Two Ways to Make Shiitake Mushrooms with Rice Noodles

Right before coming to Spain this third time around, my mother decided to help me with the packing. Before I even got to put any personal belongings in my suitcase, it was already stuffed with three different types of loose leaf teas, freshly ground sesame paste, spicy Korean instant noodles, various hard-to-find Asian spices, sweet Chinese sausages, rice noodles, and a very large bag of dried shiitake mushrooms. Yes, these all went on a plane and passed the security check point in four different countries. From the states, I flew to China to visit family for a week, then got on another plane to Spain with a transfer in Moscow. Everything made it – even the sausages, which were a big hit among my Spanish roommates.

I let those dried little mushrooms sit in my pantry for over four months. I had no idea what to do with them, what with no instructions. But since I’ve been more adventurous in my cooking in recent months, I finally decided to open the package. I’m a bit of a lazy cook I have to admit. I never remember to soak dried food in water overnight, nor do I have the patience to thaw meat (it’s a bit hard when you have two naughty cats with sharp noses around the house), which is one of the reasons I don’t cook meat very often. Anyway, found a shortcut: soak dried mushrooms in boiled water with a lid on it for 15 minutes and voila! Mmm and the aroma that rises up from the steaming bowl when you remove the lid is enough to make you want to take a big bite of that juicy mushroom.

But don’t be so hasty. The taste of shiitake adds a lot of flavor to other vegetables too. So if you’re not living in Spain, where shiitake mushrooms cost a fortune – if you can even find any that is – try these recipes:

Shiitake Stir-fry with Fried Rice Noodles

One day I got off work early and was craving mushroom risotto for lunch. I do this a lot on my walk back home: plan my meals in my head and get terribly hungry thinking about it and start half running towards my house once I reach the river. What a terrible disappointment when I got to my apartment and turned my fridge upside down only to discover that I didn’t have any mushrooms left. My only resort was the dried shiitake in my pantry which I had barely given a thought until now. A pungent fungus traditionally used in Asian cooking doesn’t go well with cheese and butter. All right, skip the risotto idea. A stir-fry, why not? Let’s do it!





INGREDIENTS//

+ 4 large shiitake mushrooms halved or quartered (whichever you prefer)
+ 1/4 of a head of cabbage roughed chopped
+ 1 carrot in julienne (sliced long and thin)
+ 1/2 zucchini in julienne
+ 1/2 piece of ginger minced
+ one spring onion finely chopped
+ one teaspoon of sugar
+ salt to taste
+ soy sauce for coloring
+ rice noodles to deep fry
+ vegetable oil

RECIPE//

This is enough for about two servings. So as I said before, soak your shrooms in boiled water for 15-20 minutes. If you are patient, the longer the better.

First, I made the fried noodles which take about 20 seconds. In a wok or a deep pan, fill with vegetable oil to approximate two inches deep. Wait until the oil is hot then toss in the dried rice noodles and witness magic before your eyes. They pop up instantly like popcorn. Place them on a paper towel to soak up the oil. When the noodles are done, save up the oil for your next frying adventure, but leave just a bit in the pan for the veggies.

Now, put in the ginger, carrots, zucchini, and shiitake first to saute for three minutes. Then add the cabbage, spring onion, sugar, and drizzle in just a bit of soy sauce. Cook for another two minutes, add salt, then you’re done! Serve with fried noodles on the side.


Spicy Shiitake and Tofu Potpourri

For lack of a better description, we will call this dish a potpourri, since it is a confusing mixture of random ingredients that were handy. My friend Gwyn came over one night with the excuse of wanting to play our guitars but we ended up cooking for most of the time. Coincidentally I had just purchased a pack of smoked tofu the same day. Gwyn just happened to have a jar of bamboo in her backpack. Tofu, bamboo, shiitake, leftover ginger – it was an Asian food night.







INGREDIENTS//

+ 4-5 shiitake mushrooms diced or chopped
+ one pack of smoked tofu cubed
+ 1/2 a bell pepper cut into rings
+ one tomato diced
+ 2 small cayenne peppers finely chopped
+ canned bamboo shoots
+ 1-2 cloves of garlic minced
+ 1/3 ginger peeled and minced
+ soy sauce
+ salt to taste
+ olive oil
+ rice noodles to boil
+ raw carrots to garnish

RECIPE//

This would have been nice if we had some spring onions, but alas, none was to be found in the fridge. Let’s not dwell on the impossibility of turning back time. Unless, of course, we had an H.G. Wells patented time machine! I digress, on with the recipe.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C, which is about 400 F. Paint your little tofu cubes with soy sauce on both sides then stick them in the oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the shiitake in small pieces and toss them into a wok or pan with the olive oil, garlic, ginger, cayenne peppers, and bell pepper. When the tofu is done roasting, add them to the pan along with the bamboo shoots and tomato. Drizzle in just a bit of soy sauce, sprinkle in the salt, and toss for 5 minutes or so (or whenever the tomato juice gets soaked up). Gwyn and I also added a bit of the leftover water that the shiitake were soaking in just for that extra earthy flavor.

As for the noodles.. super simple to prepare. Boil them in water or the leftover shiitake water until they are soft. They cook much faster than pasta so don’t overboil! When they’re drained, add them to the tofu-shiitake potpourri and mix.

Gwyn recommends that you artfully cut some pieces of carrot to garnish. It will get a bit spicy, so carrots are a refreshing element to the dish. So try it out and let me know what you think!

El Vergel de la Vega

Oh how I love Thursdays. I show up to work early in the morning, teach a class or two, then at break time, I find a crate of fresh organic produce waiting for me in the main office downstairs.

This week it's carrots, spinach, apples, cherimoyas, a giant pumpkin, oranges and mandarins, leeks, white kidney beans, sun-dried red peppers, and a head of cabbage. So fresh you can still smell the dirt on them and occasionally find a few insects crawling between the leaves.












If you live in Granada, I definitely recommend ordering your groceries from this local farm, called Vergel de la Vega. Delivery is free if it's not a private address. And, when you order a caja cerrada (meaning you won't get to choose the products), it's cheaper than going to Mercadona, the largest supermarket chain in Spain. For the quality of the fruit and vegetables you get, paying 10-20 cents more per kilo is not asking too much.

I'm trying to think of ways to use up the entire 2.5-kilo pumpkin they sent me. It's a monster! Really! The name of this pumpkin is calabaza gigante. I used about one third of it in a pumpkin and carrot soup. But what do I do with the rest?? Delicious ideas? If you want to come over and take some pumpkin off my hands, here's the simple recipe for that creamy soup:


INGREDIENTS//

+ a lot of pumpkin
+ 3-4 carrots
+ a bit of milk or cream
+ 2-3 teaspoons of sugar


RECIPE//

Cut the pumpkin and carrots in medium sized pieces and boil them in a pot until you can poke a fork through them. The softer they are, the easier it is to turn them into puree. Be warned that if overboiled, the pumpkin will disintegrate. Drain the pot, cut off the pumpkin skin, put that orange mess back in, then add about a cup of water. The pumpkin retained a lot of water from when we were boiling it, so we don't have to add that much liquid.

Use a hand blender or food processor to mix everything up until it becomes a thick and creamy texture. Turn on the stove and let it stew for 20 minutes on a low fire. Add a few spoonfuls of sugar, but don't forget that the pumpkin is already pretty sweet. The best idea is to taste as you go. When it's almost ready, stir in a bit of milk until the color evens out. Mmmm, a nice warm soup for these dreadfully long winter months.







On a different note: I realized, though too late, that my photos from the last post were edited badly. I have a terrible, nonadjustable computer screen. I apologize if they hurt your eyes or reminded you of an overly saturated cookbook from the 80s.

It’s my party and I’ll cook if I want to.

One of the many things I enjoy about food is the process of making it and sharing it with friends, before snapping a few photos first, of course. It just so happens that this was my fourth birthday spent in Spain but the first time I’ve been able to celebrate. (The past three years involved, being lost in a new city, several flight transfers, and a stomach flu.) Well it’s about time I got to throw myself a party and contemplate my 24 years on this earth. What better way to celebrate than cooking and eating with friends and loved ones?

Oh what a festive night of gluttony it was. Those who participated talk about it 'til this day (two whole weeks later!) and those who missed it can only cry in shame and envy. I kid. But it was quite fun!

Here are my dishes that started off the night:

An eggplant and olive hummus with parsley that I barely got to try before it was devoured by my eleven guests. They tell me it’s good and I believe them. It’s very easy to make and takes about 30-35 minutes to complete. Most of that time is taken up by the eggplants roasting in the oven, so don’t worry, it’s not so complicated! I paired the hummus with some tortilla chips, freshly baked bread and celery sticks.

Followed by a mixed salad with cherry tomatoes and fresh, organic goat cheese. I opted for a bag of store-bought mixed salad leaves to save time and threw in a few pieces of organic arugula. The salad takes no time to make and brings more color to the table.




Also featuring my incredible friends who are obviously talented up-and-coming chefs! A carrot, ginger, curry soup by Audrey, the queen of soups that warm your soul. A creamy, spinach spread on toasted bread by Carly, an expert on healthy eating. Freshly baked pastries with pear butter and goat cheese by Gwyn, our badass vegetarian cook. Mmm! What can I say? We’re food lovers! And how lucky am I to have met these great people in Granada who love eating so much.

After the dinner, in the traditional Spanish style, we went out and partied some more to speed up the digestion process in which a lot of dancing was involved. We took the long walk home from the center at 3 in the morning (a very un-Spanish thing to do on the weekend) and crashed in our bed. The next morning, there wasn’t anything else left to do but drink tea, eat the leftovers, and snuggle with the cats in my comfy clothes. The dirty plates and the recycling could wait.





How do you like our mismatched plates and plastic bowls? Pretty nice huh?

I don't have the recipes for my friends' dishes (I'm working on obtaining those), but here's how to make the eggplant hummus in case you were interested:


INGREDIENTS//

+ 1 can of garbanzos (about 15 ounces/400 grams)
+ 1 small eggplant
+ 10 pitted green olives (or more if you like the taste)
+ 1/2 lemon
+ 1-2 cloves of garlic
+ parsley
+ extra virgin olive oil
+ salt
+ pepper
+ paprika to garnish


RECIPE//

First preheat the oven to 450 degrees F or 230 degrees C. Remove the skin of the eggplant then cut it into small flat, circular pieces of the same thickness. That way they can roast evenly. Place the pieces on a pan and drizzle with plenty of olive oil and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. The eggplant pieces will need to be in the oven for 20-25 minutes, basically until they’re fully cooked. If they start getting dry before they finish, add more olive oil.

In the meantime, wash your garbanzo beans if they came in a can with preservatives. (If you got dried garbanzos then you need to soak them in water overnight.) Place them in a blender along with a small handful of parsley, the olives, garlic, and eggplant when it’s done roasting. Squeeze in half a lemon, add enough salt & pepper to your liking, and drizzle in the olive oil as it blends. I had a hand blender, so I placed everything in a big bowl and hoped to god the ingredients wouldn’t start flying once the blending began. And if you don’t have any kind of blender, good luck mashing.

I like the texture to be kind of rough, not too puree. Also make sure it's not dry – if so, add more olive oil. When it’s done mixing, put the hummus in a pretty bowl, garnish with parsley, and add a dash of paprika on top. Paprika really doesn’t contribute any new flavors since it’s sweet – I just add it for the color contrast. This hummus turns out a bit greener than normal since we added the eggplant.

And that’s that! Enjoy and let me know how it turns out if you decide to make it!

Chinese Tea Eggs

Let’s start off the new year with one of my mom’s old recipes – hard boiled tea eggs! Delicious, really easy to make, but a bit time consuming. But hey, all I got is free time to spend in the kitchen. I much prefer these flavorful eggs, the taste and the appearance, to normal hard boiled eggs. Since they take 2+ hours to make, my mom would throw in 10 or 15 at a time, leave them on the stove on a low fire for what seemed like half the day, then we’d have enough eggs for the rest of the month.

Now if your mother was anything like mine, you probably never bought any food or went to a restaurant during your family vacations. But I very much doubt anyone had huge tupperwares filled with tea eggs and steamed buns and cold beef marinating in a vinegar sauce that occupied the backseat of the car. Typical vacation food. I’m not complaining though, everything my mother made was delicious.

I had the idea to try making these eggs in Spain after going back home for the summer. In August, my boyfriend, Luis, and I took a week long road trip to Nevada and Arizona and guess what we found waiting for us in the car? An ice chest filled with food, and lots and lots of eggs. Luis was a big fan. That means a lot because he’s one picky bastard. And if he likes it, I think you will too. So, let's get started!






Boyfriend approved!


INGREDIENTS//

+ eggs
+ black tea leaves (no green tea)
+ star anise
+ spicy peppercorn
+ soy sauce
+ salt

An advanced warning: I hate measuring ingredients, in fact I never do, which is why I'll never be a baker. For this recipe, if you're going to make... let's say 6 or 10 eggs, use two pinches of tea leaves, 2 or 3 pinches of salt, around 4 full star anises, a (very) small handful of peppercorn, and enough soy sauce until the water in the pot turns dark brown. Taste the water and make sure that it's salty, but not too salty.

You can find star anise and spicy peppercorn in most Asian supermarkets. If there isn't one nearby, you can find star anise in a spice and herb shop since it's a common ingredient in some teas. Replace the spicy peppercorn with normal peppercorn, but it might lose a bit of it's Chinese touch.


RECIPE//

Put the eggs in a large, deep pot - however many you want to make - and make sure they have space to move and do their eggy business. Add enough cold water in the pot so that it fully covers all the eggs. The trick to making good hard boiled eggs is to start off with cold water, not hot or already boiling. That way the shell comes off nice and clean afterward.

Leave the fire on high until the water starts boiling, then lower to medium. Let the eggs boil for four minutes then remove and rinse under cold water for about a minute. Once you're cool enough to touch, crack the eggs but DO NOT PEEL.

When the entire shell is covered with cracks, it's ready to go back in the pot with new cold water, not the hot water from before. Add the soy sauce and salt first. (Make sure to put the soy sauce in before the tea leaves.) Once the water starts boiling again, throw in the leaves, star anise, and spicy peppercorn.

Turn the fire down to low so that the water is still boiling. Cover the pot and leave on the stove for 2-3 hours. In fact, the longer you leave the eggs boiling, the better it will taste. Some people have been known cook these eggs overnight. The egg white will have a firm texture and the interior will crumble as you bite into it. Now get to it! Forget about the eggs for half the day and go read a book.