bits and pieces

Good basic ingredients, but the flavor was sort of strange.

Another one from the Everyday Food web site, this one was fairly simple to make, with the chopping of everything the most time-consuming. Once that part was done, it was all a matter of mixing the sauce and then cooking the noodles and meat.

Unfortunately, the sauce was a strange mixture of hoisin sauce — which I like — with things like orange juice, cider vinegar, and ketchup (and not in the Japanese way of substituting ketchup for tomato sauce), among other things. I sort of wish I’d stopped at the hoisin sauce, because the end result was very tangy, with the orange juice standing out the most to me.

I did like the mixture of everything though, with the egg noodles working well with the broccoli and sugar snap peas, as well as with the pork. I think I’d try this again but definitely with a different sauce.

Asian-Style Pork and Noodles
Serves 4

• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup dark hoisin sauce
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• Coarse salt
• 1 large head broccoli, about 1 1/3 pounds
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas, or snow peas, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound boneless pork loin or tenderloin, sliced 1/2 inch thick, each slice cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together orange juice, hoisin sauce, vinegar, ketchup, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; set sauce aside. Cut off tops 1 to 2 inches below florets. Trim broccoli and discard tough ends of stalks, then peel and thinly slice crosswise. Separate broccoli heads into florets.
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until al dente according to package directions, adding broccoli (stalks and florets) and peas during last minute of cooking. Drain; transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Dredge pork in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Saute pork until lightly browned and cooked through, tossing frequently, about 3 minutes. Pour in reserved sauce, and bring to a boil. Add to bowl with noodles; toss to combine.

This one didn’t turn out to look very pretty — even with my new white dishes — and it wasn’t all that flavorful, but it sure was easy to make! A bit of udon noodles, plus chicken (yum), edamame (also, yum), cabbage, onion, and a little bit of flavor. Just not enough of the flavor part.

It comes from the Everyday Food web site, and the picture on the site sure looked pretty, but that’s about it.

Yep.

Chicken, Edamame, and Noodle Stir-Fry
Serves 4

Ingredients

• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 ounces udon noodles or linguine
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each), cut crosswise into thin strips
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 napa cabbage (about 1 pound), thinly shredded
• 2 cups frozen shelled edamame
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, and rinse under cold water; drain again, and set aside.
2. While pasta is cooking, in a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch; season with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken in two batches, until light brown on the outside and opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate (reserve skillet).
3. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet; add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 1 to 3 minutes. Add cabbage, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 2 to 4 minutes.
4. Add edamame, vinegar, soy sauce, chicken, and noodles; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until noodles and edamame are warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes.

I figured I should try a non-Asian dish for once, so I went with the lovely Spring Risotto with Peas and Zucchini recipe from the Everyday Food book. The photo just makes it look so nice, with the green of the zucchini and peas popping out from the risotto, and it is spring after all, so why not?

This was my first attempt at risotto and my first time cooking with wine, so I definitely learned a few things. Like that risotto requires lots of stirring (oy!), and that I should have remembered to buy a corkscrew before I’d already started the prep for cooking (Oops! But I don’t drink wine, so why would I have had one?). Also, I didn’t have a good onion — I think I accidentally threw away the good one instead of the bad one last week — so I had to skip that part. Oh, and I didn’t halve part of the broth and water mixture, so I had to toss what was left and make a new batch to compensate.

Despite the few mistakes, I think it turned out pretty well, and I would definitely make it again, with an onion and the proper broth proportions. And maybe less parmesan cheese (for my stomach’s sake). :)

Here’s the recipe for reference:

Spring Risotto with Peas and Zucchini
Serves 6

• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 to 2 large zucchini (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat broth and 2 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan over low heat; keep warm. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add zucchini; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until zucchini is golden, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer zucchini to a plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onion; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Raise heat to medium. Add rice; cook, stirring, until translucent around edges, about 3 minutes. Add wine; cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes.
3. Cook, adding 1 cup hot broth at a time (stir until almost all liquid is absorbed before adding more), until rice is tender, 25 to 30 minutes total.
4. Add zucchini and peas; cook until peas are bright green, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining tablespoon butter and parmesan. Serve, topped with more cheese.

This vague-sounding recipe comes from a discount cookbook I found at Borders, called The Essential Asian Cookbook. Udon Noodle Soup is pretty simple, with noodles, leeks, pork, and a mixture of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin, plus green onions and spicy Japanese chili powder (ichimi togarashi) for garnish.

It was fairly easy to make, though I’m not sure what halving the recipe did to the broth. It was pretty salty on its own, but combined with the pork, leeks, and everything else, each bite was really nice.

I have another udon recipe to try later this week, and I’ve also ordered some new dishes and silverware to add to my current sets (or partial ones at that). Yay.

Yes, another Asian dish tonight, but this one is more Thai in style, which is a bit different for me.

The recipe is Coconut Shrimp Soup and comes from the Everyday Food cookbook again, and also available on their web site. It was all pretty easy to make, mostly involving boiling and simmering on the stove, so most of the work was in the preparation. Chopping the carrots, mincing the garlic, and so on.

I halved it to only make 2 portions, though I’m a bit unsure about some of their ingredient amounts. There were definitely more than enough shrimp and carrots when I halved it, and yet not enough greenery and spice for me.

The taste was definitely very creamy — it was my first time using coconut milk in a recipe — and rich, though not as heavy as I’d expected. The combination was nice, but I think I would definitely have liked more of some other vegetable besides carrots. I’m not really into cooked carrots, but I definitely liked the green onions. And I could have added more of the red pepper flakes, because I barely tasted them.

For future reference, here’s the recipe:

Coconut Shrimp Soup
Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 pound (6 to 8 medium) carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
• 1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 ounces angel-hair pasta
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• Coarse salt
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large (3-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, coconut milk, and 3 cups water. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water until smooth; add to pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Break pasta in half; add to pot. Return to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until pasta is al dente and carrots are just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add shrimp; stir until opaque, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat, and stir in lime juice; season with salt. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with scallions.