Monday Noodle and Tofu Night

Still trying to adhere to my meatless Mondays, I find how much of a challenge it can be to do a good variety of dinners without meat.  As you might have noticed, we are a family of meat lovers.  And tasked with the challenge of finding something the kids will eat other than pasta every Monday is a bit of a hurdle.  I need to consult outside sources for vegetarian ideas.  But tonight, I went to an old standby.  One which always gets a little hooray from the gals.  One that gets the "oh, are we having those really good noodles we like?"  So, why not dip in that well as often as possible?


Wok Fried Noodles 
2 Cups mixed mushrooms (I used fresh Shiitake, Crimini, and King Oyster)
1 Cup sliced sweet onions
1 Cup bean sprouts
4 Baby bok choy, cut in half cross wise
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
16 oz dried noodles.  I used a wheat flour, udon noodle


Make a sauce containing:
3/4 cup chicken stock
1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1.5 tbsp cooking wine
1 tsp sesame oil
a few twists of freshly ground black pepper


Boil a large pot of water and cook noodles according to the instructions on the package, minus a minute or so to al dente.  Drain and run under cold water to keep them from sticking together.  


Scramble eggs first in your wok.  Remove and set aside.  Heat your wok over high heat and add in 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Fry the onion, garlic, and ginger until fragrant.  Add in the mushrooms and baby bok choy and fry for another minute.  Then add in the sauce and bring to a boil.  Toss in the noodles, eggs and bean sprouts and fry for a few more minutes, tossing only a couple of times to incorporate everything.
This made enough for lunch for the girls the next day.  Bonus!


OK, so I'm guessing though I may not have a whole fan club for tofu, I must have a few people standing by my side on this.  I actually love tofu.  One, it's good for you.  Two, it takes on whatever flavor you want.  So for me, a szechuan loving, bold flavor craving, love to eat person, tofu seems to be a good route to go.  I mean, can you eat enough tofu to make you worry about gaining weight, or clogging your arteries.  I suppose if I fried it... which actually was one thought for tonight, but then I got too lazy.  This tofu is a tasty little treat.  Great flavor, low fat (one of the few times you'll see such a thing on the blog), and easy to make.


Braised Tofu with Shiitake Mushrooms
6-8 Dried Shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and then soaked in hot water until soft, keep the liquid
1 pkg tofu, sliced into 1/3" thick squares
4 slices ginger
4 Scallions cut into 2" sections
3 Tbsp dark soy
2 Tbsp cooking wine
1 cup liquid from the shiitake mushrooms
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp corn starch mixed with 2 tbsp water


Heat wok with 1 tbsp vegetable oil.  Add in ginger and fry until fragrant.  Then add in soy, wine, sugar, pepper and liquid from shiitake mushrooms.  Bring to a boil.  Add in shiitake mushrooms and scallions and simmer for about 7 minutes.  Add in tofu, stir to incorporate, cover and let simmer for another 5 minutes.  Add enough corn starch water mixture to thicken sauce slightly to the consistency of a thin gravy.

Comments

Popular Posts