Dry Noodles with Sesame Sauce - 芝麻醬乾拌麵

7:30 a.m. That's the time I woke up today, on a Saturday morning,
I guess I was too hungry....it's hard to sleep in when my stomach is calling for food,
So I poured some frosted flakes cereal with some milk,
Wait until it gets soggy..., then I finished it in 3 minutes..
(I like my frosted flakes soft instead of crunchy,
And I try to finish the cereal first then enjoy the sweetened milk in the end,
Personal habit since childhood!
But am I the only one doing this?)

Couple hours passed...
Gurrrrrr........my stomach is making noises again....am I that hungry?
It was still early in the morning...around 10ish...
Making lunch around 10 seems a little bit too early for me....plus it'll take a while for the rice to be cooked...

As I opened the fridge, saw this jar of sesame sauce hiding in the corner,
Sobbing maybe, I've been ignoring that jar for a while,
Just that I rarely use sesame sauce except for hot pot meals..
Ding!
Suddenly a "light bulb" popped up above my head,

Let me make something filling and easy, something that I don't need to wash too many dishes afterwards, my simplified dan dan noodles!-


Ingredients?

1 bundle of udon noodles (or any kind of noodles per your preference)
1.5 tablespoons of sesame sauce (I used two tablespoons because I like the sauce to be thicker)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of chili oil
2 teaspoons of black vinegar
Some toasted sesame seeds
Water

How?

Boil a pot of water to cook the noodles,
Meanwhile, let's prepare the sauce.

Mix together the soy sauce, chicken stock, sesame sauce, sugar, chili oil, and black vinegar,
Stir in the noodles when it's done,

I didn't drain it really well because I want some hot water in my sauce mixture,
It's about 1 tablespoon of extra hot water.

Mix the noodles with the sauce,
Add some toasted sesame seeds before serving,
Some extra chopped scallions will be good too, just that I don't have any left in my fridge.
The amount of vinegar and chili oil can be adjusted depending on your personal taste.


This time it took me 5 minutes to finish up the noodles,
Slurp!
Re-energized, I think it'll last me few more hours till lunch time!

Cindy's Rating: 7

Curry Flavored Stir Fry Veggies - 咖哩炒青蔬

How do you make stir fry vegetables?

Usually I'm pretty light on the seasonings for this dish,

Salt, pepper, sometimes with some soy sauce or ponzu sauce,

But after a while, I mean like months of the same stir fry veggies...

I finally got kind of sick of it...well...let me put it this way...I wanna try something new,

Or at least something "heavier."

So here it is, stir fry veggies with curry!-

Ingredients?

1 pack of bean sprouts

1 pack of bunashimeji mushrooms (or other kind of mushrooms) (stemmed)

1/2 of sliced onion

1 can of chopped tomatoes or 1 large fresh tomatoes (peeled, cubed)

2 spicy curry cubes

Some toasted sesame seeds

Some dried seaweed flakes

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

Olive oil

Water

How?

Drizzle some olive oil in the pan, toss in sliced onions and sprinkle some salt and pepper,

Cook till the onions turned translucent,

Add the mushrooms, bean sprouts, and some soy sauce,

Give it a quick stir, cook for about 1 minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes to the mixture,

I used canned roasted tomatoes, it's easier and gives more flavor to the dish,

But fresh tomatoes work too, just need to cook a little bit longer till it softens.

Meanwhile,

have a small pot ready, toss in the curry cubes and pour about 1/3 cup of water,

Turn to medium heat, stir it constantly so the curry won't burned.

Transfer the curry sauce to the veggie mixture, mix them well,

That's about it, your heavy flavored stir fry dish is ready.

Sprinkle some sesame seeds and seaweed flakes before serving.

This makes a perfect heavy donburi too!

Cindy's Rating: 7