PJ's Hot and Spicy Asian Noodles

Ingredients

1 medium red onion sliced thin

1 medium carrot sliced 1/8” thick on the diagonal

3/4 cup sliced shitake or porcini mushrooms  (shitake stems are tough and should not be added; instead boil and strain for broth)

1 clove of garlic crushed or micro-planed

1 fresh Thai or Serrano chili slice razor thin be sure to only add to your personal heat tolerance!

1 scallion sliced on lengthwise and than chopped in 1" pieces

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 heaping teaspoon of coarsely chopped cilantro

1 small splash of sherry or semi sweet white wine

1 serving size pack of Udon noodles

¼ red or yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips

1 pinch of ground ginger

1 browned chicken breast cubed and seasoned optional

Preparation 

Take and sauté all the vegetables in a medium sauce pan, deep frying pan or wok with one tablespoon vegetable oil (add a small pat of butter for a touch of added flavor) until tender. Deglaze pan with wine. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add Udon noodles. Add  just a pinch of ground ginger and add 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice and a tablespoon of soy sauce. Cook until tender and stir in Cilantro.

PJ's Tips!

When limes are on sale buy a bag of them.  Juice them and freeze the juice in ice cube trays.  Remove the cubes and store them in a Ziploc bag in your freezer for easy use.

IQF herbs.  Take fresh herbs such as Cilantro wash and chop as you would expect for your recipes.  Take a cookie sheet covered with parchment or wax paper and spread the herbs out on the sheet.  Freeze over night.  Break up the frozen herbs and fill bags or freezer containers with the herbs that have become scoop-able and easy to measure for your favorite dishes.  As long as they stay frozen they won’t clump or block!  This works for chilies and scallions as well!

Those of you who really know me know that I like to cook.  If I didn't, I would probably starve! =) Not only that but I like create!  I have a bit of an obsession with growing and making things.  When I try or see something new and different being done, I research and try to replicate or impart different elements of it into something new and unique.  I guess the trendy term for this these days is fusion!  It certainly helps to have an aptitude for science and the desire to learn to cook on the fly.  Though having studied and worked in the food science industry has given me many of the tools that it takes to just throw things together in the correct manner.  My wife Megan accuses me of not having recipes but on contrary, I do, they are stored upstairs and they are ever changing.  So, anyhow I created this blog because a couple of old friends suggested that I do so, to share what I've come up with and to prove to Megan that I do in fact have the recipes.  Enjoy! =)