Soba with Teriyaki and Brussel Sprouts

It's been a while, hasn't it?  Well, I haven't not been cooking so much as I don't seem to have time to post.  I've got so many photographs of food, but I don't seem to be able to get them up!  Senior year seems to be quite a lot of work, indeed.  But enough of that...

I actually had chicken thawed out in the fridge, but at the last minute I decided to go against it and have something a little lighter because I wasn't quite as hungry.  I failed at that, though, because this turned out to be quite filling.  The soba, or Japanese buckwheat noodles, are served in a savory soup and topped with sliced tofu puff, scallions, and a pinch of bonito flakes.  For those unacquainted, bonito flakes are very thin shavings of dried skipjack tuna.  They're kind of pricey, but you usually only need just a pinch since they have a strong flavor.  The blurry stuff in the back is steamed brussel sprouts with teriyaki shiitake and chikuwa, or tube-shaped fish cake.  I've had these brussel sprouts in the fridge for a while and they were about to go bad, so I used them up.  Surprisingly, none of this is very "heavy" tasting, so if you've eaten a really bad, fatty lunch (like someone I know.... me), you won't feel sick afterwards, and it's very healthy.

Soba with Teriyaki and Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

for soba and soup:
3.5 oz. dried soba noodles
1 1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. dashi granules
1 tsp. sake
1 tsp. mirin
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 scallion
1 tofu puff
pinch bonito flakes (optional)

for teriyaki and brussel sprouts:
1 chikuwa (tube-shaped fish cake)
2 dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted
6 brussel sprouts, trimmed
1 Tbsp. sake
1 Tbsp. mirin
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
5 snow peas, trimmed
sesame seeds (optional)

Cook the soba noodles according to package directions, then drain, rinse with cold water to remove the starches, then drain again. 

Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper (or just use a metal steamer basket in a pot with a lid), place the brussel sprouts inside, and place over a pan of water.  Bring the water to a boil and steam the sprouts until they are bright green and cooked through.  Remove the steamer from the pan, take off the lid to release the excess steam, and drain the water from the pan.  Reserve the pan.  Cut the brussel sprouts in half top to bottom.

Bring the measured water for the soup to a boil, then add the dashi granules, soy sauce, mirin, and sake.  Stir to dissolve the dashi.

Cut the shiitake mushrooms into 1/2 in. strips, and the chikuwa into 1/2 in. pieces on the diagonal.  Mix the sake, mirin, and soy sauce.  Reheat pan you used to steam the brussel sprouts and add the mushrooms, chikuwa, and sauce mixture.  The sauce should start to froth.  Cook until almost all the liquid has been absorbed, then remove from heat.

Cut the tofu puff into thin slices, and chop the scallion into small pieces on the diagonal.

To serve, put the soba in a bowl and pour over with soup.  Garnish with tofu puff slices, scallion, and bonito flakes.  Gently mix the shiitake, chikuwa, and brussel sprouts together in another bowl.  Garnish with snow peas and sesame seeds.

Teriyaki Beef & Tofu Puff Miso Soup

Rarely do I ever buy beef, but I broke down this past weekend and bought some.  It's so expensive sometimes, even though I bought beef shoulder, which is supposedly a cheaper and thus tougher cut of meat.  I also couldn't decide whether I wanted soup or not, so I made both!  Hmm... unfortunately I don't have a whole lot to say on this one, but it was very delicious.  ^_^

Teriyaki Beef & Tofu Puff Miso Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. beef shoulder
1/8 green bell pepper, seeded
handful of frozen, blanched green beans
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. mirin
1 Tbsp. sake
vegetable oil
1 1/4 c. water
1/4 tsp. dashi granules
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. mirin
2 tofu puffs
1 dried shiitake mushroom, reconstituted
1/2 spring onion
2 tsp. miso
hot cooked rice
sesame seeds (optional, to serve)
furikake (optional, to serve)

Slice the beef into thin strips roughly 1/4 in. and slice the pepper very thinly into strips, about 1/8 - 1/16 in. thick.  Heat a little oil in a pan.  Add the beef and saute for about 1 min., or until the outside is no longer pink.  Add the pepper and beans and saute another 1-2 min.

Mix together the sake, mirin, and soy sauce (1 Tbsp. each).  Add to the beef mixture.  Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the liquid is nearly gone.  Be careful not to let the sauce burn in the pan or it will have a bitter taste.

In a separate pot, bring the measured water to a boil.  Add the dashi granules and 1 tsp. each soy sauce and mirin.  Stir until the granules have dissolved.

Thinly slice the tofu puffs, the mushrooms into 1/4 in. strips, and the spring onions on the diagonal.  Add to the soup and boil for 2-3 minutes.  Add the miso and stir until dissolved.  Turn off the heat.

To serve, place the rice in a small bowl and sprinkle with furikake (rice seasoning) if desired.  Put the beef and vegetables on a plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Serve the soup in a separate bowl.

Chicken, Mushroom, and Udon Teriyaki

I was have a bad day a week or so ago, and I decided to make chicken teriyaki (again), but I decided that I wanted the whole thing teriyaki.  It was late at night and I didn't feel like doing a lot of dishes, so I tried to keep it all to one small pan.  I have to say it looks a little odd with no green vegetables, but it worked.

Chicken, Mushroom, and Udon Teriyaki

Ingredients:

1/2 frozen udon noodle block (fresh udon--not dried)
2 dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted
1 chicken thigh, skin on
small bunch enoki mushrooms, root removed
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. mirin
1 Tbsp. sake
1 tsp. sugar
sesame seeds, to serve

Put the noodle block in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Leave the noodles to soak and "cook" on their own.

Using kitchen scissors, snip the chicken meat from the bone.  Cut into bite-sized pieces.  Heat a dry pan over medium heat and add the chicken pieces, skin side down.  Cook 2-3 minutes, or until browned, then turn the pieces over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.  Make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through--no pink!

Cut the shiitake mushrooms into 1/2 in. pieces and separate the enoki mushrooms from one another.  Add the mushrooms to the pan with the chicken and cook 1-2 minutes.

Mix the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar together and add to the pan.  It should come to a frothy boil.  Continue to cook until the sauce has cooked down to a sort of glaze.

Drain and rinse the udon noodles.  Add them to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.