WARM GLASS NOODLE AND EDAMAME

My sister in law Sonal has given me the cookbook of a lifetime!

The book is called Plenty  by Yotam Ottolenghi, a renowned chef and author who writes a weekly vegetarian column in London’s weekly  Guardian newspaper. Ottolenghi owns “haute couture” food shops in London, which are well known for innovative dishes, that are made using the best of ingredients.

This is a spectacular dish I recently made for a luncheon, which ended up being a favorite with adults and the kids alike.

STIR FRIED RICE NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES

Who doesn’t love rice noodles?

Here is a really quick and healthy recipe, which is chockfull of vegetables. I usually use whatever veggies I have lying around in the fridge – you can always improvise with this recipe.

The main flavoring for these noodles comes from hon-tsuyu and sesame oil. If you don’t have hon-tsuyu, you can just use soy sauce and a little sugar.

 

Pansit: Filipino Rice Noodles

Pansit is a delicious Filipino rice noodle dish that I learned from my friend Rob Aguilla’s mother – who always made the most amazing Filipino food. This is a really healthy recipe with tons of  vegetables and meats in it. You can easily skip the meats to make this dish vegetarian altogether. I love to top my Pansit off with crushed peanuts and some cayenne pepper.

PANSIT

2 Tbs. oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

3 cups thin asian rice noodles ( wash noodles and set aside)

1⁄2 cup sliced onion

6 medium shrimps, peeled in halves length wise

1⁄2 c  chicken meat diced

1⁄2 c  ham cut in strip

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1⁄2 c  shrimp juice

1 c   green cabbage shredded

1⁄2 c   string beans (julienne cut)

1⁄2 c   carrot (julienne cut)

1-2 stalks celery (diagonally diced)

1 Tbs. finely cut green onion

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock

Salt & pepper to taste

1 lemon (sliced) for garnish

METHOD:

• Heat wok.
• Add oil and sauté onion and garlic until fragrant.

• Add chicken and shrimp.
• Toss to mix to precook chicken and shrimp.
• Add soy sauce, string  beans, carrots, diced celery and green cabbage.
• Add salt, pepper and soy sauce to taste.
• Remove meat and veggie’s and put them in big bowl.
• Set aside.  Keep warm.  Retain sauce in the wok.
• Add one cup of stock to the sauce.

• Let it boil, then drop the washed rice noodles.
• Toss and let noodles cook with the sauce.
• After the noodles are cooked  (don’t overcook the noodles) put back the veggie’s and mixture and
• Toss the rice noodles with the veggies and mixture.

• Serve warm.
• Sprinkle with finely cut green scallion, peanuts and garnish with slices of lemon.

Pad Khee Mao

Pad Khee Mao is one of my favorite Thai dishes. I like it made really spicy with ground chicken and shrimp. The best Pad Khee Mao I’ve had is at BKNY Thai restaurant. I learned this version of Pad Khee Mao from Aunty Penn in Thailand who is a phenomenal cook. This dish was delicious though I wouldn’t put the tomatoes in the next time around.

PAD KHEE MAO

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked shrimp (steamed)

1 cup of minced cooked chicken (steamed of stir fried with a little oil)

5 cups of cooked thick flat Chinese noodles (chow fun) – available at Asian supermarkets

5 cloves of garlic

8 chilies peppers sliced (red, yellow, green – the slightly bigger ones that are less spicy)

1 large onion sliced thin

3 plum tomatoes sliced into 1” thick slices

2 stalks of fresh green peppercorns (optional)

1 cup Thai basil

2 teaspoons fish sauce.

METHOD:

• Grind the 5 cloves of garlic and 4 chilies to make a thick lumpy paste and set it aside.
• Heat a wok and add the chow fun noodles (generally you don’t need to add oil as they come with oil on them)
• Cook noodles for about 2-3 minutes.

• Add 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and ½ teaspoon of dark soya sauce.
• Mix well, remove from fire and set the noodles aside.

• In a wok, heat oil and add the ground garlic and chili paste.
• Add the sliced chilies and fry for a minute.
• Add sliced onions and tomatoes (optional)
• Add 2 teaspoons of fish sauce.
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of water.
• Add green peppercorns and basil and stir-fry for a minute.
• Add cooked shrimp and chicken and mix well.

• Add noodles and mix well and serve immediately.

Chivasom’s Spiced Glass Noodle Soup

This was one of my favorite dishes at Chivasom. It is a really healthy, tangy, yummy soup -meal. You can substitute tofu for chicken if you wish.

CHIVA-SOM’S SPICED GLASS NOODLE SOUP

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Marinade for minced chicken/ tofu:

1 cup minced chicken/ extra firm tofu

2 coriander roots

1 clove chopped garlic

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon organic soy sauce

1 pinch black pepper

Broth:

2 ½ cups Vegetable stock

1 teaspoon organic soy sauce

½ teaspoon honey

1 cup glass noodles ( soaked in warm water for 10 minutes, drained and kept aside)

2-3 long green beans

¼ cup bean sprouts

1 tablespoon chili paste

1 teaspoon lime juice

4 tablespoons of chopped Thai parsley

Roasted shallots

METHOD:

• Chop the garlic and coriander root together.
• Mix it in with the minced chicken.
• Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and pepper to the chicken and mix it well.
• Divide the chicken and shape into two patties.

• In a pot, boil vegetable stock and then bring to a simmer.
• Add the chicken patties to the broth and let it simmer for a few minutes till cooked.

• Remove the patties from the broth and set aside.
• Let the broth continue to simmer in the pot.
• Add 1 teaspoon of honey, ½ teaspoon of soy sauce and mix well.
• Add the green beans and bean sprouts to the broth and cook for a minute.

• Take the broth off the fire and divide into 2 big soup bowls.
• Add some glass noodles to each of soup bowls.
• Place the chicken patties on the soup.

• Add a spoon of chili paste or chili jam on top.
• Garnish with roasted shallots and chopped Thai parsley.

Chiva-Soms’s Wok-fried Glass Noodles with Garden Vegetables

This is such a healthy & delicious dish that I learned at Chiva – Som. I love anything with glass noodles and this dish has the perfect combination of health and flavor. At Chiva-Som they do not use oil to cook with (they use vegetable stock instead) but they do use sesame oil to flavor this dish. You can choose to use a little oil if you would like to. If not , here is the recipe for the vegetable stock they make. You could even use a good quality , organic broth instead.

Chiva-Soms’s Wok-fried Glass Noodles with Garden Vegetables

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 cups of glass noodles (soaked in water for 10 minutes)

5 mushrooms sliced (shitake or any mushroom you prefer)

½ cup sliced firm tofu

¼ cup shredded carrots

½ cup shredded cabbage

½ plum tomato deseeded and diced

½ shallot or red onion sliced

¼  cup vegetable stock

½ teaspoon dark soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp soy sauce

1 stalk chopped Chinese celery (or half stalk regular green celery)

METHOD:

• In a wok add a tablespoon of the vegetable broth and stir fry the onion over low-medium heat.
• Gradually add vegetable broth a teaspoon at a time, as needed as the onion browns.
• Once the onion is golden brown, add shitake mushroom, carrot and cabbage.
• Stir and add more vegetable broth if needed.
• Add the glass noodles and tofu and stir well.

• Add the sesame oil, dark soy sauce and remaining vegetable broth.
• Sprinkle with diced tomatoes and celery and remove from heat.
• Sprinkle with black and white roasted sesame seeds (optional)
• Serve hot.

Nutritional info per serving:

Calories:            229.6 kcal

Protein:             5.2 g

Carbohydrate:            35.1g

Fat:                        7.4 g