Singapore Noodles

I realized today that my Instagram and Facebook are consumed by two things: Food and Ninja :) Two things I love dearly [if you are thinking where is the hubby--he's more a behind the scenes, shy guy]! This morning I woke up to almost falling off the bed, because I think Ninja does not realize he is technically a dog-- and it might not be okay for him to hog up the whole bed ;) Ninja is a spread out and take all the room I can dog. He does not realize it is wrong, because I let him get away with it- in fact we just sleep "around" him. Spoiled, is a great word to describe him. But to be fair to Ninja- he's our only baby :) He gets all of our love and attention!

Speaking of Singapore-- the hubby has decided that if we are going to Thailand- we should visit Singapore too! Not going to argue with that! Not only do I want to go to Singapore because I have a friend there that I have not seen since college- but the hubby rarely ever asks for ANYTHING (total opposite of me ;) that I always say yes, if he does actually speak up and say he'd like something. Just like Thailand, Singapore has a lot of wonderful things to see and so much culture to soak in! I wonder if they have cupcakeries in Thailand or Singapore? If they do- I have just got to go so I can review those places-- my cupcakery review page will have gone international! ::crossing my fingers::

Okay-- well I love rice noodles and I really love tofu (fried tofu). I then saw a recipe for Singapore Noodles and I also Googled a few more, to see which parts of each recipe I would like to use. The first recipe I found did not use any meat, so I thought I would just add eggs (which the second recipe included) but then while shopping at the local Asian Market, I found some fried tofu. And since I LOVE fried tofu-- I thought the tofu would be a great addition to this noodle dish and be something different for the hubby and I to try. I enjoy this recipe a lot-- and may have already made it twice since the first time I made it (two weeks ago ;) Which is rare in the household of a food blogger who attempts to make different recipes each time. How dare I make something that cannot turn into a post ;)!

I am now going to pull probably an all nighter filled with dense readings :( Hence, why I wanted to post and do something I enjoy, before I tackle that task :/ off I go...

SINGAPORE NOODLES

Adapted from Budget Bytes and No Recipes

INGREDIENTS

NOODLES
8oz. rice noodles
2 tsp. sesame oil

EGGS
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 eggs

STIR FRY VEGGIES AND TOFU
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic
3 green onions, diced
1 package of fried tofu (~13 oz.), cut**
12-16 oz. bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed/drained

SAUCE
1/2-3/4 c. chicken broth
2 tbsp. hot curry powder
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tbsp. chili garlic sauce*
3 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sriracha sauce*
2 tsp. rice-wine
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

*Optional- can exclude or add more to desired taste
**Substitute with protein of choice (I.e., chicken, pork, or remove entirely)

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, filled with hot water, soak rice noodles for 10-15 minutes (do not cook over heat). The hot water will cook and soften the noodles, without making the noodles too mushy. Once softened, drain excess liquid, rinse in cold water, and return to large pot. Toss noodles with sesame oil. Set aside.

Whisk together the four eggs. Then in a medium skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Pour eggs into skillet and scramble. Put egg on plate and set aside.

In  a large wok, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion-- saute until fragrant and the garlic is slightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Then add tofu and saute as well, for 5 minutes. Once tofu has slightly caramelized on the outside- add in stir fry vegetables and cook until heated and softened.

In a small bowl combine ingredients for sauce-- chicken broth, curry powder, oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, sriracha sauce, rice wine and Worcestershire sauce. Add sauce to vegetable-tofu stir fry. And stir for 2 minutes. Add in noodles, using chopsticks or tongs to evenly coat noodles with sauce. Allow excess sauce to be soaked into noodles and/or evaporate slightly. Once this happens, return eggs back into pan and toss with noodles to incorporate.

Enjoy,
Chika

Ramen Style Yakisoba

After we got married, the hubby and I (sadly) did not get to go on a Honeymoon. Completely my fault. You see each year, our lab attends the College on Problem of Drug Dependence. And last year, it was hosted in Palm Springs, California from June 9th-14th. Well, being that I got married on June 30th--I decided it was most practical to just stay out there. But since, I was not in school for about a month-- I could not bare asking them to take off an additional week or two to go on a honeymoon.

The hubby and I are not lay on the beach kinda of people or short trips just to say we went. We love sight-seeing, especially culturally different and historical experiences. I knew that if I went on a honeymoon, I would want to go to China, Japan, Italy/Greece, South Africa-- and if I did go to these places, I would not want to rush to go through it in less than a week. Flash forward to now: the hubby and I would like to go on a one year anniversary trip to Thailand. Which I have heard, is a bit pricey to fly there, given the distance but quite affordable to have a fun, lavish, culturally full trip! Basically, I shared all of that- to tell you that this whole morning I have been researching flight prices and things to do in Thailand :)

And now that I mentioned China and may have also been considering if the hubby and I wanted to spend our anniversary there. I began thinking of Chinese food, which I frequently crave. And what I love most about Chinese food is chicken lo mein and crab rangoons. With that being said- I have this awesome, easy, cheap Ramen style Yakisoba recipe to share with you all. Ramen is a type of noodle we are all familiar with and Yakisoba is also a type of noodle. So how so with Ramen style Yakisoba. Well it is using a Ramen noodle package to make a Yakisoba style noodle dish. The end result? Awesome :) You are probably thinking Ramen? Just try it!

RAMEN STYLE YAKISOBA

Adapted from Budget Bytes

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SAUCE
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. ketchup
(up to) 1 tbsp. Sriracha sauce*


FOR THE NOODLES
1 tbsp. of garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 chicken breast (cut in thin cutlets and then into strips)(or substitute with shrimp)**
1 bag of 12-16oz stiry fry frozen vegetable bag, thawed and drained
3 packages of Top Ramen Noodles
1-2 tsp. of sesame oil***

*The more Sriracha sauce the more spicy the noodles will be-- add to taste.
**Take chicken breast and try your best to cut it into three thin layers (horizontally). Then cut each layer into thin strips. Can use more than one chicken breast if prefer more chicken in noodles. A great substitute would be shrimp!
***This depend on how oily and "chinese food" like taste you prefer for your noodles. The more sesame oil the more oily and chinese food like taste you will achieve.

DIRECTIONS

First, prepare the sauce: in a small bowl combine the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and Sriracha sauce. Budget Bytes recommends that if you do not want your noodles to be spicy, add only 1/2 tsp of Sriracha sauce. Whisk together until ketchup has completely dissolved. Set aside.

Next, heat garlic over medium heat in a large skillet. Saute until slightly browned and fragrant. Add thin chicken strips and cook until no longer pink in the middle (5-8 minutes). Once chicken is cooked, add the frozen vegetables (thawed and drained!). Stir intermittently and cook, again for about 5-8 minutes until heated. Reduce to medium-low heat and pour stir-fry sauce over the chicken and vegetables in skillet. Combine well. Reduce to low heat-simmer until noodles are ready.

To prepare noodles boil water in a medium-large pot over medium-high heat. Once water begins boiling, add the noodles and cook until just tender (NO MORE THAN 2 minutes). You want the noodles to be slightly stiff or al dente because this prevents it from become mushy when tossing with the sauce, veggies and chicken. Drain liquid, run cold water through noodles (to prevent sticking), and return to pot (make sure there is not excess liquid before returning to pot). Toss with sesame oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Do this immediately as the noodles will begin to stick to each other very quickly!

Add noodles to stir-fry chicken and vegetable mixture--tossing well to fully incorporate noodles and coat with sauce!

Enjoy,
Chika

Chicken Lo Mein

Happy Friday! Today is my amazing mom's 61st birthday :) The hubby, Ninja and I called her bright and early to wish her a wonderful birthday. That is one of the downsides to not living near family- you do not get to spend small but important events with them. And for me- I grew up celebrating every birthday and doing everything with my family. And although the hubby is wonderful and I am thankful to spend everyday with him- I wish I could also spend more time with my family. I think this will become increasingly important for me when we decide to start a family. You want your children to grow up with cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles. That is how I grew up and I absolutely LOVED it and would not change it.

Now onto Christmas things :) I think a common tradition is to put up the Christmas Tree after Thanksgiving (on like Black Friday?). This is the first Christmas the hubby and I are having together as a married couple-making it extra special. And since we have not lived together before and have always traveled for Christmas, we have not really gotten ornaments and done the whole Christmas Tree thing together before. But- after coming home from Thanksgiving- as you have heard- we got so sick and then I had to play catch up. Yesterday was the first day I got to go to the different stores and pick up a tree and decorations. For our tree- I decided to keep it sentimental and have a peacock theme to remind us of our wedding :) The topper was handmade from Beau's step-mother for "Congrats you're married" cake. I decided to re-use it as our Christmas Tree topper because it went perfectly!

The hubby and I normally spend the Christmas Holidays with my family in California but this year- we were originally going to go on a Honeymoon since we did not have enough time off after the wedding. That planned changed to when Ninja tore his ACL and has a luxating patella. So now, we will be staying home because Ninja has his surgery this coming Monday, December 17th, 2012. And needs about 8 weeks of love, care and recovery...and of course...I will NOT be leaving my baby! I was a bit bummed, thinking we would be spending the Holidays just me and the hubby- but the Hubby's side is having a holiday party. So we will be driving to Louisiana at the end of this month! I am so excited, and we can bring Ninja :) Now food...

CHICKEN LO MEIN 

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

INGREDIENTS

8oz of dry spaghetti

2 tbsp. oyster sauce

5 tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tbsp. olive oil, divided 

2 large chicken breasts, cut into pieces

Salt and pepper into season  

1 tbsp. garlic (optional)

1 can baby carrots 

1 small carton of mushrooms

2 c. broccoli florets

5 green onions, diced 

DIRECTIONS

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water, according to package directions- usually about 7 minutes. Drain and run cold water through noodles to prevent from sticking- set aside. In a bowl- combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth and red chili pepper flake- set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper- set aside. 

Heat a wok, on medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil and garlic until garlic is golden brown. Cook chicken until no longer pink in center. Remove from wok and set aside. Heat another tbsp. of olive oil, add corn, broccoli, mushrooms, and green onions. Cook until vegetables are tender- about 3-5 minutes. Next, add chicken and noodles to vegetable mixture and toss in wok to mix well. Pour sauce over the noodles, chicken and vegetables- mix well.

Enjoy,

Chika