Thai One On

Thai Beef Noodle Salad (Canadian Living Special Issue: Market Fresh)
I love Thai food, but I’m almost never able to reproduce it at home.  This attempt was no exception.

1 lb beef flank marinating steak 1 piece english cucumber 1 large carrot 6 oz wide rice-stick noodles quarter red onion, thinly sliced 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander and mint 3 tbsp thai basil or other basil leaves 1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp sesame oil and vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp grated ginger root 1 tbsp granulated sugar 1/2 cup hot water 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tbsp lime juice 2 tbsp fish sauce 2 thai or serrano chilies

Marinade: In glass baking dish, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, and sugar; add steak, turning to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally.
Dressing: In jar with tight-fitting lid, shake water with sugar until dissolved.  Add lime juice, fish sauce and chilies.  Shake to mix. 

OR, put it in a pyrex container with a non-tight-fitting lid and shake dressing, splattering it all over your kitchen.  Like I did.
Using vegetable peeler, slice cucumber  lengthwise into thin strips, slicing around centre seeds.  Slice carrots lengthwise into thin strips; set aside.
In large pot of boiling salted water, cook rice noodles for 6 to 7 minutes or until tender.  Drain and hill under cold water; drain and transfer to large bowl.  Toss with dressing.  Set aside.
Discarding marinade, place steak on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and grill, turning once, for about 8 minutes for medium-rare or until desired doneness.   Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil; let stand for 5 minutes.  Thinly slice against the grain.

Add cucumber, carrot, onion, coriander, mint and basil to noodle mixture; toss to coat.  Divide among bowls or plates; top with steak and sprinkle with peanuts.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.
This was probably the tastiest Thai-inspired steak ever.  It was probably the grossest noodle salad though, since I definitely overcooked the noodles.  And it made TERRIBLE leftovers, which is tragic because without leftovers I would starve.

This is Soup?

Technorati Tags: Food,Soup,Noodles,Peanut Butter,Tofu

Dish: Vegetable Lo Mein (Reader’s Digest Ultimate Soup Cookbook)

I decided it was finally time to crack open the Betty Crocker Stainless Steel Skillet (say that 3 times fast) that my boyfriend gave me LAST CHRISTMAS (I am a failure), and figured an Asian dish was the best thing to try in it (since it is the only thing I own even approximating a wok). And the dish was vegetarian. How can I go wrong?

4 oz Asian egg noodles or thin egg noodles 1 tbsp peanut butter or vegetable oil 3 scallions, finely chopped, with tops sliced and reserved 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp minced fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger 2 celery stalks, sliced thin 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin 1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced thin 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water 2 cups broccoli florets 1 tbsp cornstarch 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce 1 tbsp dry sherry 1 tsp Asian sesame or peanut oil 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 lb firm tofu, cut into 3/4” cubes

Yeah, yeah. Some of you are scared of the tofu. Don’t be. It tastes like ginger and soy sauce. In this case.

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt, and then drain and set aside.

2. In a heavy 12” skillet over medium-high heat, heat peanut oil. Add scallions, garlic and ginger and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add celery, carrots, and mushrooms and stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth, cover, and simmer 3 minutes. Add broccoli, cover and simmer 2 minutes.

So, yeah, scallions, garlic and ginger:

Then celery, carrots and mushrooms:

Then add the broccoli and cover, which is great, if you’ve got a cover. If you don’t, do your best to make a layered, shingled tinfoil roof to protect your broccoli from drying out. It should be nice and bright green. That way you know it’s still got the healthy goodness of broccoli, which is the true reason to eat broccoli (and not my secret true reason: awesome cheese sauce vehicle).

3. In a small bowl, combine remaining chicken broth with cornstarch, soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil and sugar. Add to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thick, about 4 minutes. Add noodles and tofu, cover, and simmer 2 minutes or until tofu is heated through. Transfer to a bowl, toss gently and sprinkle with sliced scallion tops.

The unfortunate thing about the sauce is that it turns just about everything in the pan an unfortunate blech colour. Also, I found that in this case, despite the blech colour, I was wanting a little bit more sauce. Because this is what I got:

And damn it, I wanted soup.

:(