Gochujang and Peanut Butter Noodles for One

Who would have thought peanut butter can be used in noodles? Well, I'm not talking about the sweetened version for spreading on toast or making cookies, but the simple and basic peanut butter. Let it be smooth version or the crunchy version, as long as there's no additional flavoring involved, go ahead and use it for savory dishes too.

Gochujang and peanut butter noodles for one - 

Ingredients (one serving)?

• 1 serving flour noodles of your liking
• 1/2 skinny cucumber
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon chopped scallion
• 1/8 teaspoon grated ginger
• Some salt
• Some toasted white sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons gochujang
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon white sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

How?

Clean then julienne the cucumber. Use some salt, about 1 to 2 pinches to massage in the cucumber. Let it sit under room temperature for 10 minutes until some moisture has been drawn out.

Rinse the cucumber using drinkable water to wash away extra salt. Squeeze really dry then loosen the cucumber strips. Put aside for now.

Destem and chop the scallion, scrape then grate the ginger, peel and chop the garlic clove.

Have a serving bowl ready, add in grated ginger and chopped garlic. Also add 2 tablespoons of gochujang, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 teaspoon of white sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

Prepare a pot of water to cook the noodles. Bring to a boil then add in the noodles, choose whichever shape and size, as long as you like it. Cook till desired texture, mine took about 8 minutes. 

Once ready, drain well then transfer to the serving bowl.

Mix till the noodles are evenly blended with the sauce, and no lumps from the peanut butter. Garnish with julienned cucumber, some chopped scallion, and sprinkle some toasted white sesame seeds as the final finishing touch.

The noodles was so good. In fact, I myself didn't even expect it to be packed with so much flavors. Especially the garlic that really gives it a punch in the end. I wouldn't mind the garlic breadth afterwards if my meal was that tasty.

Other similar cooking for one recipes:

• Oyster and shiso peperoncino
• Hot and sour glass noodles
• Pidan/century egg noodles 皮蛋拌麵

Chinese Meatball Stuffed Shiitake Mushrooms 香菇鑲肉

It took me a few tries to get that just about right timing for this recipe. Steaming too long then the meaty part will shrink and result in too much juice on the bottom. Steaming too short then the center part of the pork might not get cooked through.

And it varies depending on the kitchenware you use, the firepower difference, etc. Either way, I think my point is, if you're unsure how long it'll take to reach that just about perfectly cooked meatball stuffed shiitake mushrooms, just go for longer steaming time. It's always safer to have over-cooked result, plus it'll still taste delicious.

Chinese meatball stuffed shiitake mushrooms 香菇鑲肉 -

Ingredients?

• 8 big shiitake mushrooms
• 440 grams ground pork
• 8 goji berries
• 2 stalks scallion
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
• Some potato starch

How?

Destem and chop the scallion. Set the ground pork into a big bowl, add 8 tablespoons of chopped scallion, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper powder. Mix till evenly blended and let it rest for 10 minutes before using.

Try to use big and thick shiitake mushrooms for this recipe, you'll be amazed on how juicy the cap will be once steamed and soaked in some of the flavored pork juice.

Slice-off the stems for the big shiitake mushrooms. Dust the inner part with potato starch, this will better help the pork to stick onto the shiitake mushrooms during steaming.

Scoop out some pork mixture and form into a meatball in your hands, maybe do a few slaps back and forth in between both palms to draw out some trapped air inside. Then gently press down the meatballs onto the inside of the mushroom cap.

Make a gentle dent in the center of the meatball then "mount" one goji berry for each meatball.

Prepare the steaming cookware that you're familiar with. Arrange the stuffed shiitake mushrooms tightly together so it won't flip or tilt during the steaming process. Once all checked, steam for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the stuffed mushroom and how well-cooked you would like it to be.

Once ready, remove from the steamer and transfer the stuffed mushrooms to serving plate if needed.

You can see from the images here, this batch of meatball stuffed shiitake mushrooms was cooked just about right without much overflowing juice on the bottom. However, if you do steam it longer and got some juice instead, like around 30 minutes, simply remove the stuffed mushrooms to the actual serving plate, then we'll make a good use of the juice.

Pour all the juice to a small pot and turn to medium heat. Aim for a bit bubbling in order to reduce the juice a bit. Towards the end, switch to lowest heat. Have some potato starch and water mixture ready, add to the reduced juice to thicken the consistency just a wee bit. Pour that sauce on top of the meatballs. A few more steps than usual but it'll make the final result even more tasty.

Extended reading:

• Fiery stuffed bell peppers in Asian sauce 超辣青椒鑲肉