Foodie Blogroll

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Udon Noodles with Black Bean Sauce.

My schedule has changes a lot lately and I now have to take some classes after all day at work. The classes are 2 - 2 1/2 hours long 3 times a week for eight weeks. This has cut drastically into my blog time, and sorry to say, my cooking time. So when I get a chance I will surely post any chance I get. It is hard to come up with something new when you have to prepare a meal in such little time. So I thought I would share just something I threw together with what I have on hand. Which seems to happen often even if I'm not super busy!

I had some fresh udon noodles in the fridge, which are always nice to have because you can have them ready in a short time. I also had some arugula and fresh baby spinach, (I would of used red bell peppers for color if my husband liked peppers)

This is what I used, you can adjust any of the ingredients and amounts to your liking!

2 packages of fresh udon noodles
1 pound ground chicken (use any minced meat that you want)
2 shallots minced
1 tsp garlic ginger paste
2 tsp tahini (optional)
2 tbsp black bean sauce
2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp chili sauce
1/2 cup broth
1/2 tsp sesame oil
any veggies that you have on hand.

If you don't have the sweet soy sauce you can use what you have, then you can use sweet chili sauce instead.

In a heat resistant bowl or in a pan pour boiling water to cover the fresh noodles for around 5 minutes, then drain.
Meanwhile in a large skillet or wok brown the minced meat, use a little oil if needed, then add the shallots, ginger garlic paste, chili sauce, and black bean paste. Add the stock and cook vegetable that needs to be cooked at this time (like snap peas or red peppers if that's what you are using). Add the noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil and tahini and mix it together well. I like to add the spinach and arugula near the end because it doesn't need much cooking time. I also added some black Chinese vinegar near the end to cut the bitterness of the spinach and arugula.


So there you go another quick meal on the table!

Here is by bird of paradise that is in blossom. I know in other countries it's sometimes called something else. My friend from South Africa told me it is called a name that means burning ship, I forget the name, I'll have to call her and ask. I just wanted to add a little color...

Edited to add: I just spoke with my friend and she said it was an Afrikaans name, "skip wat brandt" translates as "ship that is burning"

..you still have to take some time to stop and enjoy the flowers! Can't say "smell the roses" I don't have any roses anymore in my yard, but I have Jasmine and that is always nice to smell.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

16 comments:

  1. Hi Lindsey, I love easy dish meal ~ "simple is nice". Your quick meal udon looks very delicious and I have this Jasmine at home too.
    Have a great weekend.

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  2. The site is looking good now Lyndsey, it is such a space saver!

    Love this recipe it looks delicious. As for the bird of paradise that is what we always called them in S.Africa. Diane

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  3. Un plat délicieux.
    J'adore.
    Bon week-end et à bientôt.

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  4. This looks very nice! Love asian flavors! Thanks!

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  5. Looks great... food and flower!

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  6. quick and easy meal. udon noodles are always favorites at my place.

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  7. Looks lovely. Take it easy, sometimes its amazing how incredibly busy life gets! Enjoy your classes anyway

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  8. Good morning Lyndz, you did pretty good Chinese cooking too! hehe... Yes, it's a simple and yet delicious noodle dish. You know, I love anything simple. Hope you're having a great day. You try to relax yourself too. I have to go to bed early tonight as well. I did some housekeeping today and very tired & sleepy right now. Have to go to bed early tonight. Have fun!
    Blessings, Kristy
    p/s when is the winter?

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  9. I think you can cook noodles very well Lyndsey, that looks very delicious!

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  10. Lovely. I love udon and asian flavors sooo much! The addition of arugula and ginger made this dish just pop I bet!

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  11. I'll have that thrown together last minute dish any time...especially with the flavouring of black bean sauce ;o)

    Hope those classes are enjoyable!

    Ciao for now,
    Claudia

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  12. wow what a wonderful recipe what class are you taking?

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  13. Ann - thank you!
    Diane - thanks so much for your help!
    Nadji - Thank you!
    Debbi - thanks
    pigpigscorner - Yes, the best way to have it.
    I.M. - Love the flavor
    PJ - ours too!
    Kitchen Butterfly - thanks I'll try, they are not fun classes.
    Kristy - thanks, I try. I will also try to relax. Winter officially starts December 21st. In the northern part of the country they feel like winter sooner, and will get snow. For us here in Florida, we get pretty dry and right now out average temps are around 80 F. no snow for us. We might get a cold snap now and then, but only for a day or two.

    Jeannie - thanks s that's so nice of you to say!

    Erin - thanks I love to add ginger. I wasn't sure how the arugula was going to be.

    Claudia - thanks, and ty for taking the time to visit here!

    Rebecca - you are too kind! The classes are not fun. I'm taking English and math. We have to review everything we learned in high school and beyond to take a test to keep our jobs.

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  14. What a wonderful dish! I love the flavors in this...the chili sauce and ginger must give this a kick. Looks really great!

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  15. You do this really well - I enjoy udon noodles with black pepper sauce but never tried them in black bean sauce.

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