Spicy Soba Noodles with Shiitakes and Cabbage
05::tap tap:: Is this thing on? Hi! So sorry for the lack of blog posting. You’re just going to have to bear with me while I figure out this whole new routine. You see, I’m officially a suburbanite. And the last week or so has sort of been hell.
We made the dumb decision to travel to both sides of our families during Christmas time when we really should have been packing. So, of course all our packing was done at the last minute (special shout out to the -46 degree wind chills that kept my office closed on Monday and allowed me to spend more time packing). We were up late for several nights, and then we moved on Wednesday, where thankfully we had a heat wave of around 25 degrees or so. On Thursday and Friday, we decided to send the kids to their new school to test our commute. We thought we could spend those days unpacking. Silly us! Instead we had to wait on deliveries, run errands, return to our condo to clean and finish packing (getting stuck in the snow and needing to push the car twice) and a million other things. So our house is still in shambles. But we’re getting there. Slowly.
The commuter train is not a bad deal, really. I’m downtown in less than 30 minutes, but I do have about a mile hike to work, which I have found sort of annoying at least for the first 1/3 or so because there are so many people walking. And if you know me at all, you know I’m one of those people who does NOT like walking slowly (very UNEuropean of me). Because we now live and die by the train schedule, the evening commute is a bit worse. We’re getting home later than we would like, by quite a bit. Dinners are going to be HARD until we figure something out. This week we’ve gotten by on soup I made ahead and the crockpot. So, I can’t make any promises as to how often this blog will be updated, but hopefully this will motivate me to make some really awesomely delicious stuff on the weekends when I have more time, to share with you. 🙂
This recipe, though, is a great one to make when you’re short on time. It’s done in the time it takes to boil water/cook soba noodles and it’s nice and healthy to boot. You can keep it vegetarian or add meat protein and you can adjust the spice level to your preference. Anyone who is ready to pull their hair out due to weekday schedules should have this in his or her life.
Spicy Soba Noodles with Shiitakes and Cabbage
Adapted from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen
Sauce
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2-3 teaspoons Korean hot-pepper paste (sometimes labeled “gochujang;” chili paste like Sambal Oelek will also work)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
Noodles
3 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil
2 Tbsp. peeled, minced ginger root
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 1/4 pound Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (8 cups)
6 scallions, thinly sliced
8 to 9 ounces soba (buckwheat noodles)
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Stir together all sauce ingredients until brown sugar is dissolved; set aside.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat, then saute the ginger and garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shiitakes and saute, stirring frequently, until tender and starting to brown, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, then add cabbage and most of scallions (reserve about a tablespoon for garnish). Cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Add sauce and simmer 2 minutes.
While cabbage is cooking, cook soba and edamame together in a pasta pot of boiling salted water until noodles are just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water to stop cooking and remove excess starch. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with sesame seeds, vegetable mixture, and toastes sesame oil. Serve sprinkled with reserved scallions.
Yay! Glad you’re back and settling into the new place! This dish sounds fabulous…love the soba in there.
Moving is always difficult! Good luck settling in to a new schedule.
Glad you’re back and hoping you all figure out a nice routine soon. This dish sounds fantastic! Perfect for my cabbage hating husband. 😉 Thanks for sharing.
I am glad you are finally moved, that sounds so hectic! I adore spicy noodles, this looks so easy- I will make it soon!
I tend to do the majority of my cooking on the weekend, so I think you can do it!! And moving is always rough…but moving in -agazillion degree weather..sounds awful. But you made it!
I need more easy noodle recipes like this in arsenal. We really don’t eat Asian noodles enough.