Udon & Tofu Puff Stir-fry

Another thing to do with udon noodles.  I bought a bunch of tofu puffs in Chinatown and I forgot to thaw out meat at the time, so this worked out pretty well.

Udon & Tofu Puff Stir-fry

Ingredients:

3 tofu puffs
1/2 frozen udon noodle block
1/2 in. daikon, peeled
8 snow peas, trimmed
1 small sweet pepper, seeded
vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tsp. water
1 tsp. soy sauce
shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven-spice powder, optional, to serve)

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

Cut the tofu puffs into 1/4 in. slices, the daikon into 1/8 in. slices, and the sweet pepper into 1/8 in. slices.  Heat a little oil in a pan and add the tofu puffs, daikon, sweet pepper, and snow peas.  Cook 2-3 minutes.

Mix together the oyster sauce, water, and soy sauce.  Add to the pan and stir to coat.  Cook an additional 1-2 minutes.

Drain the noodles, rinse, and drain again.  Add the noodle to the pan and stir to coat with sauce and heat through.  Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi and serve.

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.