Monday, June 25, 2012

Nabeyaki Udon

Holy Vegan Diet Batman! This is awesome!

So I'm a little excited about this recipe for a few reasons. The first is that it is vegan and tasty so I don't feel deprived.  The second is I got to play with some new vegetables and some that I'm already a huge fan of. The third is I think this is something I can very easily make at work by putting all of the ingredients in a mason jar and then adding hot water during my break. So first, let me give you the ingredients of the original recipe and then my modifications in parenthesis.

1 dried shitake mushroom (I couldn't find dried so I used fresh.)
1 tablespoon maitake mushrooms (yeah, those were $13 and I already have white mushrooms in my fridge that I need to use so I used those.)

Sauce

2-4 tsp shoyu (aka soy sauce)
3-4 tbs water from the shitake mushrooms (I used water)
5-8 drops ginger juice (I used the Ginger People brand. I <3 their products)
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice or rice vinegar

Vegetables

1 carrot cut into bite size pieces (I used shredded carrots and broccoli slaw from Trader Joe's to save on time)
1 stalk broccoli cut into bite size pieces (see above)
1 leek cut into bite size pieces, white and green part
1 baby bok choy
1 handful bean sprouts
2-3 napa cabbage leaves or collards roughly chopped (I used Savoy cabbage)
4-6 Dandelion Greens, roughly chopped (I couldn't find any but I'll keep my eyes open next time I'm at the farmer's market)
1" piece of kombu

1 package of Udon Noodles (I could only find Chow Mein)



So the first thing I did was start chopping my vegetables.








After I chopped each one I would throw it into a large bowl. The broccoli slaw was super easy since it is already shredded. The leeks were fun because I've never actually cut up a leek. I got the pre-trimmed leeks from Trader Joe's so I think that took out most of the leg work and margin of error. I did some mild internet research on my phone but mostly just chopped them up like shallots. I added in some extra bok choy and cabbage because I personally love both of them.



Next I got my veggies and my noodles on the stove to boil. The veggies cooked super quick (2-3 minutes). I could probably do a little less time when I do this again. I did want a little bit more crunch but what it ended up being was still super delicious and not mushy or soggy.

Finally I made the sauce. Super quick and easy.



So technically there is a whole keeping the noodles, veggies and sauce separate and doing a dipping thing.


I decided to mix everything together and just made a simple soup.


I think it's really good. The sauce adds a little salty flavor but not too much. So I think it was a successful dinner and in the future will be a successful lunch if I put the udon noodles in the bottom of the mason jar, chopped veggies on top, add the sauce and then at work add the hot water.

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