It's one of those nights. You're home late from work. I mean late like it's summer you still got home in the dark. You're grumpy, and you're HUNGRY. You know if you go out and grab a box of fried chicken or a kebab or order pizza (again) you'll loathe yourself after. But today you really cannot be arsed to spend 30-45 minutes chopping prepping cooking washing etc etc etc. Bleah.
How about just boiling 1 saucepan of water and 10 minutes total?
Your salt cravings get naturally satisfied by the samphire, carb cravings by the udon, and your palette gets a little much-needed pampering by the silky dark green sheets of wakame and the rich pop-pop-pop-pop-pops of the vermilion tobiko beads. You get to feel good about getting greens into your meal, complete with sea minerals. And if you don't have the luxury of a dishwasher you can even eat the finished product right from the saucepan so you have less to wash up after.
No fuss, no muss, no grease, no guilt.
Ingredients for 1 serving;
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~100-150g samphire (photo above). A cactus-like frond that grows on European coasts, with a refreshing seawatery crunch when you bite down.. Available at good fishmongers in late spring and summer. Use as soon as possible, though the batch I bought lasted a week in the fridge with no damage
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A palmful of dried wakame. This is seaweed, but not nori (nori is the roasted and rolled kind which is used for holding sushi rolls together). Silky with just enough bite when it unfurls in water. You won't need much more than a handful given how much they expand
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1 packet fresh udon – fat buckwheat noodles. Available at Asian speciality supermarkets. Dried udon could work too but will require 3-5 minutes cooking time
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~25 g tobiko – bright orange flying fish eggs, each slightly larger than a poppy seed. Not to be confused with salmon eggs, called ikura, also bright orange but about the size of a pearl. Available at Japanese markets. Special thanks to Melf who kindly picked up a tub for me from Natural Natural near the Finchley Road tube stop on this occasion
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Sesame oil
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Extra virgin olive oil
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Japanese red pepper
Here's what you do:
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Rinse 1 large handful of samphire in cold water
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Fill half a large saucepan with filtered tap water and bring to a boil on high heat on the stove
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Chuck in the fresh udon. Leave for 2 minutes, then agitate with a fork to help separate the noodles
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Add the samphire and a handful of dried wakame. Agitate for another 30 seconds to 1 minute (not more), then drain off all the water
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Add 2 large tablespoons of tobiko to the noodles and the greens, and toss
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Add a few drops of sesame oil, a tiny drizzle of olive oil, and a dash of Japanese red pepper. Toss again and tuck in
12 October 2010 update: I'm submitting this recipe for La Fujimama's Food Ninja Challenge. Come join the fun!
