Back of the Box

We have been eating a lot of pad thai lately. This is a dish I didn’t even realize you could make at home until pretty recently, when my new friend Z. invited me over, ostensibly to talk about books and Astoria and my nascent business. The evening suddenly became much more delicious, when she and her husband hauled up dinner ingredients to their roof via an external dumbwaiter and made the best pad thai I’d ever eaten, in a wok, on a grill, while watching the sun set over Manhattan. It was truly a memorable evening.

 

According to my calendar, that was last July. A lot has happened since then. I was laid off, my girlfriend moved in with me, we got married, and we signed a lease for our bookstore. We’ve been busting ass to get the store open as quickly as we can, which leaves less time than I would like for my regular kitchen meditation time (aka cooking elaborate dinners). Luckily, the early weeks of CSA deliveries inevitably have a lot of leafy greens that are best eaten in salads or with very brief cooking times. Mizuna, for example, and chinese cabbage.

Another recent news item from our household is that Connie had to have a root canal. The upshot of that is that for a while, at least until she gets a crown on the tooth, she’s got to stick to foods that are easy to chew. Which is how I found myself making pad thai twice in one week.

The recipe, which is derived from the back of the box of Annie Chun’s brand pad thai noodles, is astonishingly easy. Start by putting on a kettle of water. When it boils, pour it over the rice noodles in a big bowl, or a relatively solid tupperware container, and let them soak. While that happens, chop up some shallots or onions, garlic, some tofu or chicken or shrimp, and any asian greens you happen to like. Slice the greens very thin, so they’re only about as wide as the noodles. Then mix up a quarter cup of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, and a little crushed red pepper.

Heat up a wok over high heat, and add a little vegetable oil. Dump in the garlic, onion, greens, and whatever protein you’ve chosen. Stir fry them up until the greens are wilted, the onion is translucent, and the meat or fish (if you’re using it) is cooked through. If you’ve timed it right, the noodles will be soft by now. Strain them into a colander and transfer the contents of the wok into the bowl you were using to soak them.

Return the wok to the heat, add another couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, and crack in two eggs. Scramble them up, and when they’re cooked, pour in the lemon juice/fish sauce combo and add the strained rice noodles. Stir everything together, then add the cooked veggies and a cup of bean sprouts. Turn off the heat and garnish with chopped scallions, crushed peanuts, cilantro or mint, and a squeeze of lime juice.

The result is a wok-ful of sweet/salty/spicy/sour noodles, easy enough to chew for even a patient recovering from dental work. I have a feeling this will stay in the dinner rotation even after Connie’s tooth is back in working order.

A Way With Greens & Noodles (2 ways, actually)

The first time I got mizuna in my weekly delivery, I made something with soba noodles and mushrooms and a miso-tahini dressing, and it was just not right. Too thick, too rich, too one-texture (that texture being “mushy”). I ate it, but mostly because I don’t like to waste things. I know was working from a legitimate recipe, not my own imagination (I didn’t yet have the confidence to wing it with an unfamiliar ingredient), but I can’t find it now to see if maybe I just did something wrong.

But moving on: this year, I decided that I’d been a little premature in abandoning the asian greens + soba noodles combination, and perhaps it was the dressing that was the problem. And sure enough, I’ve found a couple of variations that I can recommend. Hooray! It only took me 4 years to learn how to cook this stuff!

First, put a pot of water on to boil. Make it a big pot, even if you’re only cooking a smallish amount of noodles. Soba likes to have room, and then when it’s cooked, it likes to be run under cold water.

While the water is coming to a boil, take some mustard greens:

or, you know, mizuna, if that’s what’s handy.

Either way, chop it up and give it a quick saute in a hot pan with the oil of your choice.

Add a little water, and either tamarind concentrate & smoked paprika*:

or some miso paste.

Cover up the greens and let them braise for a few minutes, just until they’re tender. Then toss them with the rinsed noodles.

If you’re looking for something a little more filling, cut up a block of tofu into chunks and cook them in the rest of the braising liquid, a couple of minutes on each side. (I did this with the tamarind version but not the miso one.)

Add to the noodles & greens and enjoy.

*The smokey tamarind variation is the second recipe that I’ve concocted based on a vague description in a New Yorker review of a restaurant I’ll never visit.

 

Soba Noodles with Mustard Greens/Mizuna

serves 2-4

 

1 package soba noodles (usually 8-10 oz, depending on the brand)

1 large bunch mustard greens or mizuna

1 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

Flavoring suggestions:

1 Tbsp tamarind concentrate + 1/4 tsp smoked paprika + 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp miso paste

1 package tofu, drained and cut into pieces (usually 16 oz) (optional)

 

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Drain and rinse well under cold water.

Chop the greens roughly, into 1-2″ pieces. Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the greens for a few minutes, until they are wilted. Add the water and the flavorings of your choice. Stir, cover, and cook for 2-4 minutes, until the greens are tender. 

Remove the greens from the pan and toss with the noodles. 

If you’re using tofu, add the pieces to the skillet with the rest of the braising liquid. Cook for a few minutes on each side and then add to the noodles along with any remaining liquid that hasn’t cooked off.

Work in Progress

One of my favorite recipes from one of my favorite cookbooks is a lentil salad courtesy of The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook, which was a gift from my dear friend M. many years ago. It’s not very complicated, but the flavors just come together perfectly–lentils cooked with turmeric, a bay leaf, & a cinnamon stick, tossed with a thyme-and-dijon vinaigrette and some diced & sauteed carrots and onions. 

This is how my brain works: 

As I was thinking of what to do with the mizuna & mustard greens I received this week, I remembered a bag of lentils I’d just bought, and wondered how those flavors would go together. And, hey, dijon mustard and mustard greens aren’t too far off from each other, are they? What if I adapt that salad somehow?

So I chopped up the mizuna & mustard greens together and put them in a pot with a little water & salt. Meanwhile the lentils are simmering like the original recipe, with a bay leaf, a cinnamon stick, and about a quarter teaspoon of turmeric.

 

Mustard greens, you should remember, cook down a lot, even if you just simmer them for a few minutes. This was two pretty generous bunches, which I drained, and tossed with some chopped garlic scapes, fresh thyme, coconut vinegar and coconut oil. (The coconut addition was inspired by the sweet potato/mustard green stew I made & loved so much.)

 

Then I tossed everything together, adjusted the salt & vinegar levels a little, and called it dinner. To my palate, the astringency of mustard greens needs something that can sort of flatten them out, bring them down to earth. Coconut milk does this very well, and so would eggs, I think. Lentils aren’t a bad choice, either. 

 

I’m not posting an actual recipe of this, because I’m not sure about it yet. The flavor combination is pretty good, but I think it’s too heavy, in a way, to be a main dish. A big bowl of it is just too rich, but maybe if it were served over rice? Or tossed with bulgur? Or use a softer lentil (one that breaks down more easily, like red or probably green) and shove it into a pita? I don’t know. But I’m getting mizuna & mustard greens again this week, so maybe I’ll try another variation and see how it goes. And if anyone’s got a suggestion, please comment.