A bowl of noodles with a bit of spice, crispy bok choy, and a savory sauce is one I can’t turn down. This recipe is customizable, meaning you can use fresh or dried ramen, udon, or even dried spaghetti. No bok choy? Replace it with broccolini, choy sum, or another green and crisp vegetable. If you want to dial up the heat, increase the amount of gochuchang in the sauce.
Tahini adds a richness and silkiness to the sauce so don’t skip this ingredient.
The original recipe from Bon Appetit calls for using broccoli rabe, however, it is not easily found in our markets on Maui, except at Whole Foods or Mana Foods. Bok choy is easier to find and I love the crispness it adds to the dish.
The sauce ingredients are simply whisked together in a bowl.
Cut the bok choy stems into short pieces and stir fry them briefly before adding the leaves which will cook in no time at all.
The cooked noodles are added to the wok with the vegetables along with the sauce. The sauce will reduce in less than a minute which provides just enough time to warm the noodles.
8-10 ounces fresh or dried noodles (ramen, udon, spaghetti)
3 tablespoons gochujang (less or more depending on desired heat level)
3 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium can be used, or a mixture of low sodium and regular soy sauce)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons sesame oil (Kadoya recommended)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 baby bok choy, stems cut into 1-inch pieces, large leaves coarsely chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful of torn basil leaves + more for serving (baby leaves or larger leaves torn)
Toasted sesame seeds and lime wedges (for serving)
Directions
Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water.
Whisk gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl to combine; set sauce aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high. Add bok choy stems and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add bok choy leaves and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute just to wilt the leaves. Turn heat down to medium.
Add reserved sauce, noodles and a handful of basil to the wok, stirring often until the sauce thickens a bit (pan should not be dry) about 1 minute.
Divide noodles among bowls and top with sesame seeds and more basil. Serve with lime wedges.
I can’t think of a more refreshing and satisfying combination than crisp vegetables served over ramen, drizzled with a tangy dressing. Although we usually think of ramen served in a steaming hot broth, it can also be used in cold or room temperature dishes like this one. The colorful vegetables are served on a bed of toothsome noodles that make for a delightful lunch.
All the vegetables for this dish as well as the dressing can be prepared the night before you plan to serve it (except for the avocado). If you can’t find fresh ramen you may use dried noodles. I used fresh Sun Noodle ramen this time, however, Hakubaku brand dried ramen is a good choice if fresh is not available. If you prefer a wavy noodle, you might choose Ichiban dried ramen. Just be careful not to overcook the noodles so they retain their chewy texture. The noodles are best cooked just before serving.
There are lots of options for the salad toppings. I used cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, and avocado. Other good choices would be watercress, summer squash, green onions. Make your dish colorful.
The dressing for this salad uses ingredients that are not difficult to find at your local market. The fresh lime juice makes this dressing pop!
This is a one bowl meal that really hits the spot especially this time of the year when temperatures are soaring.
A refreshing ramen salad perfect for a summer meal
Ingredients
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
10 ounces fresh or 6 ounces dried ramen noodles
2-3 cups shredded or julienned vegetables (radishes, iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, cucumber, summer squash, carrots, scallions, avocado
Directions
Combine seasoned rice vinegar through sesame oil in a jar. Shake and set aside.
Cook noodles according to package directions until just al dente. Immediately drain the noodles in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a medium bowl, toss with half of the dressing.
Divide the noodles between bowls. Arrange vegetables over the ramen and serve with remaining dressing.
This tuna macaroni salad is delicious and quick to make with ingredients you already have in your pantry. It makes the perfect side dish for sandwiches, grilled chicken, tofu, pork or any of your favorite grilled foods. Include it as part of your bento lunch along with a spam musubi or katsu sando.
I love crispy bits of celery in my salads though you can leave it out if it’s not your thing. That goes for the onion as well. When using them raw, I go for sweet onions that have a more subtle flavor than their yellow or red counterparts.
You may use sweet relish right out of the jar or chop bread and butter pickles for a chunkier, crisper texture.
Serve the salad after it has chilled for at least 3 hours. Everyone will enjoy this summertime side dish.
¼ cup chopped bread and butter pickle chips or sweet relish
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons sweet onion, finely chopped
paprika for garnish
Preparation
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the macaroni according to package instructions. For this salad you don't want the pasta to be al dente, but fully cooked. Drain, rinse with cold water until the pasta is cool. Pour pasta onto a clean kitchen towel or a few stacks of paper towels to dry thoroughly.
Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise with the chopped pickles or sweet relish, Dijon mustard, onion powder, and pepper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked macaroni with the tuna, egg, celery and onion. Fold in the mayonnaise dressing until macaroni is evenly coated.
Taste and add kosher salt and more mayonnaise as needed. Cover and refrigerate for a least 3 hours until well chilled. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.
Notes: Salad can be made 1 day in advance (keeps well for 3 days). Double the recipe to feed a larger crowd.
This ramen dish is one of our new favorites. It has tons of umami flavor that makes this dish a real stand out. The chili crisp adds a nice hint of heat and is used in the sauce and later spooned over the noodles before serving. This happens to be a vegan recipe which means that everyone can try it out. Surprise! The tofu is not bland, watery or tasteless in this dish. Even non-vegans will find it delicious.
I highly recommend the TofuXpress tofu press for those of you who eat and cook tofu often. In fact even if you cook with tofu occasionally, this handy kitchen gadget is a dream come true. You may shy away from buying it because of the price (online from $42.95) but just go for it. I have had mine for more than 10 years and never regret purchasing it. The water is pressed out of the tofu quickly so that your tofu is ready to use in 15-30 minutes. For this dish I suggest using extra firm tofu such as WildWood Organic.
Once the water is pressed out, the tofu is crumbled into small pieces before pan frying until crisp.
I prefer to use fresh ramen noodles, however, I use dried ramen when fresh is not available. If using the dried version such as Ichiban, be sure to undercook the noodles until just al dente since they are quite a bit thinner than fresh noodles.
Shiitake mushrooms are a big star in this recipe. They are chopped finely and pan fried with the diced shallots until nicely browned before being added to the fried tofu.
I purchased three different brands of chili crisp to see which one I liked best. There are hundreds of versions available. Of the three I purchased, my favorite is Zindrew. It’s on the mild heat side, but it has lots of flavor, is very crunchy, and is the least oily. There’s just a tablespoon of it left in the jar!
The crumbled tofu is pan fried until crisp on both sides. The texture of the fried tofu is pleasantly firm with a bit of chew to it.
Shiitake mushrooms are fried with diced shallots until nicely browned. These mushrooms works so well with this dish because they have a meaty texture and do not have as much water as other types of mushrooms.
The sauce is added to the tofu and mushroom mixture and quickly heated before serving. The original recipe from Bon Appetit calls this dish Saucy Tofu Noodles with Cucumbers and Chili Crisp. I found that in order to keep this “saucy” the sauce should be heated separately otherwise the tofu and mushroom mixture absorbs the sauce very quickly. Either way, it’s just delicious.
Thinly sliced quick cucumber pickles are the topping for this ramen dish. Their tartness and crisp texture are a perfect accompaniment to the savory tofu ramen.
1 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu, water pressed out
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped
1 shallot (2 tablespoons) finely chopped
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium or 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
10 ounces fresh ramen (12 ounces for 4 servings)
Preparation
Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, black vinegar, 1 tablespoon chili crisp, and ½ cup water in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
Toss cucumbers with rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¾ teaspoon Morton salt in a medium bowl. Let sit, stirring occasionally until cucumbers have slightly softened, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside in a small bowl.
Meanwhile, press water from tofu using TofuXpress or wrap in a clean kitchen towel (gather ends together) and squeeze with your hands over the sink to extract as much liquid as possible. Crumble drained tofu into a medium bowl (it should resemble cooked ground meat with some larger pieces). Sprinkle with cornstarch and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ Morton salt. Toss with your hands to evenly coat tofu.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Arrange tofu crumbles in a single layer, reserve bowl. Cook tofu undisturbed until golden brown underneath, about 4 minutes. Toss and continue cooking until tofu is golden brown and crisp all over, about 3-4 minutes more. Transfer tofu back to reserved bowl.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet and heat to medium high. Add mushrooms and shallot, and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are browned and shallot is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and return tofu to the pan. Add reserved sauce and heat for about 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat. For saucier version, heat sauce in a separate skillet over medium until just slightly reduced.
Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain and divide among bowls. Ladle tofu over noodles and top with reserved pickled cucumbers and more chili crisp. If sauce has been heated separately, pour sauce over tofu right before serving.
In the May issue of Food & Wine magazine, Hetty McKinnon (cookbook and food writer) tells the story of her visit to Tokyo and how a simple bowl of udon became life-changing. The noodles were toothsome, served with a perfectly cooked jammy egg, green onions and a bit of flavorful broth. It was served with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper scattered over the top which paired perfectly with the udon. After reading the article, I was determined to prepare this noodle dish. Now, more than a month has gone by and I’ve made it at least three times, and every bowl has been as delightful as the last.
Sun Noodle sells fresh udon at Island Grocery market in Kahului. I will go out of my way to pick up a package of their excellent udon and ramen even if they are the only items I’ll buy that day.
I just love eggs, especially ones with soft yolks. The eggs I made for this dish are boiled for exactly six minutes and 50 seconds. They are quickly transferred to an ice bath to stop the cooking. You can use them as is, or make soy sauce eggs if you have extra time. Either way, the egg turns out perfectly with jammy centers and fully cooked whites.
It’s such a simple recipe with easy to find ingredients. The baby bok choy adds color and crunch, but it is optional. Don’t skip the green onions, egg, and pepper. Sometimes I will sprinkle shichimi togarashi pepper over the noodles to add a bit of spice to the dish. This recipe does not have a lot of broth. If you prefer more, increase that part of the recipe. However, I find that there is just enough to keep the udon hot, and the soup gets slurped up when the bowl is empty of noodles.
½ cup finely sliced green onions, green and white tender stems
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil
flaky sea salt for the eggs
shichimi togarashi Japanese pepper, optional
Preparation
Fill a small saucepan with water; bring to a boil over high heat. Gently lower eggs into boiling water. Set timer for 6 minutes and 50 seconds. Once water returns to boiling, lower the heat slightly to maintain a gentle boil. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with ice water. Once the eggs have cooked, transfer to the ice water bath immediately. Let cool for a few minutes before peeling.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, stir together the vegetable stock, soy sauce, and mirin in a small saucepan. Cook over low, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 6 minutes. Add noodles to boiling water and cook according to package directions for al dente. Drain noodles, and divide evenly among 4 bowls.
Pour hot soy sauce broth over each bowl of noodles. Add a tablespoon of butter to each bowl and allow to melt into the noodles and broth. Halve the eggs and top each bowl with 2 egg halves. Sprinkle a bit of flaky sea salt and black pepper over the eggs. Add the green onions and scatter a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper over the noodles. Finish with a drizzle of sesame oil before serving. Serve with shichimi togarashi pepper (optional).
This baked feta and tomato pasta dish is one of the easiest and most delicious meals we have been enjoying lately. The recipe went viral on TikTok and for good reason. It’s a hands off recipe that comes together in an hour. The resulting dish is just superb. Serve it with good bread to sop up all of the delicious juices from the tomatoes and olive oil.
It’s not a fancy or complex pasta dish but if I was served this at a restaurant I would be begging the chef for the recipe.
If you can find small tomatoes on the vine it makes for a nice presentation. However, it’s not essential because the tomatoes will be crushed and mixed with the feta and olive oil once it comes out of the oven. A fine quality feta such as Mt. Vikos really makes this dish shine. Mt. Vikos is the best I have found and worth the few extra dollars. It isn’t overly salty, and the flavor is outstanding. This feta is creamier than cow’s milk feta which tends to be saltier and tarter than sheep and goat’s milk feta. Here on Maui, you can find Mt. Vikos feta at Whole Foods and occasionally I see it at Safeway.
Just before you mix everything together, fresh minced garlic gets tossed into the hot dish where it will cook just enough to mellow its sharp raw bite.
Serve the pasta with lightly toasted sourdough bread topped with some of the crushed tomatoes and olive oil.
10 ounces short pasta (Gemelli, Casarecce, Penne, Fusille)
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced
3 tablespoons julienned basil
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place tomatoes in an oven safe baking dish (9x11 works great). Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes, followed by ½ teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. Coat the tomatoes evenly with the olive oil by gently tossing together. Place the feta block in the middle of the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with a few pinches of red pepper flakes and dried oregano. Bake uncovered until the tomatoes have burst and the feta has softened, about 30 minutes. Increase the heat to 450 degrees and continue to cook until the tomatoes and feta are golden brown, about 10 minutes more.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in generously salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup pasta water.
As soon as the feta and tomatoes come out of the oven, stir in the minced garlic. Use the back of a wooden spoon to smash the tomatoes and feta into a creamy sauce. Toss in the pasta and half of the basil, mixing until pasta is evenly coated. If the pasta seems dry, add a few tablespoons of pasta water. Serve with remaining basil and freshly ground black pepper.
