get #16, vermicelli noodles. Everything I've had there has been amazing but... #16!!! Sometimes when I get a Tram's craving I try and make something along the same vein as that dish. It's a good recipe to adapt to just use stuff in your fridge. 

This time I had chicken (marinated in orange zest & juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and mustard), cucumbers, carrots, bok choy (sauted with creamy peanut butter, soy sauce and sesame oil), and an egg. Drop the rice noodles (very cheap at Lotus in the Strip!!) in some boiling water for just a couple minutes, drain and load stuff on top, including nuoc mam cham, hoisin sauce, and sriracha. 

Topping ideas:

• cucumber and carrot
• julienne or use a peeler to make thin strips
• grilled or broiled chicken pieces
• cut up chicken thigh, marinate then skewer & grill or broil
• or use tofu or whatever meat you have around
• baby bok choy 
• clean and saute (I like it with some peanut butter, soy sauce and sesame oil)
• side note: add some chicken or tofu and rice and this is another great quick meal!!
• lettuce
• shredded
• bean sprouts
• fried egg
• at Tram's they add cut up egg rolls!!! so good!!
• crushed peanuts
• nuoc mam cham (see recipe below), hoisin sauce, and sriracha

Miso Soup with Vegetables

After eating out at the Ramen Bar in Squirrel Hill (which was very good), I decided I should try and make my own miso soup. It turns out it is pretty simple to make with very few ingredients. I found a recipe on the kitchn's blog. They have great instructions about how to make almost anything. Most of my Google searches for recipes and how-tos refer me to this site. I found all the ingredients at the East End Food Coop.

Miso Soup with Vegetables and Poached Egg

Dashi
2 quarts water
2 sheets of dried kombu (sea kelp)
1/4 cup dulse flakes (some sort of dried sea vegetable?)

Miso Soup
2 quarts dashi
1/2 cup miso paste (I used white miso)
1 block firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 small bunch scallions, green tops and white parts sliced thinly

Vegetables and Toppings
1/2 small head cabbage, thinly sliced (Napa cabbage is ideal)
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, sliced
eggs (1 for each person)
buckwheat noodles (1 bunch per person)
Soy sauce
fish sauce
Sriracha
Black sesame seeds

To make the dashi (basically seaweed broth)
Pour 2 quarts of water in to a large soup pot. Place the kombu in the cold water. Turn the heat to high, and heat just to boiling.

Turn off the heat and remove the kombu and put into a strainer. Once the kombu has cooled off enough to handle, chop into bite sized pieces. Add the dulse flakes.

To make the miso soup:

Bring the dashi to boiling with the vegetables and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Ready the miso paste in a measuring cup or small bowl. After the broth has boiled, pour 1 cup hot broth into with the prepared bowl with the miso. Whisk until smooth and completely combined.

Pour the miso and broth back into the pot and turn the heat to low. Whisk the miso until it is incorporated into the broth completely. Keep over low heat; do not let the broth boil after the miso has been added.

Stir in the tofu cubes and the sliced scallions, and heat just until warmed through.

To prepare a bowl of soup:

Poach an egg for each bowl of soup. Cook buckwheat noodles (1 bunch per bowl of soup) in boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Pour about 1 cup of miso soup over the buckwheat noodles in each bowl, and place a poached egg on top. Serve with a dash of fish sauce or chili sauce and garnish with extra scallions.

Sesame Peanut Noodles with Beets

Hi everyone! I'm back from Vietnam, and I'm glad to see that you have all been prolific while I've been gone. It's great to be able to track everyone's holiday through recipes : ) A picture of Vietnam from one of our hotels in Hoi An:

Kelly plus Nick drinking a coconut in my grandparents' house:

And a really pretty beach in a little cove on Paradise island:

Anyways, I've been craving these simple peanut noodles. This meal is based off of a recipe from Epicurious but I use different vegetables and add fish sauce (of course).

Top photo is with wheat noodles. Bottom is with rice noodles and some coconut milk instead of pasta water.

For peanut dressing

• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 5 medium garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or less fresh lime 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 1 squirt of Sriracha sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2/3 cup hot pasta water reserved from cooking the pasta
• Black sesame seeds, to top

For noodle salad

• 1 lb dried whole wheat linguine or rice noodles (pad Thai)
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 medium beets, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
• 1 bunch of beet greens, cut into thin strips
• 5 carrots, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips

To make the sauce, just put all the ingredients in the food processor for the peanut sauce part minus the water. Blend until the mixture is smooth and season with black pepper or more hot sauce to taste.

Chop the vegetables.

Saute the onions, beets, and carrots until softened. I like the vegetables to be a little crunchy and you could even eat everything raw if the beets are small.

Cook the noodles until done, about 12 minutes. I like my noodles to still be chewy, so I cook them for less time. An alternative would be to use rice noodles.

Add the peanut sauce to the vegetables along the with extra pasta water and stir to incorporate.

Then toss in the noodles right before serving. This is great hot or cold. The beets turn everything pink! I like to garnish the pasta with some fresh parsley.

Vegetarian Pad Thai

This is my first time that I have ever made this dish on my own. There's a lot of preparation but overall it is a pretty simple recipe once you get all the ingredients. I think it turned out pretty well. I decided to surprise Nick with dinner since we had been talking about going to Nicky's Thai Kitchen in the North Side. Michelle and Steve actually made us some pad thai while were helping them plan out their big Europe trip and it was delicious. Their version was made with chicken. I wanted to do a more veggie friendly version, so I (very) loosely followed this recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces dried flat rice noodles (labeled as Pad Thai or Banh Pho(!!!) noodles)
• 3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (got this from Lotus in the strip)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 cup boiling-hot water
• 3/4 cup soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons Sriracha (depending on the spice level you want)
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro

• 1 bunch scallions
• 5 large shallots
• 1 package firm tofu
• teryaki marinade
• 6 large eggs
• 7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• coconut oil