Thai Style Glass Noodle Cold Salad

In this warmer weather, I would love to make some cold dish for my girls.  I found that if I make hot noodle soup or Chinese herbal soup, I would sweat after I finish it and that is definitely not welcome when I already hot to begin with.  Hence, making a cold noodle dish or cold salad is ideal.

I just shredded some leftover chicken breast into strips, add some roasted peanut, thinly sliced cucumber, thinly sliced reconstituted wood ear fungus (parboiled it), thinly sliced carrot, some chopped cilantro, some chopped garlic and some toasted sesame seeds.  Place everything in a large bowl and season to taste with fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, sea salt, chili oil and sesame oil.  Mix well and enjoy it cold or as it.

Penang Assam Laksa

When I went back to Malaysia last year, the one paste that I really wanted to buy was this Penang assam laksa paste.  I had to search for it in Penang and in the end, my aunty had to bring me to a special supplier house to buy it.  Now, I can have assam laksa in the U.S. :)

This paste is really good, very original and I had my craving fixed.  An otherwise very troublesome recipe to make turned into an easy recipe with a ready made paste.  If you ever go to Malaysia, do stock up on this paste as it is not available here.  Below I will show you the ingredients I used to make this, only need to wash and slice those ingredients to eat with the noodle and that's it!

Prawn paste- optional
Can pineapple rings
I used sardine in olive oil here, just add the sardine and discard the oil in a plastic bag
Red onion
Lettuce
English cucumber
Rice noodle
I don't have mint leave
You can also add red chili padi (bird eye chili) for extra spiciness

Just follow the instruction as the back of the package and thinly slice those vegetable to serve.

Stir-fried Udon Noodle with Shrimp and Scallop

A simple stir-fried Udon noodle with shrimps and sea scallop with spinach, carrot and yellow onion.

Stir-fried Sweet Potato Noodle

Stir-fried Spaghetti with Mushroom, Eggs and Flower Chives

How this dish came about was I couldn't resist purchasing the organic brown mushroom that was on Manager Special at King Sooper.  I still have half a bunch of flower chives that was given by a friend and some organic brown eggs in the refrigerator, so this dish was set.  Eating too much carbohydrate has gotten me fat but sometimes I just craved for this easy one dish meal.  It was filling and it took less time to make.  However, I realized that I couldn't eat too much carb. few days in a roll, I really put on weight as a result.  So, right now I would stick to as little carb as possible and consume more vegetable and some protein.  And if I can control no snacking in the afternoon that would be great but I love my cookies!!  :(

Okay, enough ranting about my weight issue and scroll down for the recipe!

Stir-fried Sweet Potato Vermicelli

Sweet potato vermicelli is a gluten free noodle usually found as an appetizer or side dish in the Korean restaurant.  I was first introduced to this noodle in a Korean household where I was invited for dinner.  It so happened that the family's parents came to visit them from Korea and her mom cooked up a feast for us.  It was love at first sight when I first tried the sweet potato noodle or Japchae in Korean.  I loved the chewy texture that this noodle provided as compared to the usual Asian style noodle that I had before.  It was delectable and it was fairly easy to make.  You can purchase the sweet potato vermicelli at the Asian supermarket and just followed the direction at the back of the packet to cook up this noodle dish or Japchae!

Golden Oak Shiitake Spaghetti

I bought a box of Golden Oak Shiitake Mushroom the other day and was wondering how to prepare it.  I wanted to taste the mushroom and wanted to make a clean and natural one dish meal to compliment the mushroom and I thought of this pasta dish.

I used the thin spaghetti for this, garlic, one box of the golden oak shiitake mushroom and green onion, very simple with minimalist ingredients.  I cooked it with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned it with sea salt and black pepper.  Very simple and yet very tasty, I was surprised at my own skill as well.  Hahaha.....

Penang Style Char Kuey Teow

This is my version of Penang Char Kuey Teow.  For the past ten years, I have never wanted to share this recipe of mine even though it had been asked by my readers. But today, I decided to share it so that for those living overseas who misses this Penang's hawker delight can cook them at home.

I have never measure when I cook this dish and I always cook in individual portion because my little one wants it non-spicy at all.  My elder one wants it mild and we adult like it spicy! Some like it more eggs, no chive, etc.  So, I always cook in individual portion to suit each other taste bud and preference.

You can add lap cheong, sliced fish cake, sea hum or sliced fish balls if you wish.  I would love to have some lap cheong but the ingredient lists scared me and I read that wax meat can cause cancer.  I am trying to eat as clean as possible and away from processed food if I can.  I already switching most processed food consumed in this house to be organic or non-GMO certified. Have to take care of our bodies so that our bodies can take care of us right?  It's common sense, if you keep feeding your body with junk and poison, what do you think it is going to repay you with?  Think before you buy!

Comfort Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup to the rescue!!  My girls were sick for a couple days of tummy aches, fever and cough and what a mommy to do in such a case?  Besides making some ginger brown sugar tea, I also cooked them their comfort chicken noodle soup!  My Asian girls don't like the comfort porridge when Asian eat when they were sick, instead they prefer the American comfort food when they were sick.  So, I would make sure I add in all the healing properties ingredients such as ginger, garlic, onion, cabbage and carrot!  I minced or diced it finely so that they wouldn't notice and would just eat it.

I only had spaghetti in my pantry instead of other kind of pasta, hence I torn those into 1 inch strips and made it more fun for them to eat.  They enjoyed every bit of it!  This would make a great lunch box for their school as well.

Stir-Fried Vegetarian Rice Stick Noodle

This was our first time trying the Jianxi rice stick and to be honest, I don't think it is suitable for stir-fry because the noodle is soft and not the chewy kind.  So, it would disintegrate when stir-frying.  The above picture is still fine but when I tried to heat up the leftover the next day by stir-frying it (trying to cut down on microwave usage by heating food up the traditional way), the noodle really broken out into smaller pieces.  Next time I would use this rice stick noodle in soup or as a cold dish.

My vegetarian rice stick noodle, again trying to incorporate as many different colors superfood as possible.

Tofu Shirataki Noodle Soup

When their daddy was on a business trip, I just wanted something easy to make and good for lunch and dinner.  A big pot of slow cooker chicken stock that I can cook overnight just pop up.  Just so happen that we had some leftover rotisserie chicken breast and some fresh romaine lettuce and mushroom in the refrigerator, the meal was planned.

For dinner, instead of tofu shirataki, we had some whole wheat thin spaghetti as noodle and also par-boiled spinach as the vegetable.

Tofu Shirataki

Finally I got my chance to try the House Food's Tofu Shirataki!  I gotten my chance because those coupons were just irresistible!  Whole Food accepts one manufacturer coupon and one in house coupon, so when combining the two, I only paid 30 cent for each packet, irresistible right?   A plus for me is it is also Non-GMO certified, gotta love that!

I thought that noodle made with tofu must be soft and fragile but this is not the case, with added yam flour, it is actually chewy and doesn't feel like eating tofu.  Seeing the cashier just dump the packet across the scanner, they probably know that it is not as fragile as its name implies.

I took a picture so that you would have an idea of what it looks like.  One packet is just enough to serve one, not a lot.  I served mine with stir-fried cabbage and Korean style spicy chicken.  Both recipes can be found in my blog.  Then, just mixed it all together and season with a little fish sauce and white pepper.

Stir-Fried Lo Mein with Onion Crunch

Do you know about Onion Crunch?  I didn't know about it but I have eaten it on the sushi that I bought at King Sooper.  I was wondering what kind of fried onion was it because it was crispy and delicious, unlike the fried onion that I bought at the Asian supermarket.  Then, I received an e-mail for a Onion Crunch review and one click on the Website made me realized that this was what the sushi chef used on their sushi!!  Of course I wouldn't miss the chance for this review as I really like the taste of it.  As you can see, I top it on my stir-fried lo mein!

What I loved about Loeb's Onion Crunch is that it is made with 100% real onions with 0 gram of trans fat, low in carbs, low in sodium, no cholesterol and non-GMO certified.  It makes a great crispy, crunchy and delicious condiment topping on your favorite food and it remains crispy and crunchy for a long time which makes it a plus.  You can get it at Walmart supercenter, Safeway, etc. (there is a store locator that you can search on their webpage) or buy it online at their website.

*I received the above product free for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are mine.*

Vietnamese Noodle Bowl

We loved Vietnamese food and we probably go there once a week.  In cold weather, we really enjoy a big bowl of hot pho, it warms us up and tastes delicious.  On hot summer days, I prefer the cold noodle bowl, it is so refreshing as it is fulled of vegetable and herbs.  We also like the rice plate and their fried egg rolls and fresh summer rolls.  Since some restaurants charge $2 for one summer roll, I prefer to make it at home.

Actually I had no intention of making this noodle but I only left with half of a English cucumber and a little romaine lettuce and I had to think of dinner for my family.  Luckily besides kimchi, my fridge also has some pickled radish and carrot at most times.  So, this dish was born.  I also always have some ground toasted peanuts in the freezer for emergency like this.  Since I finished all of it, it's time to make a new batch to freeze.  I served it with leftover spicy hot wings that my husband bought.

This noodle would be great with leftover Hawaiian BBQ chicken too!

Spicy Miso Buckwheat Noodle Soup

I loved this Taiwanese cooking show called "食在有健康", not only it teaches us what food to eat to make us healthier, it also uses that food and teaches us how to cook it.  I think the featured food here is mushroom.  I like that the chefs in that show always managed to create yummy food with easy cooking method.  I also like their theme 食在有健康, 吃出好健康!  Meaning eat healthy food so that you will have good health.  I agreed with it whole heartedly that's why I am a big fan of that show.

Bibim Naengmyun (Spicy Mixed Cold Noodle)

Bibim naengmyun or Korean mixed spicy cold noodle is so economical to cook at home.  Furthermore, we can add whatever ingredients we like.  The one sold in the restaurant mostly has cucumber, radish and boiled egg and they charge $9 for a bowl.  I would rather spend my $9 on some chicken/meat and side dishes.  A plus is this cold noodle dish is so easy to make and I calculated the cost to be less than $6 for 2 bowls.

If you have a craving for spicy mixed cold noodle, why not make it yourself?  One thing though, you got to be able to take the heat, as this is a SPICY noodle dish.  Those that cannot take spicy food, can try the naengmyeon, is a cold noodle dish serves in cold radish kimchi broth or clear beef broth (with crushed ice), suitable for hot summer days.

Chicken Wonton Mee

I loved my noodle and can't leave without it.  These days I would cook noodle for dinner at least once a week.  When I shop at the Asian market and see some fresh wonton noodle, I would buy 2 to freeze it at home.  So whenever I feel like eating some wonton noodle (or egg noodle), I can thaw it a night before in the refrigerator.  My husband brought back some Hawaii BBQ chicken for supper one night, but I don't eat supper and thus the leftover.  So, this was what I did with the chicken!

Par-boiled some chai-hsin (Chinese greens), boiled some frozen homemade chicken dumplings, microwave the leftover Hawaiian BBQ chicken and sliced it, chopped some scallions to serve.  I also concocted a yummy sauce for my wonton noodle which I will keep it a secret.  :-P

Instant Korean Jjajang Noodle

I like Korean Jjajang noodle or Jajangmyeon.  I made it several times using the recipe here.  But I found a quicker way to enjoy the jajangmyeon that is to use the instant jjajang noodle.  The instant one tasted just as delicious.  Just add extra fresh ingredients to make it more nutritious.   I bought this at H-mart and I think you should be able to find it at any Korean supermarkets.

How the package looks like.

Mee Sua Soup with Dumplings (菠菜饺子汤面)

I needed a quick lunch fix for Edda and me.  Earlier, I made a batch of chicken chive dumplings and freeze it for emergency such as a quick lunch idea and also an alternative for Evy when I didn't cook enough for her school's lunch box.  I checked my pantry and I had one bundle of somen left, just enough for both Edda and myself.  An lunch idea was formed as I remembered the way my mom cooked the somen for me during my confinement.  If you liked to check out my mom version just click under confinement.  It's similar to this except I added the spinach, dumplings, homemade glutinous rice wine and a little this and that.

Stir Fried Lo Mein with Pumpkin (南瓜炒捞面)

As you know, I love stir-fried pumpkin!!   I created a recipe last year and still love it to pieces.  Do check out my stir-fried pumpkin with eggs!  This year, I stir-fried the pumpkin with yellow noodle or lo mein.  Can you spot the pieces of pumpkin on my noodle?  It went so well together too.

Again, I had some yellow noodle left, not enough to feed my hubby, so I cooked it for my girls and me for lunch.  Sorry hub, you had to miss out on this yummy.  :P  This was one colorful dish too, I added in all the colors I could think of.

I would love to share my Lo Mein Pumpkin with Presto Pasta Nights created by Ruth and this week host is Simona of Briciole.  Check out her blog on Friday for the full roundup!