Asian noodle bowls
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
In America you wouldn’t think twice about enjoying a bowl of chicken and noodle soup. Well, all over Asia they have about a jillion different versions of that particular treat!
Huge bowls (bigger than a soup bowl) of broth filled with noodles and different flavorful ingredients are a staple of their diet.
In Thailand you’ll find a lot of lime and basil; in China, duck and hot peppers; in Japan, fish, tofu and seaweed; farther south, seafood curries with coconut milk.
All you need is a good broth, a few things to float in it (bits of meat, vegetables, etc.), and some noodles. There are rice noodles, soybean noodles, buckwheat noodles — all kinds of great choices in the local grocery and even more at the Asian store. Half the fun is getting to slurp your noodles all you like — it’s proper etiquette!
There aren’t many ingredients in this first recipe, so it’s a good “beginner” dish. I made this last week and it is really tasty. If you can’t find bok choy, use regular cabbage. Go light on the curry powder. I augmented with a half-pound of cubed tofu just for fun.
INDONESIAN BEEF NOODLE CURRY
1 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 lb. steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups coconut milk
1 pkg. cellophane noodles
1 cup bok choy, chopped
Heat the oil and brown the onions and garlic. Add the curry powder and coriander; cook for 2 minutes. Add the meat (and tofu, if you like); brown. Add the ginger, coconut milk and salt; cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Add the noodles and cabbage and cook for about 12 -15 minutes more. If your broth seems a little thick you can thin it with water, chicken broth or white wine.
Ladle curry into bowls and serve with raw bean sprouts, fresh basil leaves and hot sauce.
Blake Eyman from Emporia called in a nice Asian-style chicken and noodle soup. This came from a lady he knew in Pearl City, Hawaii.
BLAKE’S NOODLE
EGG DROP SOUP
2 cans (10 3/4 oz.) chicken broth
4 cups water
1 1/2 cup fine egg noodles (uncooked)
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 Tbsp. butter
Bring broth and water to a boil. Gradually add the noodles, stirring occasionally. Cook 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in eggs and simmer three minutes. Remove from heat, add parsley and butter, and serve piping hot.
This next one has a few more ingredients, but it is wonderful. I went by Huong Viet on Commercial Street to see what they might have in the way of fish sauces. Oh MY! They have just about every fish sauce and noodle known to man, as well as a huge collection of frozen fish and seafood. They even have ready-made meatballs for your noodle bowls in everything from beef to pork to fish. Check out the fresh herbs, too!
You can substitute chicken or another seafood for the shrimp in this recipe, and if you don’t care for coconut milk replace it with vegetable or chicken broth. This recipe has lots of spices in it! It also makes 2 servings, so feel free to double it. Cilantro leaves can be substituted for fresh coriander leaves.
TOM YUM GOONG
3 cups chicken stock
1 stalk lemongrass (slice it just like a green onion)
3 Tbsp. kaffir lime zest (Key West limes)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 or 2 small red chilies, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg. wide soy or rice noodles (linguine style)
12 medium raw shrimp, shelled
2/3 to 1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 can coconut milk
wedges of lime for serving (Key limes or regular limes)
1/3 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Optional: additional Thai red chilies, chopped finely with seeds removed
Pour stock into a deep cooking pot, add lemongrass and turn heat to medium-high. Boil for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Add fish sauce, garlic, chilies, and lime zest to broth. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Add noodles and stir until broken apart (about 2 minutes). Add shrimp, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes, or until noodles are done.
Turn down the heat to low and add the coconut milk. Test the soup for spice and salt, adding more chilies and/or fish sauce as desired. Serve in big bowls with coriander sprinkled on top and quarters of fresh lime on the side. Delicious!
Here is a very nice Japanese noodle bowl. In this recipe, you can make a “sort of” dashi simply by rehydrating a couple of fish bouillon cubes in place of the bonita flakes.
SEA BASS IN MISO WITH UDON AND SHIITAKE
1 quart cold water
1 6-inch piece dried kelp (kombu)
1/2 cups dried bonito flakes
2 Tbsp. light miso
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, halved
10 - 14 oz. of sea bass filets
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger
3/4 cup fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 cup bok choy, cut into chunks
1 lb. udon noodles
2 green onions, chopped
Make dashi (fish stock): Combine the water, kelp, and bonito flakes in a pot and place over medium-low heat. Slowly bring to a simmer; this should take about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat just as the stock reaches a boil. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then strain out the solids.
Pour the dashi into a wok and place over medium heat. Whisk the miso into the dashi, stirring until smooth, then toss in the mushrooms. Reduce to a simmer.
Lightly coat the bottom of your wok’s bamboo steamer with nonstick cooking spray. Season both sides of the fish filets with salt and pepper; lay them side by side in the steamer. Cut the ginger lengthwise in strips and put it on top of the fish so the flavor can permeate; cover with the cilantro. Nestle the bok choy around the sides, and cover with the bamboo lid. Set the steamer inside the wok, and steam over the dashi miso for 15 to 20 minutes until the fish is cooked.
Meanwhile, cook the udon just like spaghetti, by bringing it to a boil and cooking until tender but not mushy. Drain it and rinse with cold water. Carefully remove the bamboo steamer and add the udon noodles and green onions into the soup. Heat until the noodles are warmed.
Ladle the dashi miso into 2 wide shallow bowls, scoop the noodles into the soup and layer the bok choy and fish on top (discard the ginger). Garnish with more cilantro and serve nice and hot!
There are just so many more recipes for noodle bowls — I can’t fit them all in here. We may revisit the topic soon. In the meantime, next week is our “Year of the Pig” pork column.
Guess what’s coming? Valentine’s Day! In celebration, I call on all you great cooks out there to share a recipe for something very chocolatey. VERY chocolatey. Send that recipe by 5 p.m. Monday to 517 Merchant or murphysmenu@yahoo.com. Let’s get cooking!