Yaki Udon

I’m a bit late in sharing this challenge with you, since I made it about two weeks ago. The challenge was to make an Asian-style noodle dish that I hadn’t tried before. I had some udon noodles in the pantry, so I started from there. After doing some reading on Wikipedia, I decided to make yaki udon, which is a stir-fried, Japanese noodle dish.

Yaki Udon

To tell you the truth, this wasn’t such a challenging dish, but I did learn something new. Usually, when I stir-fry, I cook the meat first, then I add the vegetables. Last, I might throw in some cooked noodles, or I’ll toss it all on top of cooked rice.

This time, though, I cooked the veggies first, while I let the meat marinate. Then I added the boiled noodles. This enable the vegetables to get browned and tender, and the noodles to also brown a little, since there was no liquid in the pan. When they were done, I removed them to a plate and cooked the meat. I tried not to disturb the meat other than turning it once, so it would develop a crunchy, brown crust. Finally, I added the marinade from the meat and stir-fried until the sauce had thickened. Last, the veggies and noodles went back in to get coated with the sauce.

I think this made a real difference in the quality of the stir-fry. Every ingredient shone, and nothing was over-cooked. Although the sauce was evenly distributed, it didn’t turn gloppy. All in all, it was delicious, and a truly simple dish to make.

You can substitute any thinly sliced meat here (I used chicken). Scallops or shrimp would also work. And of course, any vegetables that you have on hand can be added. I like to slice the veggies thinly and on the diagonal for a nicer presentation and faster cooking. It is also good to add something with crunch for a garnish. I used raw bean sprouts, which provided just the right finish.

Yaki Udon

Serves: 2-3 people

• ¼ lb. chicken or other meat, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. mirin (sweet rice wine)
• 1 tbsp. ponzu sauce
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp. sesame seeds
• peanut oil
• 4 oz. udon noodles, cooked, drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced diagonally
• 1 small red pepper, sliced thinly
• 8 spears asparagus, cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths
• mung bean sprouts for garnish
• soy sauce to taste

1. Combine the meat with the mirin, ponzu sauce, flour, sesame oil and sesame seeds, and set aside to marinate.

2. Heat some peanut oil in a wok or skillet until very hot. Add the vegetables and stir-fry until they are crisp-tender and beginning to brown. Add the noodles and continue to stir-fry until the noodles are brown in places. Remove to a plate.

3. Add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until very hot. Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade, and add it to the pan. Let the chicken cook, turning once, until cooked through, browned and crusty.

4. Add the marinade and stir-fry the chicken quickly until the sauce thickens. Return the vegetables and noodles to the pan, and stir-fry until the well-mixed. Remove to a serving dish and top with the bean sprouts. Pass the soy sauce at the table.

Fried Rice to the Rescue

I don’t know about you, but I always have leftover rice whenever I make rice. It’s impossible to make just enough rice for two people; I can’t find a good method that serves less than four and still makes good rice.

But fortunately, for every leftover problem, there’s the perfect leftover dish. For rice, it’s fried rice. In fact, fried rice doesn’t even work with freshly made rice. It requires rice that’s been refrigerated, and is dry and a little clumpy.

Fried rice plays well with other leftovers as well. Throw in all those little bits of leftover meat and vegetables that wind up in the crisper drawers, and you’ll end up with a tasty meal every time. It even works for breakfast!

Here’s my recipe for breakfast fried rice (which is also good for dinner). To customize, just substitute for the meat and vegetables whatever you happen to find in your fridge. You can use pretty much anything you’d throw into any stir-fry.

Breakfast Fried Rice

Time to make: ~15 minutes
Serves: 2

What you need:

• 1-2 tbsp. peanut oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 sausage links (best if pre-cooked)
• ½ onion, diced
• 10 or so mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup leftover, cooked rice
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sesame oil

1. Heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium-high in a wok or large nonstick skillet.
2. Scramble the eggs until just set and remove to a plate; let cool and shred.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp. oil.
4. Add the sausage, mushrooms and onion, and stir-fry until browned.
5. Reduce the heat, if necessary, and add the cabbage; stir-fry until wilted.
6. Add the rice, egg and soy sauce, and stir-fry until warmed through and all the ingredients are well mixed.
7. Stir in the sesame oil and serve.

How to Make the Perfect Stir-Fry

The secrets to a successful stir-fry are organization and preparation, which are also the keys to accomplishing pretty much any complex task. Cooking is a small mirror held up to life (profound, huh?). If you can pull off a good stir-fry, you can probably successfully manage three complex software development projects with deliverables expected in late December, or the equivalent. We’ll see.

Before you even start cooking, you’ll want to get yourself and all of your ingredients organized. When the cooking starts, it goes fast, so you’ll need to have everything ready and at hand. The first thing I do is cook the starch, either rice or noodles, such as Chinese ramen-style noodles or angel hair pasta. The rice will steam and then stay warm while I’m preparing the stir-fry. The noodles will be done fast and then can sit in their pot until I’m ready to mix them in and reheat them.

Second, prepare the protein. I usually use boneless chicken breast for this dish, but turkey, pork, shrimp, scallops, fish or tofu should also work just fine. For 2 people, I use about ¼ pound of protein. Remember, traditional stir-fries are skimpy on the meat and generous with the vegetables. Cube the meat and let sit in a mixture of 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sherry and ¼ cup water while you prepare the vegetables.

Choose 2-3 vegetables for the dish, enough to make ½ pound. Keeping it simple keeps both you and the stir-fry from getting overwhelmed. Dice or slice each vegetable into as nearly uniform pieces as you can make them. Arrange the cut vegetables in bowls in order of their cooking time, with the longest cooking vegetables first:

1. Mushrooms: 5-10 minutes, depending on type and thickness
2. Cabbage, spinach, other greens: 4-6 minutes
3. Asparagus, broccoli, carrots, green beans: 3-5 minutes
4. Peppers, snow peas, sugar snap peas, summer squash, zucchini: 2-3 minutes
5. Bean sprouts: less than 1 minute

These are just suggestions. You may want to try other vegetables.

In addition, mince 2 garlic cloves and ½ tbsp. ginger root, and place them in line behind all the vegetables.

Next, prepare the sauce. My base stir-fry sauce is a mixture of ¼ cup chicken stock, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tbsp. flavoring, such as a bottled Asian sauce, sake or rice wine, or fermented black beans soaked in sherry. Feel free to experiment. I give a suggested variation at the end of this post.

Finally, get your garnishes together. Chopped nuts, sliced scallions, raw bean sprouts and minced fresh herbs all make good garnishes.

The last step is to prepare a coating for the protein for cooking it. Drain away the marinade and toss the chicken (or whatever you’re using) in a mixture of ½ tbsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tsp. flour.

Now you’re ready to assemble the stir-fry:

1. Heat 1 tbsp. peanut oil in a nonstick skillet over high until shimmering
2. Add the protein in a single layer and cook without disturbing until browned
3. Flip each piece and brown the other side in the same manner
4. Remove the cooked protein to a plate
5. If needed, add another ½ tbsp. peanut oil to the pan
6. Add the vegetables in order of their cooking times and stir-fry, keeping the food moving constantly, until tender
7. Add the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 30 seconds
8. Reduce the heat to medium
9. Return to the protein to the pan and mix in the sauce
10. Stir-fry until the sauce thickens
11. If using noodles, stir them in and heat through
12. Remove from heat, garnish and serve

Sweet Chili-Garlic Stir-Fry Sauce

Serves: 2

Mix together:

• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. honey
• ½ tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1-2 tsp. chili sauce, depending on taste
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. cornstarch