I was so excited when Paula’s daughter, Ashley C., agreed to cook for Regular Cooks. She is a young girl and a young cook. She just started cooking when she recently got married.
When I walked into Ashley C’s house in downtown Elizabeth City, I was greeted with soothing Japanese music and two beautiful tablescapes: One for tea and the other was a coffee table decorated with lovely candles in the Asian style.
The TV was playing old Bruce Lee movies. We were ready for Yakisoba.
I had never heard of Yakisoba and had to Google it. My husband is not crazy about Japanese food, so we never go to restaurants that serve it and besides a few teriyaki marinaded chicken or beef dinners, I didn’t have much experience with it.
Ashley and her husband, Jeremy, are newlyweds. They are both from Elizabeth City. Their kitchen has been renovated and Ashley has decorated it in her unique style, with an old and new mix.
Jeremy’s job takes them all over the country and in October they are moving to Japan for six months. They are very excited about it except for the fact that they are going to be issued bicycles and not a car when they arrive.
Apparently Yakisoba can be made 100 different ways. All of which calls for the Japanese buckwheat noodles, called Soba noodles.
Ashley keeps it simple. Even though she holds no formal job, she doesn’t want to get into fancy cooking every night….and she does cook every night. She and Jeremy are not crazy about some of the restaurants in town and would rather spend it together in their cozy house with a nice bottle of wine. They really enjoy each other’s company.
Ashley was almost apologetic about not cooking Yakisoba like the other recipes she’d seen. She actually refers to hers as “Fake” Yakisoba. She said she didn’t even have a wok. But I had to remind her that this blog is about regular cooks cooking what they cook with what they have in their own kitchens. She makes this dish quite frequently and it’s a healthy choice for them.
Today she made Yakisoba for a crowd, however, since she and Jeremy are newlyweds, I will give you the recipe for two. Awww, isn’t that cute?
Ashley’s Yakisoba Serves 2
First get your water boiling for the noodles.
Meanwhile, Ashley began prepping her vegetables. She uses an onion, a red pepper and a green pepper and cuts them into bite-sized pieces.
She also minces a clove of garlic and about the same amount of grated fresh ginger, although she uses the powdered kind also if she doesn’t have fresh.
She then cuts up two breasts of chicken into bite sized pieces.
She starts by sauteing half the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds over medium heat and then adds the chicken, some salt and pepper and cooks until almost done and then adds 1/4 cup of soy sauce.
She sautes the remainder of the garlic and ginger in a separate pan with the onions and peppers over medium heat and sautes the vegetables together until translucent.
When the water starts boiling add the package of Soba noodles and cook for 3 minutes. Drain noodles and serve with vegetables and chicken. If the noodles stick, you can add a little oil.
Ashley served a watermelon salad with rice wine vinegar, sugar, mint and ginger.
And for dessert, her sister, Tracy, made a dairy-free rice pudding with coconut milk, cooked pears and toasted coconut.
YUMMY SOBA.
Ashley's Yakisoba Recipes
Grocery List
- 2 Breast of Chicken
- 1 9.5 oz (approx) Soba Buckwheat Noodles
- 1 Onion, 1 Red Pepper, 1 Green Pepper, 1 Clove Garlic
- Grated Ginger to taste
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- Get your water boiling for the noodles.
- Cut an onion, a red pepper and a green pepper and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Mince a clove of garlic and about the same amount of grated fresh ginger (or a 1/2 tsp of ground ginger)
- Cut up two breasts of chicken into bite sized pieces.
- Saute half of the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds over medium heat and then add the chicken, some salt and pepper and cook until almost done.
- Add 1/4 cup of soy sauce.
- Saute the other half of the garlic and ginger in a separate pan over medium heat and saute the vegetables together until translucent.
- When the water starts boiling add approx 9.5 oz package of Soba noodles and cook for 3 minutes. Drain noodles and serve with vegetables and chicken. If the noodles stick, you can add a little oil. Serve with Soy Sauce.
Watermelon and Mint Salad
Grocery List
- 1/2 large watermelon
- 1 Tbsp fresh mint
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- Scoop 1/2 of a watermelon into balls with a melon baller.
- Mix melon balls, 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp on fresh mint chopped and 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger.
- Chill for at least an hour.
- Serve chilled.
Tracy’s No-Dairy Rice Pudding
- http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Dairy-Free-Coconut-Rice-Pudding-59902 for the rice pudding. The pears are 3 Asian pears sliced and baked in brown sugar and grated ginger. Just fill the bottom of a pie pan with 4 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger bake for 15 minutes at 375 and toss them halfway through baking.
Regular Cooks 