Asian for Unappreciative European Kids

Hello, happy Monday!

It's pouring over here, but the weekend was hot enough for one last late summer day at
the beach, and that means I'm in the best of moods today. It's absolutely pathetic, btw,
my mood's dependence on the weather.

I've been in a good mood a lot lately, though, and I think it has something to do with my
having cooked good food over the last month or so. Yes, you read that right, cooked. I abhor
cooking, partly because I never know what to cook, and partly because once I do cook,
nobody in this house, apart from wolverine Sisi, will eat it.

But here is something we all like to eat, that's healthy, and easy to make, and that includes tofu.

Mee Goreng, a vegetarian Malaysian noodle dish.



You need:


2 tbsp groundnut oil
½ onion, peeled and diced
220g firm tofu, cut into 0.5cm thick strips
100g french beans, trimmed and cut in half on an angle
100g choi sum (or pak choi), leaves and stems, cut into large chunks
300g fresh egg noodles (I used 100 g dry ones, cooked)
1½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sambal olek (or other savoury chilli paste), plus extra to serve (didn't use it,
too hot for the kids)
2 tsp thick soy sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce (I don't know the difference between thick and light soy sauces, so
I just used 4 tsp of whatever soy sauce it is that they sell in Finnish grocery stores)
50g bean sprouts
1 handful shredded iceberg lettuce
1 tbsp crispy fried shallots (didn't use them)
Lemon wedges, to serve 


Put a wok or large pan over high heat. Once hot, add the oil, then the onion and
cook to soften it for a minute. Add the tofu and french beans, and cook to give the
tofu a bit of colour - two to three minutes. Stir gently as you cook, so as not to break
the tofu.

Add the choi sum and, when it wilts, the noodles. Spread them in the wok using tongs
or chopsticks - you want them to get a lot of heat, almost to fry. Mix gently, cooking the
noodles for about two minutes. Now add the spices, sambal olek, soy sauce, bean sprouts
and a tablespoon of cold water, and toss carefully. Cook for about a minute, or until the
noodles are semi-soft.

When ready to serve, transfer the noodles into bowls and top with shredded lettuce and
crispy shallots.




It tastes so good. (And the shredded lettuce, though likely unauthentic, makes all the
difference I tell ya)

The recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi's book Plenty.


PS. I snooped around my stats and came across these two awesome new-to-me blogs:

... kiskakasblog from Hungary...
 and
... oon from Holland (Belgium!)....

See you later!