It's Thursday guys and damn do I wish it was Friday. Leaving work early yesterday and relaxing definitely made it feel like it was a Friday, but nooooooo, I had to face the chickadees and their nonsense for another two days, argh! Thankfully at this point, there's only one day left of the week.
After a fun filled evening of Thomas Ruff, Banks Violette, Olafur Elliason, Michael Bloomberg, and Native Son, I arrived home, made a quick dinner and settled in to write...and I thought gee, what should I discuss, recipes that shouldn't include cheese but when added, cheese adds that certain je ne sais quoi.
So what cuisines do you not associate cheese with....hmmm...first guess...anything Asian! Asian food is not typically associated with cheese, whether it is because it is simply because of cultural differences or lactose intolerance, you rarely see cheese featured in a Chinese or Japanese main course. However you do see it in dessert, occasionally, not all together too often.
The combination of flavors I'm about to recommend to you is going to seem bizarre, but trust me, it will create one of the most unique flavor profiles you have had.
Here are the ingredients, lets see where your mind, goes really, does that actually belong in this dish...no!?!?
Half a pack of udon noddles (A thick whole wheat flour noodle usually served in soups, whether it is hot or cold)
One bok choy
About ten mushrooms
Shelled edamame
One head of garlic
About the equivalent of one head of garlic in size of fresh ginger (if you don't have fresh, powdered ginger is ok, not great, but will do.)
One quarter onion
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
A drizzle of nice white cooking wine
and lastly some of Joe's Dairy fresh ricotta
Now I know you are thinking really?!!? Ricotta, ginger, bok choy, mushrooms, edamame, udon and more? Has she lost her mind!? But trust me the subtle flavors of the ricotta enhance the inherently asian flavors of the rest of the dish creating a more coherent blend of flavors in a unique manner. One side note, make sure to heat warm!
So are you wondering how to prep all of this? It is simple!
If you know how to cook pasta, you know how to cook udon, boil water with salt, drop the noodles in, lower the heat, wait till it boils and the pasta tastes done..easy as pie!
Meanwhile steam the boy choy to cut up to place over the noddles.
Now you've got two parts done and lastly cut up the ginger, garlic and onion. Throw into a pan with olive oil add salt and pepper and then throw in the sliced mushrooms and edamame, cook over very low heat. You do not want the mushrooms to condense here. You know how you can throw in like twenty mushrooms and can cook them down to look like five, that is not what you are aiming for here! Slow low heat all the way.
Once the pasta is done, combine it in the sauce pan with the mushrooms and edamame and stir. Then pour all of that into a bowl combine with chopped bok choy and some ricotta and mix throughly together and enjoy! I'd eat this meal with a nice glass of either Harushika Tokimeki, one of the best Sparkling sakes I've had or Dassai 50 Sake, Junmai Gingo Nigori which is an unfiltered lightly cloudy milky but very delicate sake.
Enjoy!
For dessert I recommend mochi or one of Kyotofu's creations!
Check back tomorrow for a shift from the Far East!
Good night all.
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