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Shrimp with garlic and soba

May 6, 2011 by greg Leave a Comment

I love Spanish tapas and one of my favorites is the classic Gambas al ajillo, or shrimp with garlic. I like it really garlicky with lots of crushed red pepper and a bit of lemon to finish it off. It is great on its own but just as nice tossed with soba noodles.
The great thing about this is that it is easy and quick to prepare. I heated up my wok and added butter and olive oil. I threw in a half teaspoon of a nice crushed red pepper in oil. This was an Asian jarred chili in oil that I found in my local market. You could use just dried red pepper flakes too but I find the chili in oil tends to infuse in the cooking oil better. In went the shrimp and lots of chopped garlic. This was tossed in the pan for a minute or two until the shrimp were just cooked and then a couple tablespoons of lemon juice were added. The cooked soba noodles were mixed in and everything was plated up.

Filed Under: Spanish Tagged With: shrimp, soba

Four Courses

June 26, 2010 by greg Leave a Comment

I was inspired reading food blogs to make a light and healthy multi-course dinner that would please the palate but not pack on the pounds. I think I succeeded.
First up: Tomato and Rhubarb Salad with Taragon

This salad exceeded all my expectations. For two servings I used one half of a tomato, chopped, and two thin stalks of celery. To this was added a couple tablespoons of fresh French tarragon – the kind that has that nice anisey bite to it. A couple tablespoons of olive oil, a splash of rice vinegar, a sprinkle of sugar, salt and pepper and that was all it took to create this salad. I served it on a bed of shredded romaine lettuce. The tarragon married beautifully with the tomato and rhubarb.
Second course: Eggplant and Tomato over Shiratake Tofu Noodles
I have fallen in love with Shiratake noodles. They are made from soybeans, have very low carbs and essentially no calories (20 per serving). I took one Asian eggplant and the other half of that tomato and stewed it up with salt, pepper and garlic. I added a splash of balsamic vinegar and finished the dish with fresh oregano.
Third course: Chicken and Herb Sausage with Sprouted Peas and Carrots

I have been experimenting with sprouts lately. One of the things I have discovered are the dried green and yellow whole peas from my local Indian market sprout beautifully. I just soak them overnight in water, drain them and then rinse the peas two or three times a day. After a few days the start to show their roots. I love them at this stage. They are not quite as sweet as a fresh pea but not as starchy as the dried peas. They are alive and the starches are being acted upon by enzymes to convert the starch to the plants food, sugar. They cook up nicely. This dish was a simple sauté of the peas, carrots and sausage. What really made the dish was the addition of dried chipotle pepper. It provided a wonderful spicy smokiness that tied it all together.
Last but not least: Spicy Garlic Shrimp and Soba

I just threw together some shrimp, garlic, commercial chili flakes in oil, salt and pepper and flash sautéed them. Just as the shrimp were about done I threw in cooked soba noodles and tossed them all together in the pan. YUMMY!
Hope you enjoyed this. You CAN make great tasting food without the fat and calories.
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: chicken sausage, eggplant, light and healthy, rhubarb, salad, shiratake, shrimp, soba, sprouted peas, tomato

Soba stir fry

February 19, 2009 by greg Leave a Comment

Can you stand more soba noodles? I can. This time I put them into a stir fry dish. I cooked up some carrots, cauliflower and red, yellow and orange peppers with some garlic and ginger. I quickly boiled the noodles and added it to the stir fry pan. The whole dish was seasoned with soy sauce, a bit of garlic chili sauce and sesame oil.

Filed Under: vegetarian Tagged With: soba, stir fry

Cold Soba Noodles

February 18, 2009 by greg Leave a Comment

Soba – ?? – Japanese buckwheat noodles

I love cold noodle salads. It doesn’t matter what kind of pasta for me. All that matters is that it is flavorful. Japanese cuisine is so amazing in it’s complicated simplicity. The Japanese like attention to detail and have a knack for combining just a few flavors with textures so that everything is clean and harmonious. Soba noodles have a subtle earthy buckwheat flavor that you really don’t want to completely cover up. So, this noodle salad I made combines a few Asian influences that highlights the buckwheat rather than snuffs it out. It is so easy to prepare and so satisfyingly flavorful.

I boiled the soba just until tender but still slightly al dente. You don’t want them soft and soggy. I rinsed them with cold water to chill and let them drain. I mashed up one large clove of garlic finely. I thinly sliced a few green onions. These were mixed with the noodles along with a splash of toasted sesame oil, a splash of soy sauce, a splash of rice vinegar and a few drops of nuoc mam Vietnamese fish sauce. No, I didn’t measure anything. I just added what I thought would be enough. You don’t want the noodles swimming in dressing. You just want to coat the lightly with these flavorful ingredients. That’s it! Plate it up and enjoy. I think the garlic flavors are better if you let the salad chill for a few hours before eating.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cold soba noodles, salad, soba

Soba Stir Fry

May 14, 2008 by greg 1 Comment

Nothing like the thought of Asian food to make me start instantly salivating. I made this chicken, broccoli and soba noodle stir fry and it really hit the spot. I first cooked the soba noodles and set it aside. Then I quickly stir-fried some broccoli, garlic and ginger in a mixture of olive oil and sesame oil. Once they were just slightly cooked I removed them from the wok. The chicken was marinated in a mixture of soy, sesame oil, mirin, and a splash of teriyaki sauce. This was added to the hot wok and fried just until cooked. The veggies were added back to the wok and the noodles were tossed in. I did add some more soy, sesame oil, mirin and teriyaki sauce. A quick toss and everything was nicely mixed together. 

Filed Under: chicken Tagged With: soba, stir fry
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