3 times the fun with Udon Noodles

I love being in the kitchen – really, I do. I find chopping veggies very therapeutic and I love the ritual of cooking up a yummy dish and then sitting down to enjoy it with someone I love. It is one of the most therapeutic rituals in my life. But I also love turning leftovers into new meals!

Today I am giving you one simple base recipe that can be adapted 3 different ways:

• Udon noodles with beef
• Udon noodles with peas (for my veggie friends)
• Udon noodle salad from leftovers

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All three start with the same base:

Start by boiling your noodles. I used Organic (Canadian – yay!) Spelt Udon noodles. I know that is a mouth full and may sound terribly intimidating, but you could really use any noodle or pasta that you love! Cooking is all about making something delicious that you want to eat, right?

Once al dente, drain the water and toss back into your pot. To the pot add the following: salt and pepper, a splash of olive oil, soya sauce, worcestershire sauce and about a teaspoon of syrup ( I just used a golden syrup). Use tongs to mix it all together.

On the side, chop some red onion and fry in olive oil. Do not over cook the onion – it is better if it is still a little bit firm.

Garnish for all three:

red pepper flakes and parsley to taste

You may as well now know that I am not very precise about measurements – I just splash and pinch different ingredients to taste depending on how much I am making.

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Udon noodles with beef

Fry up some beef – I used a nice piece of sirloin steak. Once cooked to your desired level, cut up in strips and mix into the noodles.

Garnish, serve and enjoy!

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Udon noodles with peas (for my veggie friends)

Nice strips of grilled beef is certainly not for everyone.  I often choose to eat vegetarian meals and do not need meat every day.  So whether you are vegetarian or prefer a meatless meal once in a while, this recipe can be adapted by replacing the meat with a variety of veggies.

I chose to boil some peas to add to the base noodles because I like how the sweet flavour combines with the base, and also that it doesn’t overcrowd the noodles (which is the star of the show). You can go wild and add any vegetables that you like.  I imagine steamed broccoli would be very good in this recipe too!

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Udon noodle salad from leftovers

Here comes the lazy part.  These noodles make for fantastic leftovers and are extremely tasty when served cold!  To turn this into a salad I like to chop up an avocado and squeeze lemon all over.  Feel free to modify to your heart’s content: maybe add some feta cheese, or some grape tomatoes?

Now that the weather is getting nicer I am putting this one in my back pocket to pull out on one of those days when I want to eat a refreshing meal.

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you get to enjoy some good food with good company this weekend!

Nienke