Beef Short Ribs with Saifun Noodles
Slow-Cooked Oxtails with Rice Noodles
Cassoulet of Crab, Kimchi, and Harusame
Grilled Pork with Green Papaya Salad and Rice Noodles
WHILE Thai and Vietnamese rice noodles are now in vogue across Japan, when I was a kid we didn’t have Southeast Asian restaurants in my hometown. Only when I moved to Chicago did I first discover these delicacies. I love the aromatic herbs and sweet and spicy tastes of Southeast Asian noodles, so much so that a few years ago I tagged along to Thailand with Chicago’s legendary Thai chef Arun Sampanthavivat to taste them at the source. I’ll never forget that trip—and the amazing noodles I ate there. In this section I include classic Southeast Asian dishes, such as Pad Thai and Curry Shrimp Rice Noodles, as well as a recipe inspired by the Windy City.
Another kind of noodle I’m crazy about is mung bean threads, which have a wonderful chewy texture and readily absorb flavors from the dishes they’re cooked in. Called harusame or saifun noodles, they’re a favorite in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Both bean thread noodle recipes in this section are hot and spicy in homage to Korean cooking, which is enormously popular in Japan.
Beef Short Ribs with Saifun Bean Threads
Saifun bean threads are more toothsome and chewier than rice noodles, so they’re perfect for stir-frying, like in this recipe. I created this recipe for two servings; if you want to prepare it for four, just cook in two batches. I’ve combined these noodles with a spicy, tangy sauce and delicious beef short ribs.
Serves 2
2 bunches (3 ounces total) saifun bean threads
SHORT RIBS
1 clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
1 teaspoon sake
1 teaspoon sugar
⅛ teaspoon hot chili oil
Pinch of pepper
12 ounces ½-inch-thick bone-in short ribs, cut into 8 pieces
VEGETABLES
¼ cup dried wood ear mushrooms
½ cup stemmed thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
⅓ cup peeled thinly sliced celery (2-inch lengths)
¼ cup peeled thinly sliced carrots (2-inch lengths)
1 cup sliced napa cabbage, ends trimmed
SAUCE
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
1 tablespoon sunchang kochujang (Korean chili paste)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Pinch each of salt and pepper
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the noodles. Turn off the heat and let the noodles sit for 20 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Drain well through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside.
To prepare the short ribs, combine the garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, sake, sugar, chili oil, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the short ribs and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
While the short ribs are marinating, prepare the vegetables. Cover the wood ear mushrooms with the hot water and let them soak for 10 minutes at room temperature. Drain the water and thinly slice the mushrooms. Combine with the rest of the vegetables in a bowl and set aside.
To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
To cook, place a large pan over high heat. Add the vegetable oil. When the oil just begins to smoke, add the short ribs one at a time and cook for 1 minute. Use tongs to turn the ribs over and cook for 1 minute longer, or until the ribs are cooked through. Remove the ribs from the pan, set them on a plate, and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.
Drain the oil from the pan and wipe it clean with a paper towel. Place the pan over high heat and add the sesame oil. Add all the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the noodles to the pan. Cook for 1 minute, then stir in the sauce and season with the salt and pepper. Cook for 4 minutes longer, then remove the pan from the heat.
To serve, divide the noodles and vegetables between 2 plates and top each with 4 short ribs.
Oxtail is a favorite ingredient in countries as diverse as Jamaica, France, and Korea. When you taste it, it’s not hard to understand why. To release oxtail’s rich, sublime flavors, though, you must slowly braise it for hours until the meat is absolutely tender. It’s worth the wait.
Serves 4
2 pounds oxtails (4 to 8 pieces)
6 cups water
6 cups Dashi
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
Kosher salt
Pinch of pepper
1 cup peeled thinly sliced daikon (each slice halved)
8 ounces dried rice noodles
2 tablespoons thinly sliced jalapeño rounds
2 scallions, both white and green parts, thinly sliced on an angle
4 sprigs cilantro
Combine the oxtails and water in a small saucepan and place over high heat. Bring the water just to a boil, then remove the pot from the heat, drain the water, and rinse the oxtails and pot well.
Return the oxtails to the pot and add the dashi. Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer the liquid until the meat falls off the bone, about 5 hours. While cooking, add more water, if necessary, to keep the oxtails fully submerged.
When the meat has finished cooking, remove the oxtails from the pot and set them aside. Skim the fat off the top of the broth, discard, and strain the broth into a liquid measuring cup. Measure 6 cups of broth, adding water, if necessary, to equal 6 cups. Pour the broth into a pot and bring to a boil, then add the soy sauce, sake, salt to taste, and pepper. Decrease the heat to low and return the oxtails to the pot. Cover the pot to keep warm until you’re ready to serve.
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the daikon and simmer for 5 minutes. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the daikon from the water to the warm broth. (Do not drain the water.)
Return the water to a boil, add the rice noodles, and cook following package instructions. Drain well and divide among 4 bowls.
Pour 1½ cups of the broth into each bowl and add one-fourth of the oxtails. Garnish with the jalapeño, scallions, and cilantro.
I tasted an unforgettable version of this dish on a trip to Thailand a few years ago, in the city of Chiang Mai, which is famous for its vibrant Thai curries. I love the mixture of aromatic flavors and textures here, and the way this dish is sweet, pungent, and spicy all at once. If you can find them, use Thai eggplants, which are a pale green in color, and have a nice, delicate flavor. Or you can substitute slender Chinese eggplants. This dish has a lot of ingredients but is very straightforward and easy to prepare.
Serves 2
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon grated ginger
½ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon curry powder
2½ cups chicken broth
½ cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon Thai curry paste
2 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
2 kaffir lime leaves
Pinch each of salt and pepper
8 (½-inch-thick) Thai eggplant slices
5 ounces dried rice noodles
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails off
Put the oil in a large sauté pan and set over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the garlic, ginger, red onion, and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables become soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in the curry powder and cook until it is well absorbed, about 1 minute. Then add the chicken broth, coconut milk, Thai curry paste, nam pla, rice wine vinegar, kaffir lime leaves, and salt and pepper. Mix well and add the eggplant. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the eggplant is tender and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the kaffir lime leaves and discard.
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook, following package instructions.
While the noodles are cooking, add the shrimp to the simmering broth. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked through.
To serve, drain the noodles and divide between 2 bowls. Top each with 4 shrimp and half the sauce and vegetables.
Cassoulet of Crab, Kimchi, and Harusame
This dish was inspired by Korean cooking, which is extremely popular in Japan. With a hearty and spicy broth, it’s perfect for wintertime, when crabs are at their peak flavor. I like to serve this dish in individual Asian hot pot dishes, but you can also combine this recipe into one big pot and ladle into bowls. If you’re using live crabs, be sure to remove the head, gills, and tough outer shells before cooking.
Serves 4
1½ tablespoons sesame oil
4 blue crabs, cleaned and quartered (frozen or live)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
5 cups Dashi
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
1 cup roughly chopped kimchi
¼ cup red or brown miso
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces dried harusame (mung bean thread noodles)
2 ounces (1 cup) shungiku (chrysanthemum leaves), ends trimmed
2 scallions, both white and green parts, thinly sliced on an angle
Place a pot over high heat and add the sesame oil. After 1 minute, add the crabs and cook until they turn bright red-orange, about 3 minutes. Then stir in the garlic and cook until it begins to turn light brown, about 30 seconds more.
Add the dashi and bring just to a boil. Decrease the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Skim the surface of the liquid if necessary to remove any scum produced by the crabs.
Stir in the sake, soy sauce, kimchi, miso paste, and salt, and simmer for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.
Place a pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook, following package directions. Rinse well under cold running water and drain. Lay the noodles in a loose pile on a cutting board and cut into quarters.
Fill each of 4 small Asian hot pot dishes or cassoulet dishes with the noodles and set them over high heat. Divide the crab and broth among the hot pots and cover. Bring the broth to a boil, about 3 minutes, then add the shungiku. Cover again and cook until the shungiku just becomes tender, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Garnish with the scallions and serve hot.
Credit my Irish-Italian, Chicago-native wife, Kathy, for inspiring this dish. She loves corned beef, a Windy City favorite, so I’ve cooked it many times for my family. But I’ve always thought it was a shame that we enjoyed the delicious brisket but ignored the flavorful cooking broth, which typically isn’t consumed. So I thought, look at it the Japanese way—add noodles. I tried it and it tasted fantastic. So now when I make corned beef, my Irish-Italian-Japanese children always look forward to corned beef broth noodles with leftovers the next day. This dish takes time to cook slowly, but it’s easy to prepare. You can also use leftover corned beef for hash and sandwiches.
Serves 4
2 to 3 pounds uncooked corned beef brisket and packaged spice mix (brisket and spice mix come packaged at the grocery store)
¼ onion, peeled and ends trimmed
1 stalk celery, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
½ green cabbage, core removed and halved
1 leek, white part only, halved lengthwise
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
10 ounces dried rice noodles
Grainy Dijon mustard, for garnish
Cut the beef in half and place both pieces in a large pot. Fill with enough cold water to cover the beef. Turn the heat to high and bring the water just to a boil, then strain the liquid and discard. Return the beef to the pot and cover again with cold water. Set over high heat until the water comes to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer for 1½ to 2 hours.
Transfer the meat to a new pot and strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Cover the meat with the strained cooking liquid and return to a simmer. Add the packaged spice mix, onion, celery, carrot, cabbage, leek, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and soy sauce; cook for 30 minutes, or until the beef is very tender. Test for doneness by inserting a paring knife into the center of the beef; it’s done if the knife slides easily into the meat. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
Remove one piece of corned beef and place it on a cutting board. Slice into ¼-inch-thick pieces. Reserve the other piece of corned beef for future use.
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook, following package instructions. Drain well and divide among 4 bowls.
To serve, fill each of the bowls with one-fourth of the sliced beef, onion, celery, carrot, cabbage, and leek, and ¼ cup of the cooking broth. Garnish with a dab of mustard.
This recipe makes more corned beef than you need for this dish. You can use leftover corned beef the way we do in Chicago: turn it into a sandwich. Pile slices on crusty bread, garnish with the cooked cabbage and carrot, then slather on mustard. And don’t forget corned beef hash! Shred the corned beef and stir fry it with diced potatoes and onions. Season with salt and pepper and serve with eggs. Not Japanese, of course, but both delicious.
This Southeast Asian–influenced dish is perfect for summer dining: it is light and refreshing, with tangy sweet-and-sour flavors. I love green papaya, an ingredient that has an appealing crunch and natural sweetness. Lemongrass, another one of my favorite Southeast Asian ingredients, adds a wonderful lemony fragrance. I cook with both at my restaurant.
Serves 4
PORK MARINADE
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic
1 (8-inch) piece lemongrass, halved and smashed
¼ cup Japanese soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons sake
Pinch each of salt and pepper
4 teaspoons sugar
12 ounces pork loin, thinly sliced
GREEN PAPAYA SALAD
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup thinly sliced jicama
¼ cup thinly sliced cucumber
½ cup thinly sliced green papaya
DRESSING
6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons tobanjan (Chinese chili paste)
1 teaspoon nam pla (fish sauce)
10 ounces dried rice noodles
4 cups butter lettuce or other leafy greens
4 sprigs cilantro
4 teaspoons chopped toasted peanuts
To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Add the pork and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, to prepare the green papaya salad, place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.
To prepare the dressing, place all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle over the salad and toss to combine thoroughly.
Heat a grill or grill pan over high heat. Add the pork and cook on each side for 1 minute, or until cooked through. Transfer the pork to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook, following package instructions. Drain well.
To assemble, arrange 1 cup of lettuce on each of 4 plates. Divide the noodles among the plates and place on top of the lettuce. Add one-fourth of the green papaya salad and pork to each plate. Garnish with the cilantro and toasted peanuts.
One of Thailand’s signature dishes, pad thai is as popular in Japan as it is here in America. Rice noodles are easy to overcook, so be sure to prepare this dish in small batches. If you do want to serve four people, prepare enough ingredients for four servings (including doubling the sauce), but cook the recipe in two batches, one after the other. Also, use a nonstick skillet, if possible, because rice noodles can stick to a regular pan.
Serves 2
3 tablespoons peanuts
¼ cup dehydrated shrimp (available in Asian markets)
½ cup hot water
2 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)
1 teaspoon tobanjan (Chinese chili paste)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Pinch each of salt and pepper
5 ounces dried rice noodles
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails off
6 ounces pork loin, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups bean sprouts
½ cup chopped garlic chives (1-inch pieces)
2 eggs, beaten
2 sprigs cilantro
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lay the peanuts on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature, then roughly chop. Set aside.
Place the dehydrated shrimp in a small bowl. Cover with the hot water and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Drain well and chop into small pieces. Set aside
In a bowl, mix together the nam pla, tobanjan, sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook, following package instructions. Drain the noodles and rinse well under cold running water. Toss the noodles with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil to prevent them from sticking together. Set aside.
Place a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add the 6 large shrimp and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the pork and cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp and pork to a plate, leaving behind the cooking oil. Set aside.
Return the pan to the burner and decrease the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 15 seconds, then stir in the rehydrated shrimp, peanuts, bean sprouts, and garlic chives, and cook for 1 minute. Add the eggs and cook for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat but keep the pan on the burner. Stir in the noodles and reserved pork and shrimp, then add the sauce mixture, combining well.
Turn the heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until the pork and shrimp are heated through.
Remove the pan from the heat and divide the noodles and vegetables between 2 plates. Garnish with a few cilantro leaves.
This light and flavorful noodle dish is one of my favorites. We use a lot of Asian ingredients at my Chicago restaurant, foods I shop for myself at the local Asian market. The best part of those trips is the Vietnamese place next door, where I stop regularly, shopping bags in hand, for a delicious bowl of pho before heading back to my kitchen. Lightly dipping the beef in broth to cook it, as I describe below, is referred to as “shabu-shabu” in Japan.
Serves 4
6 cups beef broth
1 cinnamon stick
4 pieces star anise
8 ounces beef sirloin or rib eye, thinly sliced (ask your butcher to slice it very thin)
½ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup nam pla (fish sauce)
1 tablespoon shirojoyu (white soy sauce)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of pepper
10 ounces dried rice noodles
2 cups bean sprouts
12 basil leaves
8 sprigs cilantro
2 teaspoons garlic oil (recipe follows)
Combine the beef broth, cinnamon, and star anise in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the spices from the liquid and discard.
Dip each piece of beef, one at a time, into the simmering broth for 10 seconds, and then set on a plate. Repeat until you’ve dipped all the beef slices. Cover the plate when done to keep warm.
Once all the beef has been cooked, add the onion, nam pla, and shirojoyu to the broth. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Decrease the heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.
Place a pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook, following the package instructions. Drain well and divide the noodles among 4 bowls.
To serve, top each bowl of noodles with 1½ cups broth and one-fourth of the beef. Garnish with the bean sprouts, basil leaves, cilantro, and garlic oil.
GARLIC OIL AND GARLIC CHIPS
Makes 1 cup
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic
Pour the oil into a small sauté pan and place over medium heat. Add the garlic and carefully stir with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the garlic just begins to turn golden brown and become crisp. Be careful not to overcook the garlic, or both the garlic chips and the oil will become bitter.
Strain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve and let cool at room temperature. Carefully transfer the garlic chips to a paper towel to cool. Use them as a garnish for Mushroom Ramen.
If you happen to live near a butcher shop, ask them for scrap meat, the pieces that usually go to make ground beef. Otherwise, pick up stew meat at the supermarket to prepare this broth—no need to cook this recipe with expensive cuts of beef.
Makes 2 quarts
3 pounds beef scrap meat or stew meat
6 quarts cold water
1 cup peeled chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped leek (white part only)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and smashed
Combine the beef and 3 quarts of the water in a large pot and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and drain the liquid through a sieve (discard the liquid). Rinse the beef and the pot well with cold water to remove any impurities, then return the beef to the pot again and cover with the remaining 3 quarts cold water.
Bring the water to a boil again, then decrease the heat to medium so the liquid simmers. Skim the surface to remove any scum that has accumulated. Add the carrots, celery, onion, leek, garlic, and ginger, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours to extract as much beef flavor as possible. The broth will reduce while it simmers, making 2 quarts when finished. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the beef and vegetables.
