I got this bottle of sesame sauce from a Japanese grocery store the other day -
Unlike traditional Chinese sesame sauce, the Japanese version yields a more liquid texture with lighter taste. I think it'll be a perfect condiment as soup base or dipping sauce. Read on to see how I transformed this sauce into a comforting lunch!
Japanese Style Dan Dan Noodles - 日式芝麻担担麵
Ingredients (for two)?
Soup:
3 cups of pork bone or chicken stock
1/2 cup of Japanese sesame sauce
1 tablespoon of homemade chili sauce (my dad made it!)
Meat:
1 lb of ground pork
5 garlic cloves
3 fresh red chilies
1 stalk of scallion
1 1/2 tablespoon of Hatcho miso 八丁味噌 (or any other type of red miso)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
Some olive oil
Some salt
Some freshly ground black pepper
Other:
2 portions of ramen noodles
1 small cucumber
Some toasted black and white sesame seeds
Some Sichuan peppercorn chili oil
How?
Let's start with ground pork.
Peel and finely chop the garlic, finely chop the chili pepper and scallion,
Drizzle enough olive oil to evenly coat the pan, turn to medium high heat, toss in chopped garlic, chilies, and scallion,
Sprinkle some salt and pepper, give it a quick stir, cook till the aroma comes out but not burning the garlic.
Add in ground pork along with soy cause and Hatcho miso,
Mix well, cook till all the juice has been reduced, remove from heat for later use.
If you don't feel like dan dan noodles, this stir fry ground pork still serves as a perfect side dish for dry noodles or rice. Maybe even better if you add a sunny side up egg on top!
To make the soup, simply whisk all the ingredients in a medium pot while heating it up,
You can adjust the portion for chili sauce depend on how much heat can you tolerate (evil grin)*
As for the cucumber, just julienne it and store in the fridge while waiting for other parts to be ready,
It'll be a nice hot and cold contrast when serving the dish.
Prepare a pot of water to cook the ramen noodles,
In the meantime, scoop in some soup into a big bowl (or two),
Once the noodles are done, drain well and transfer to the bowl,
Then we top it with generous portion of stir fry ground pork,
Lastly, some very cold julienned cucumber, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds, and drizzle some Sichuan peppercorn oil all around to add more kick to the dish -
Don't be picky about my fat cucumber strips!
I'm very bad at julienning vegetables, especially carrot,
Fat cucumber strips or bloody finger, pick one!
Cindy's Rating: 8
Am I too late for Halloween?
I finally managed to chop down some fat monsters' fingers just couple days before Halloween. Overwhelmed with endless chores, maybe this post was a little bit too late for such a greenish festival. But even though Halloween might just pass few hours ago, our spooky spirits remain right!?
Ingredients (for about 15 fat fingers or 20 skinnier fingers)?
1 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of almond butter
1 egg
15 or more almond halves
Few drops of vanilla extract
Small pinch of sea salt
Some Japanese matcha powder
How?
Beat the egg and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
In another container, mix together room temperature butter, almond butter, sugar, and salt. Once fully combined, add in the egg mixture and blend till smooth in texture.
Gradually add in the flour while mixing in slow speed,
Mix till no white flour bits present, divide the dough in half.
Wrap 1/2 of the dough with foil,
As for the other half, keep blending while adding matcha powder a tiny bit at a time till it reaches desired yucky green color,
When the dough is ready, wrap with foil.
Transfer the dough to the fridge to chill for about 15 to 20 minutes,
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line the parchment paper on a baking sheet.
I also halved the almonds while waiting for the dough and the oven,
This is my dummy way to halve the almonds -
Push the almond in between the fork to position it tightly,
Aim the center with a sharp knife and carefully cut the almond in half.
Take the dough out and start our art lesson,
Just like playing with clay when you're a little kid, simply grad some dough and roll out some fingers! I tried to make some big deformed Frankenstein-like knuckles but yeah..not very successful..
Score the dough with fork that resembles the wrinkles on our fingers,
Gently push down each almond halves on finger tips to make ugly nails.
It was my first time making Halloween fingers so I got a little bit too greedy, turned out I got fat fingers.
If you want regular size fingers, remember to make skinny logs while forming the dough.
Into the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes,
If you prefer a softer bite, 10 minutes should be enough.
Despite their creepy looks, the almond and matcha flavor actually taste pretty good. In fact, I'm glad I got fat fingers because it means more bites in one cookie!
Cindy's Rating: 7
