Black Food Rocks! Black Yakiudon (焼きうどん)

Something garlicky and spicy, something bouncy and slurpy, something irresistible and perhaps evil. This is a plate full of dark matters - this is a plate of black yakiudon. 

Ready to darken yourself?

Black yakiudon (焼きうどん) -

Ingredients (for 6 portions)?

• 900 grams udon
• 0.7 lb matsuzaka pork slices or any thick-cut shabu pork slices
• 6 to 8 shiitake mushrooms
• 6 to 8 bok choy
• 1 carrot
• 1/4 cabbage
• 1 onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 red chilies
• 1 stalk scallion
• 2 teaspoons grated or finely chopped ginger
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce paste
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons Japanese tsuyu (double concentrated)
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons squid ink
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Some kimchi or pickled red ginger (beni shoga)
• Some bonito flakes (katsuobushi)

How?

Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Trim off the scallion stem and cut the remaining in about 2-inch long sections. Destem and chop the chilies. Peel and slice the onion. 

Destem and slice shiitake mushrooms. Peel and julienne the carrot. Tear the cabbage into large bite size pieces. Tear the bok choy into strips and cut to shorter or thinner strips if needed.

Cook the udon till about 70% cooked-through. Drain and set aside for later use. You can even rinse or soak the udon with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Use a big pot or a wok, drizzle some olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Add in the onion along with salt and pepper. Give it a quick stir and cook till translucent.

Add in garlic, scallion, chilies, and ginger. Cook till aromatic but not burning the garlic.

Transfer the pork to the pot and sear till some fat renders. Add the carrot and shiitake to the mixture. The shiitake will absorb all the extra fat from the pork and become tender and juicy.

Transfer the cabbage over, it might appear almost overflowing the pot but do not worry. The cabbage will start to wilt after a while. Once that happens, transfer the bok choy over.

Add the soy sauce paste, oyster sauce, tsuyu, mirin and mix well. Cook for couple more minutes to fully incorporate all the flavors. 

Add in the squid ink and mix gently to avoid lumps. Transfer the udon over and cook till it reaches desired texture.

Plate the udon and serve some kimchi or pickled red ginger on the side. Only add some katsuobushi right before serving so it can start "dancing" with the help from the heat below.

May the force be with you. 


Other udon recipes:

• Quick fix meal - Instant udon with mentaiko, panko, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Japanese curry nabe for two - To make it even better? Top it with an egg

Chicken Stir-Fry with a Secret Aromatic Weapon - Cilantro

Cilantro is truly a love and hate ingredient. To some people, cilantro is an irreplaceable aromatic that make a dish shine, especially in Asian countries. But to some, cilantro is nothing more than a soapy, scary tasting thing. Well, believe it or not, it has to do with genes. Some people's olfactory-receptor genes, OR6A2 specifically speaking, can pick up certain aldehyde chemicals. Aldehyde chemicals can be found in cilantro and some soap. And I guess soapy is not a welcomed aroma when presents in food.

Luckily I don't have such concerns and would love to just dive in cilantro paradise. However, if you just can't accept cilantro whatsoever, simply swap out cilantro with flat leaf parsley. The result will just be as aromatic, without the soapy taste. 

Chicken stir-fry with lots of cilantro -

Ingredients?

• 1 large chicken breast
• 1 small bundle cilantro
• 3 medium king oyster mushroom
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 small can of kernel corn
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Some white pepper powder
• Few dashes fish sauce

How?

Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Peel and cube the carrot. Cube the king oyster mushrooms. Cube the chicken. There is no need to marinate the chicken first, the cilantro will do most of the flavoring work. 

Finely chop the cilantro, it should loosely packed a small bowl. Drain the juice from canned kernel corn.

Drizzle enough oil to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Turn to medium high heat and add in chopped garlic along with salt and pepper. Mix a little and cook till aromatic but not burnt.

Add the chicken and cook till the meat is about half way cooked through.

Add in the carrot and mushroom, cook for a short moment then add in few dashes of fish sauce.

Add in drained kernel corn and cook till the corn warms up. Lastly, mix in chopped cilantro and some white pepper powder. Taste and see if need to pump up the saltiness by using extra fish sauce.

Plate and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Do not discard the cilantro steams. Use both the leaves and stems for maximum flavor boost. In fact, the texture of the stems actually works better in stir-fry dishes.


Other recipes where the aroma of cilantro shines:

• A little Southeast Asian flair - seared chicken with Laotian spicy sauce
• Quick and easy tomato chicken stew
• Don't throw away those cilantro stems just yet, give this egg recipe a try
• Grilled shrimp quesadilla with spicy homemade salsa - carne asada seasoning also works well on seafood