Soba/Buckwheat Noodle Salad

This is a simple healthy meal perfect for summer, as the dish is often eaten cold. I bought some soba or Japanese buckwheat noodles to try, as I’ve heard of its excellent nutritional value. Have you followed any food fad recently?


Here’s what I learned while researching buckwheat. Buckwheat isn’t actually a grain; it comes from a hardy, weed-like plant related to rhubarb. Its seeds are used for centuries as staple food. Buckwheat is therefore gluten free and can be eaten by people with coeliac disease. It is high in protein, fiber, magnesium, copper, manganese, antioxidant flavonoids (especially rutin) and lignans. Diets that contain high intake of buckwheat have been linked to lower risk of developing high cholesterol, gallstones, and diabetes.

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 bundles of soba noodles

1 capsicum, julienned

1 carrot, julienned

Snow peas

4 dried shitake mushrooms

1 piece of chicken breast

2 cm piece of fresh ginger

2 stalks of spring onions

4 tbsp soba sauce (or use gluten free soy sauce)

1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1.          Poach chicken breast in a pot of simmering water.

2.          Add to it sliced ginger and the dried shitake mushrooms.

3.          When the chicken is cooked (about 15 mins), set it aside to rest.

4.          Blanch the snow peas and capsicum for about 2-3 minutes, drain.

5.          Cook the noodles in boiling water for about 10 minutes, drain.

6.          Add the soba sauce and sesame oil to the noodles, toss well to coat.

7.          Slice the chicken and mushrooms.

8.          Toss all ingredients with the noodles.

9.          Top with a sprinkle of chopped spring onions.

Sushi Rolls or Californian Rolls

The boys love homemade rolls to take for school lunches, although they often have to be restrained from polishing all the rolls off when I make them the night before. They report that my rolls are way better than the $2.50 version from their school canteen.

I’m not a big fan of raw fish, so I often make Californian rolls, chicken, tuna or pork floss rolls.

For the sushi rice

2 cups of sushi rice (will make 5-6 rolls)

2 cups of water

2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp sushi vinegar

Method

1.          Wash the rice until the water runs clear.

2.          Cook in electric rice cooker.

3.          Spread hot rice in a bamboo bowl (sushi-oke) or any non-metallic bowl.

4.          Sprinkle on the sugar and vinegar and mix until evenly spread.

5.          Let the rice cool before you start rolling.

Rice cooling in the bamboo bowl.

Rolling the Californian rolls.

What are your favourite ingredients in your sushi rolls?

Quick thrown together Okonomiyaki

This is a quick "I'm too lazy to cook" dinner, the ingredients can be improvised depending on what you have in the fridge. This bastardized version of the Japanese pizza tasted just fine!

Ingredients (for 4 large okonomiyakis)

For the pancakes:

1 1/2 cups plain flour

250ml stock or water

3 eggs

2 cups shredded cabbage

1/2 finely sliced onion

1/2 shredded zucchini

6 prawns, chopped

100g of smoked salmon, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

For the sauce:

5 tbsps of BBQ sauce

2 tbsps of tomato sauce

1 tbsp of Kecap Manis

1 tbsp of brown sugar

Method

1. Mix the flour and stock until non lumpy. Add in the eggs, roughly beaten. It should be a thick paste.

2. Add all the veges and meat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Heat a little oil in a flat frying pan. 

4. Spread the mixture to about 2cm thick. Size adjusted to your own preference. 

5. When the down side is crisp, flip it around and pressed down.

6. Stir all the sauce ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved.

7. Serve okonomiyaki with Japanese mayonnaise and homemade okonomiyaki sauce.