Somen Noodle Salad with Tangy Dressing (Hiyashi Chuka)

When I was talking to my family on skype the other day, my mum said she was making hiyashi chuka at home.  Since then I had a craving for it….  so I bought some ingredients from a supermarket and cooked it last night.

Hiyashi chuka is a Japanese summer dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings.  Normal toppings are shredded ham, shredded cucumber, shredded omelet and chopped tomato.  It has many colours.  The noodle is thin egg noodle, and the sauce (dressing) is tangy (vinegary)  Some people add more vegetables such as corn and bean shoots, and drizzle mayonnaise on top.

I used somen noodle this time - the key is to cook the somen noodle al dente, so that it has some texture.

Somen noodle also goes well with the tangy sauce.

I used shredded chicken breast instead of ham, as I’m not really supposed to eat ham at the moment.

Pour the sauce (dressing) over the noodle, or dip the noodle into the sauce and eat ♪

<Hiyashi Chuka Somen> Serves 2

• 200g somen noodle (dry)
• 100g chicken breast
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 tomato
• 10cm celery

• 50ml soy sauce
• 60ml white vinegar
• 70ml water
• 20g sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• roasted white sesame seeds to sprinkle

Simple Udon Noodle Soup (Su-Udon)

I got up very early today.  4 am!  I didn’t have any work to do this morning, but couldn’t go back to sleep after waking up for the toilet :p  I normally have no problem going back to sleep even if I wake up during the night, but this morning I felt so hungry and couldn’t sleep!

What did I eat last night…?  Roasted veggies and chicken.  I thought I ate a lot, but I guess my digestion system works too good.  I got up the bed and started preparing early breakfast.

I had some left over in the fridge, but I decided to cook udon noodle soup.  My favorite is to add egg to the soup (tamago-toji udon), but this time I just made a simple one.

With wakame seaweed, sprig onion (and naruto - fish cake).  There are many kinds of udon soup in Japan, and I guess I can call this “su-udon 素うどん” = which means “simple udon”.  Su-udon normally indicates udon noodle with nothing but soup and spring onion (or sometimes just soup).

Su-Udon (image from wiki)

Making the soup by yourself is very easy!  Besides, you won’t need to prepare many things when making su-udon.

<Udon Soup> serves 1

• 1.5cup water
• 1 handful bonito flakes (about 10g)
• 1 tbs mirin
• 1 tbs soy sauce

Tomato Curry with Somen Noodle

Somen Noodle + curry??  It sounds a little mismatch, but spicy tomato curry does go with simple somen noodle.  Enjoy with lots of mushroom ♪

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<Somen Tomato Curry with Chicken and Mushroom> serves 4

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• 1 chicken breast fillet
• 2 baby eggplants
• 1 pack shimeji mushroom
• 2~3 cup mushrooms
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 2 tbs curry powder
• 100ml sake (cooking wine)
• 400g tomato tin, peeled
• 100~150ml chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, sugar and pepper to taste
• 200g somen noodle

Camem-burg Pasta

Meatball pasta!!  Everyone’s favorite  Add Mozzarella cheese to the big size meatballs and enjoy the mild, melty texture on delicious juicy hamburg.

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<Camem-burg Pasta> serves 4

• 300g beef mince
• 200g pork mince
• 10g breadcrumb
• 50g onion, chopped

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1. Mix the mince, onion, breadcrumb and a pinch of salt in a bowl until well combined.  Divide into 8 and shape them into balls.  Stand-by in the fridge.
2. Chop onion, celery and carrot.  Slice mushrooms.
3. Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a medium sauce pan, and saute onion, celery, carrot and garlic until fragrant.  Add tomato paste and saute, then add tomato tin. Bring to the gentle boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Place margarin in a frying pan, and heat over medium-high heat.  As the butter start to sizzle, add mushrooms and saute.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt, and remove from the heat.  Add the mushroom into the tomato sauce.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and cook pasta.
6. Meanwhile, heat the same pan with 1 tbs of oil.  Flatten the centre of the meatballs, and sear one side.  Flip the meatball around, reduce the heat, and place a lid.  Grill until cooked through.
7. Slice Camembert cheese into 8.  Remove the lid, and place the Camembert slices on each meatball.  Place back the lid, and turn off the heat.  leave it for 1~2 minutes.
8. Arrange pasta in each serving plate.  Pour tomato sauce, and top with 2 pieces of hamburgs.

Crispy Chicken in Sweet and Tangy Sauce (Chicken Nanban)

The dish Chicken Nanban was originally created in Kyushu island in Japan about 50 years ago.  Since then, this item has became very popular across Japan, and now you can find the dish in family restaurants, convenience stores, fast food chains and even pizza shops.

The original Chicken Nanban was a deep-fried chicken immersed in sweet/sour sauce.  Nowadays Chichen Nanban is served with tartar sauce poured over the chicken, and it is still one of the popular menu for any age group.

This is again another easy dish to cook, and it goes with both rice and noodle.

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<Chicken Nanban with Somen Noodle> serves 4

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• 2 chicken breast fillets (about 400g)
• 1 egg
• plain flour to coat
• 4 tbs soy sauce
• 6 tbs sugar
• 5 tbs vinegar (preferably rice vinegar)
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 200g somen noodle
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1 capsicum
• roasted white sesame seeds