garlic miso soba bowl

i was just looking through old posts while getting ready to write about last night's soba bowl and it is clear that i like soba. a lot. these delicious bowls of noodley goodness get way more attention than my equally beloved quinoa bowl creations, hmm.

after being in vacation diet mode in boston last weekend i was eager to get back into the kitchen on monday and get back into my dinner planning/cooking groove. we have a lot of miso in the fridge so i decided to make a sauce out of it and toss with some soba noodles that i saw peeking out from behind the bag of flour. from there i just went to the store and picked up what looked tasty.

garlic miso soba
ingredients:
for sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon mirin
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon red miso
2 1/2 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 bunches baby bok choy, stalks and leaves thinly sliced
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, chopped into 2 inch(ish) pieces
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
6 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into slabs
2 tablespoons sherry (or mirin or sake)
1 tablespoons soy sauce
handful toasted slivered almonds

soba noodles, cooked according to package instructions.

saute garlic in 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil until fragrant and lightly browned. transfer to a small bowl and whisk together with the rest of the sauce ingredients. set aside.

after cooking the garlic, use the same pan to pan fry your tofu slabs a few minutes on each side until lightly browned and springy. remove from heat and once cool cut into small cubes. set aside.

add a little oil to a pan and saute the bok choy and enoki for a few minutes until they begin to soften. mix together the soy sauce and sherry and add to the pan. cook a few more minutes and remove from heat.

toss the cooked soba with the garlic miso sauce. divide into bowls and top with bok choy mixture, tofu, raw pepper and toasted almonds.

-d

sesame soba noodles

After a long, cold winter, Boston is finally experiencing a bit of a warm spell. So while I am certain it will be freezing again by the end of the week (I don't trust those weather people!) I am taking advantage of the restorative properties of the sunshine and making some cool, refreshing salads. While the farmers markets have yet to start up in New England - only a few more weeks!! - the grocery has perfectly respectable fresh veggies. They may not be local, but right now, I'm alright with that. This is a nice, and very versatile, noodle salad. You could really throw just about any vegetable in there, but this combination works really well! I ended up using normal, not baby, bok choy, as my store was out that day. Instead of using it raw, I blanched the bok choy, and it worked just fine.

Sesame Soba Noodles
Bon Appetit, June 2008

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper, divided
1/3 cup canola oil
8 ounces soba noodles
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
3 cups (loosely packed) mixed baby greens
2 heads of baby bok choy, cored, thinly sliced crosswise
1 English hothouse cucumber, sliced
3 green onions, cut into matchstick-size strips
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Salted roasted peanuts

Puree first 9 ingredients and 1 teaspoon red pepper in blender until smooth. With machine running, gradually add canola oil through opening in lid. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook soba noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Using kitchen shears, cut noodles crosswise in 2 to 3 places. Drizzle noodles in strainer with sesame oil and toss to coat.

Place greens, bok choy, cucumber, green onions, chopped cilantro, and mint in large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon red pepper, dressing, and noodles; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and peanuts and serve.

- e

grilled sesame bok choy & brussels sprouts

our dinner last night was inspired by a meal we had last saturday. after being on our list of places to try for probably about a year, we finally made it to eos wine bar and restaurant in cole valley. loved it! we sat in the wine salon (definitely their phrase, not mine), tried some wine flights and nibbled on a variety of small plates. two of those dishes being grilled bok choy with tofu and grape tomatoes and sesame roasted brussels sprouts. we combined the two into grilled sesame bok choy and brussels sprouts and served it over brown rice. i cooked the vegetables in our grill pan (which i love but don't use nearly as often as i should because i hate cleaning it) but if you don't have one i think it would work well in a normal old pan too.

grilled sesame bok choy & brussels sprouts with brown rice
ingredients:
1 cup short grain brown rice
bok choy (i had 3 smallish sized bunches) top leaves trimmed
brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, bottoms trimmed and cut in half
olive oil
sesame seeds
sesame oil
crushed red chili flakes
1/3 cup peanuts, toasted and chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black

get the rice going according to package instructions

in a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper and set aside. chop the cilantro but keep separate for now.

heat your grill pan. brush the bok choy with olive oil and cook on each side for a couple minutes until softened and grill lines appear. once they're cooked, transfer to a regular pan. drizzle with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds and chili flakes to taste. toss for a minute or two.

toss your halved brussels sprouts with olive oil to coat. cook in the grill pan the same way you did the bok choy. once cooked, move to regular pan to toss with sesame oil, sesame seeds and chili flakes.

when the rice is done cooking pour the sauce over it and mix to combine. stir in the chopped cilantro.

serve the vegetables over rice and garnish with peanuts.

-d