Kitchen Chick

Pan-Fried Noodles with Shrimp & Basil

Immediately after I returned from Vegas, Joe and I jumped in the car and went to Columbus, Ohio. In spite of being a Michigan gal, I like Columbus. They have a nice food scene. Okay, it's not New York or Chicago (two cities I most definitely want to spend more time eating in), but there are plenty of places to explore. To start, there's Jeni's Ice Cream. No trip to Columbus can be complete without a stop at Jeni's. We brought back many pints for ourselves and some friends, including Vanessa of Gastronomy, Et Al, who wrote a lovely detailed review. This trip we also discovered the Latin American restaurant El Arepazo, right in downtown Columbus. (Photos from El Arepazo will be forthcoming.  And when we're down there again in a few weeks, we'll also hit Zen Cha, which we've been told by a friend is an outstanding teahouse.)

So what does any of this have to do with the photo above? Well, not much really, but after so much travel, the fridge was rather on the empty side. And I wanted dinner, and I wanted it fast. And... it is spring, and I had just planted my basil. While I have a week or two yet before I can start harvesting fresh basil from my garden, I have plenty of frozen basil from last summer's harvest, which I use for stir fries. With frozen shrimp (my emergency protein stash), frozen peas, and frozen basil... my idea of a frozen dinner.

You can buy these noodles in the fresh noodle section of Asian grocery stores. They're yellow and look a bit ramen noodle-ish. I don't know the "official" method for cooking. I've just played around and found something that works for me.

I don't have exact amounts. I'm usually a "start with a recipe and modify from there" kind of chick, but this is one of those rare time when I just throw stuff in the pan until it looks right.

Pan-fried Noodles with Shrimp & Basil
by kitchenchick

Adjust amounts for the number of people you're serving.

fresh Chinese thin egg noodles
one egg, beaten (or more, if serving 4 or more people)
minced garlic and/or ginger
shrimp, peeled and deveined
peas
perhaps a small amount of carrot, thinly sliced
oyster sauce
sugar
basil (Thai basil preferred)
green onion, thinly sliced
cornstarch or other starch for thickening, mixed with a bit of water

Heat a bit of oil in a small pan and pour in the beaten egg. Swirl the egg around to set it like a thin pancake. When the egg is set and cooked until golden, slide out onto a board. Let it get cool enough to handle, roll it up like a cigar, and cut into thin strips. Set aside.

Heat a bit of oil in a saute or frying pan large enough to accomodate your noodles. You may need to gently pull the noodles apart so that they can be laid in the pan to create a nice round pancake-like shape. Add a bit of water to help soften the noodles. When they've browned on the bottom side, flip them over.

If you're having trouble flipping them, here is a method: loosen them if necessary and slide noodles out on to a plate. Lay a second plate over the noodles (like a sandwich). Flip the plates over. Now you can slide the noodles back into the pan with the uncooked side down.

Add a bit more water. Remove noodles from the pan when they've begun to brown. Watch out for hot spots where the noodles might burn!

Heat some oil in a wok or another frying pan. Add garlic and/or ginger and fry for a few seconds; enough to release the aroma. Add shrimp and stir fry until, say, halfway done. Add peas and carrots and stir fry a bit more. Add oyster sauce — enough to make a nice amount of sauce, but not too gooey. Taste and add a bit of sugar to balance the saltiness, if desired. Add basil and green onion. If the oyster sauce is too runny for your tastes, add a bit of starch with water to thicken it up.  In all this, try to avoid overcooking the shrimp.

Pour shrimp on top of noodles. Top with the strips of egg. Serve immediately.

Carrot Salad with Indonesian Coconut Dressing

In the U.S., summer means backyard BBQs and the ubiquitous cabbage-carrot cole slaw drowning in sauce.  Joe and I both enjoy fresh slaw-like salads that defy Midwestern expectations.  This one has a zingy dressing of coconut and garlic and hot chilies.  Actually, the dressing is from an Urap recipe, which is not a slaw at all.  Urap is an Indonesian (Javanese, specifically) dish of parboiled vegetables tossed in a coconut dressing.  We discovered that the dressing works just wonderfully with shredded carrot and peas.  I'd happily take this to a BBQ as a alternative to the usual American cabbage slaw.

Carrot Salad with Urap Dressing

6 carrots or so, shredded
1 cup green peas or so

Dressing
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 onion, chopped  (You can also use an equivalent amount of shallots.)
1 to 3 fresh green chilies to taste (We used 3 thai chilies.)
3/4 C grated coconut  (non-sweetened)
1/2 C water
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Grind garlic, onion, and chilies in a mortar (or in a blender) until smooth.  In a bowl that can be heated in water, mix coconut with water, sugar, salt, and pepper, then stir in the garlic-onion sauce.  Place this bowl in a larger pot of water.  We put the bowl on a small steamer stand so that it wasn't touching the bottom of the pot.  Bring the water to a boil, cover with a crack left open, and steam the coconut for about 20 minutes.

Toss salad in dressing and serve.

Serves 4 to 6 people.

Arirang — Fresh Korean Cuisine in Ann Arbor

Arirang, is Ann Arbor's newest Korean restaurant, located on Ann Arbor-Saline Rd, in the former Original 60s location just a few doors down from the Godaiko Japanese restaurant.  The restaurant is named after a Korean folk song. We stopped in on their second day.  Clearly we were not the only ones keeping an eye on them.  A few large family and several smaller groups were already there, and new people arrived regularly.  The interior was neat and clean, and the shogi screens arrayed along the plate glass windows transformed the diner-like interior into a pleasant space. The manager (we think) quickly brought us water and tea and menus, and the traditional Korean salads arrived soon afterward. They featured three chili-based salads, a cucumber salad, Korean potato salad, and fish cake salad.  Their kim chee had a nice clean sharp flavor. The appetizers featured the expected dumpling and fried tofu, but was caught our attention was the chili rice cakes.  And rightly so.  They were fabulous...

For dinner we stuck with basic dishes that would offer a good comparison to the Korean restaurants we've tried. Both entrees came with a light miso soup. (I suspect it's shiro miso, but I'm no expert.) Joe got the Bi Bim Bop in hot stone bowl.   To my delight, it came with the egg still soft.  At so many of the Korean diners around town (and Arirang is NOT a diner), when I order bi bim bop, the fried egg comes nearly hard — even when I ask for it soft.

I ordered the bulgogi on a hot plate.  It came with chili bean paste, rice, and lettuce for wrapping.  I enjoyed its slightly sweet, grilled flavor. We were very pleased with our first experience at this family-run restaurant.  I was impressed with both the freshness and flavors of their dishes, the friendly service, and clean pleasant atmosphere of their dining room. (And, bonus, their prices are more reasonable than Seoul Garden.)  The only thing they could have possibly improved was to re-fill my tea cup more frequently.  But it was only their second day, so they deserve kudos for handling the service and food preparation as well as they did with steady business coming in.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

I love fresh spring rolls.  When at a Vietnamese restaurant, I find it almost impossible to not order them.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Rice paper rolls (banh trang)
Green or red leaf lettuce, sliced or shredded.  Hard ribs removed.
Fresh Mint or cilantro sprigs
Shredded or julienned carrots
Rice vermicelli noodles
Cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise

Put noodles in a large, heat-proof bowl.  Boil water.  Pour boiling over the noodles and leave to soak.  Shred or slice lettuce.  Shred or julienne carrots. When the noodles are soft, drain and set aside. 

Fill a shallow pan large enough to hold a rice paper sheet with very warm water.  Slide a rice paper sheet into the water.  Let it soak until almost soft.  I like to have parts of the sheet still feel very slightly stiff.  These parts will soften even after they've been removed from the water.  Otherwise, if the rice sheet is completely soft before I remove it from the water, I can be fairly certain I'll tear the sheets.

Lay the sheet out on a clean work surface.  Put some noodles (1/4 cup or so) across the bottom third of the sheet.  Layer it with lettuce, carrots, mint or cilantro, and three or four shrimp halves.  Roll the bottom edge over the fillings. 

Tuck one or both sides up — whichever you like.  Then tightly, but don't pull too tightly, roll it up.  You'll figure out how much filling to use and how much tension to put on the rice sheet with practice.

Other ingredients to try in fresh spring rolls:  basil, shredded cucumber, scallions, garlic chives. Serve with straight hoisin sauce or with peanut-hoisin sauce (post edited May 4, 2008 to add this recipe):

Peanut-Hoisin Sauce
(adapted from Foods of Vietnam, by Nicole Routhier):

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, ground, for garnish
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili paste (I use Lan Chi)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
3/4  tsp sugar
1.5-2 tbsp peanut butter (I use a bit more)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

Heat the oil and add the garlic, chili paste, and tomato paste. Fry until garlic is golden brown. Add the broth, sugar, peanut butter, and hoisin sauce, and whisk to dissolve the peanut butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

Garnish with the ground peanuts.

Oddly Compelling Asian Cabbage Salad

Joe describes this salad as "oddly compelling." That's a pretty good description. This is not a salad that everyone will like, but it has a tangy flavor with bitter notes that goes well with those Thai curries that have a sweet taste to them like Masaman curry. The original recipe claims to feed 4-6, but I think it can feed far more than that. When I make it for just Joe and myself, I make about 1/4 the amount in the recipe.

Cabbage Salad
4-6 servings

2 Tbs fish sauce
grated rind of one lime (I've left this out when I don't have a lime)
2 Tbs lime juice
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 large red chilies, seeded and finely cut into strips
6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
6 shallots, finely sliced
1 small cabbage, shredded
2 Tbs of chopped, roasted peanuts, for garnish

1) Make dressing — combine fish sauce, lime rind, lime juice, and coconut milk and set aside.

2) Heat oil in a pan and saute garlic, shallots, and peppers until shallots are crispy brown. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

3) Blanch shredded cabbage for 2 -3 minutes. Drain and put in a bowl.

4) Toss dressing with cabbage. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with shallot mixture and peanuts.

You can reduce the bitter note by sauting the shallots first until about half done, then add the garlic and peppers. This way the garlic won't brown too much and become bitter.