Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Soba noodle bowl

We finally made a trip back up to San Francisco (I lived there for about three years and Kristen for one before moving to San Diego) earlier this month. A couple of friends met up with us one night, and we walked around Japantown/Marina/Western Addition for a while, eventually stopping at Osaka sushi for dinner and sake. I think Kristen was thinking of their soba with tofu dish when she suggested this. (Also we saw Laurine from Top Chef catering a party. None of us could remember her storyline, so Kristen just said "Hi!" and then we all turned around and walked away a little sheepishly)


Sorry the recipe is pretty rough; I didn't measure anything, just added stuff until it tasted good. It's a little bit (a lot) Otsu from Super Natural Cooking and a little bit Sam the Cooking Guy's broiled salmon marinade...

Soba noodles with tofu
Serves: 2-3
  • 6oz soba noodles
  • 1/3 cup tamari sauce
  • honey
  • a 1" cube of ginger grated or diced very fine
  • red pepper flakes
  • half a block of firm tofu
  • sesame seeds
  • nori
  • chopped green onions
  • diced jicama

Put the soba noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes or until done, drain and set aside.

Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces, something like 1/4" x 1/2" x 1". Heat a pan over medium-low heat and add the tofu to the pan (with no oil). Let it cook for a few minutes (don't touch it!) until it starts to turn a nice golden brown. Flip and repeat on the other side. It takes a little while, but I think it's worth keeping the heat relatively low... Easy to burn the tofu otherwise.

Meanwhile, mix the tamari (soy sauce would work too) and ginger, and add honey to taste, probably something like a tablespoon. It should be just a little bit sweet. Add a couple dashes of red pepper flakes, and toss with the soba noodles.

Top the noodles with the tofu, pieces of nori, green onions, sesame seeds, and diced jicama (probably should be cucumber, but we had jicama which was actually really great)


That's us (well everyone but me) looking out over the bay (you can JUST see the top of the golden gate bridge on the left). It reminds me just a little bit of this picture looking out at Guanabara bay, which makes me happy.

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