Slurpelicous Soba...

Japanese have been slurping soba for hundreds of years, both hot and cold. In the warm summer days, having it chilled is refreshing to boot! Soba is made from nutritious buckwheat flour and water, with a little wheat flour added to give the dough more elasticity. The result when properly cooked is a noodle that's toothsome, slightly nutty and insanely appetizing, well according to my family's books! It is a standard in Japanese home cooking, using dried or flash-frozen soba that's available in any Asian market here. When you're eating soba, forget everything you learned from Miss Manners- slurp out loud and proud! Mixed or plunged in soba dipping sauce- a umami-rich, sweet-savoury concentrate, slurping pulls up air into the noodles and aerates them, creating more fragrance which adds to your sensory experience and elevates the overall taste! Oishii!!!

Sebas adores soba! Here we are at Green Tea Lounge in J-Town in Toronto.

A large zaru soba display outside a Tokyo soba restaurant during my visit in 2005.

Zaru Soba (translates to basket soba as this style is typically served in a weaved basket)

Makes 4-6 servings

400 g dried soba

2 to 3 cups spinach, thoroughly washed and drained (NOTE: adding spinach is not traditionally used in soba but I thought it would be extra healthy to have some greens added)

Dressing (makes 2 cups)- leftovers can be stored in the fridge covered for three days.

1/2 cup sodium-reduced soy sauce 

2 Tbsp. mirin

1 Tbsp. sugar

1-1/4 cups water

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1/4 cup bonito flakes

For garnish: shredded nori, thinly sliced green onions, and prepared wasabi.

Dried soba is often portioned into 100-gram individual servings.

Bring water to a boil in a large skillet or pot. Blanch spinach for 10 seconds, remove from water and plunge into cold water to stop cooking. Drain well, squeeze excess liquid and chop into bite-size pieces. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a sauce pot except bonito flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the bonito flakes and let simmer for five minutes. Strain bonito with a strainer; discard, pour sauce into a bowl and let cool. 

Place the soba noodles in the same skillet of water brought back to a boil and cook for about five minutes. Swirl the noodles with chopsticks to separate them. Remove from heat; place in colander, run and rinse in running cold water. Drain the noodles well and refrigerate for ½ hour to dry and cool further. 

Test the soba for doneness by pulling one out and running it under water, before
biting into it. It should be al dente (toothsome and not chalky or mushy)

Place spinach on soba in serving bowl or platter. Serve garnishes and dipping sauce at the table for everyone to make their own.

Mix dressing with noodles in a bowl or dip soba into sauce served in dipping bowls!

Serve with fresh baby spinach leaves instead of it being cooked for a refreshing soba salad.

According to Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat's cookbook, Japanese Soul Cooking (one of my favourites), one of the Japanese innovators who originally introduced sushi to America, was said to eat soba for breakfast everyday and claims it's what keeps him healthy and vigorous. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that after I slurp a hearty bowl I feel ready to conquer the day!

Fried Fish and The One That Got Away...

I picked up a beautiful 2 lb. bluefish on sale and asked for it to be cleaned at my neighbourhood Asian supermarket. Not being familiar with this type of fish, I wasn't sure whether to steam or pan-fry, so I gave my mom a call. "Fry", she says.. so fry it is. It is firm fleshed so it will hold up well when frying. Pan-frying is a very common method of cooking fish in Chinese cuisine and done properly you will be treated to crunchy, crispy skin revealing firm but tender flesh underneath. Simply seasoned with pinches of salt and ground white pepper inside and out, and dusted with cornstarch to coat the fish (this will keep it from sticking to the pan), cooked with green onions and garlic and dressed at the end with soy sauce is all you need for delicious fried fish.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in pan or skillet over medium-high heat; add 1 green onion cut into 2-inch pieces and 1 or 2 cloves garlic sliced. Fry for one minute.












Add the fish, and place the onions and garlic on top; cook for five minutes each side. IMPORTANT TIP: Only flip the fish once at the end of five minutes, otherwise, the fish will stick to the pan. You will know when it's ready to flip when you place a spatula underneath the fish and it easily loosens from the pan. Remove the fish onto a serving plate.

Use a splatter screen to prevent flying hot oil!

Drizzle some soy sauce on top and you're ready to serve. 

Try using soy sauce made specifically for seafood. It has a light sweet undertone and savoury notes perfect for fish!

Flashback this past Sunday... we were fishing at Glen Haffy Conservation in Caledon Ontario, where our friend caught probably one of the largest trout ever in that pond- easily a five pounder! He's been fishing there for three decades since he was a kid, and he's never seen anything come out of that pond larger than two pounds. Sadly, the fish net cage it was held in gave way underneath as he pulled it out of the water; the trout was so large that by flipping about his tail must have caught under the flap where it entered and excitedly freed himself to all our astonishments and disappointment. I'm sure my friend was dreaming of all the tasty things he was going to do with it. I guess something so big and gorgeous is not meant to be caught and eaten... 

The lucky one that got away...

Magic Purple Beans...

Just gorgeous, was what I thought when my eyes fell upon a purple variety of string beans when I was perusing the Belleville farmers market Saturday. Of course I had to pick up a carton. The farmer tells me that the violet hue changes to the same colour as French green beans as soon as you turn the heat under them. It's such a novel thing and I couldn't wait to share and cook them with my kids and watch the magical transformation together. 

My kids were more than happy to help sort out the good beans and tear off the stem tips into a bowl. 

Oh my what a large bean you have there Sébas!

The green interior contrasts vividly against its outer purple.

A simple steaming and then a light sauté was all I was doing to treat the beans. Steaming helps make them tender and retain its natural flavour, and sautéing will coat them with additional flavour.

Ahh... we can see the purple beans gradually taking on the green colour as it steams!

I was making a chicken roast and when it was done, I poured its chicken juice and oil onto the beans and sautéed for a minute, sprinkling a bit of sea salt. Otherwise, cook one minute in a Tbsp. olive oil, sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of chicken seasoning and finish with sea/kosher salt to taste.

Digging In!!

The beans were a perfect side to go with the roasted chicken, Ceasar salad and pan-fried onion potatoes. Two of my boys were not big bean eaters, but they proved me wrong tonight... was it the fun "magical" colour change that did it.. or was it simply that the beans were so darn tasty with all that chicken goodness?!

Best Ever Banana Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes...

Pancakes are our go-to brunch for weekends. My family especially loves the combination of banana and blueberries and I always make sure to serve them with a side of sautéed fruit, all smothered in maple syrup, from Quebec of course! This recipe yields the fluffiest pancakes ever! The best part is making your own buttermilk with milk and vinegar!

Banana Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes 12 pancakes

3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp. white vinegar

2-3 apples or pears, cored and cut into wedges

3 bananas, one for mashing and two, quartered for cooking

a few dashes of ground cinnamon

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
cooking spray

1 cup blueberries

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for five minutes to "sour".

              

           My kids love helping out with the banana mashing....

Meanwhile, heat a pan (I use a crepe pan) to cook your fruit. Sauté apples on both sides until golden brown then sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook banana pieces lightly and remove onto a serving bowl.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the egg into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture and the buttermilk-egg mixture in the mashed banana bowl and whisk until lumps are gone.

Heat a large skillet (I do them in batches with my crepe pan) over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Sprinkle with blueberries. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Look at how fluffy those pancakes are!

My sister-in-law's uncle owns a maple syrup farm in Quebec. We always stock up when we visit!

Enjoying yet another ritual of lovely pancakes for weekend brunch! Yummy mom!!

Tasty Weekend in Belleville Ontario...

I stayed in beautiful Belleville overnight Friday to give my friend chef David from Red Dragon Caters a hand to cater to an after concert party. I gladly obliged; it's been close to a decade since we last cooked together and also gave me the chance to check out his stand in Belleville's heritage farmers market operating since 1816 where he sells delectable home-made dim sum and other tasty treats. It was a gorgeous day and I had an amazing visit- too bad it was so short!

Chef David and I at the party venue with dance area behind us.

We offered home-made Madras spiced cashews and
wasabi oriental rice cracker mix as quick snacks.

Menu offerings displayed consisted of chicken or vegetable spring rolls, vegetable samosas, jumbo California rolls, pork and shrimp siu mai and a berry lichee freeze- in coconut juice and crushed ice.

A portable griddle and steamer over a cooking burner to heat things up!

The next morning. The lakeside home he stays in Tweed has an absolute stunning view!

Vibrant and gorgeous fresh fruit and vegetable displays abound in the bustling downtown Belleville market full of friendly faces and engaging conversations. You just want to pick some of the juicy sweet fruit and sink your teeth right in.

These sweet ladies' flowers were so well cared for they didn't look real!

David at his station frying up some incredibly delicious vegetable spring rolls- my fave!

David making a hungry customer very happy!

If this is making you crave spring rolls, try my version of pork and vegetable spring rolls.

Other tasty goodies including a delicious Mediterranean chickpea salad!