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louisianaworldkitchen: Tantan Noodles Japanese New Year’s Eve tradition requires one to eat a bowl of noodles. Noodles, because they are long, are supposed to signify long lives. Purists would have plain buckwheat noodles served with dashi-based simple dipping sauce. While growing up in Tokyo, I remember going to Shimokitazawa with my mother to buy freshly rolled and cut buckwheat noodles at a small noodle shop. The shop was absolutely mad busy on New Year’s Eve. They only sold fresh buckwheat noodles on NYE to the long line of customers standing outside all bundled up. I’m not much of a Japanese food purist, however. Besides, there is no buckwheat noodle shop in my neighborhood.  So I opted for tantan noodles. Tantan noodles are the Japanese version of super-spicy Sichuan soup noodle dish (dandan noodles). It is comforting and satisfying on any chilly evening, actually. There is no reason to wait until NYE to make these for supper. This is what I did (4 servings): Soup - 4 cups chicken stock, 1.5 Tbsp Sriracha, 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp sugar, all combined in a pot and heated. (This soup is very spicy-hot. Use less Sriracha if necessary.) Topping - 1 Lbs ground pork, a little bit of Sriracha (to taste), 1 shoot of green onion (chopped), i piece of ginger root (minced) and a few cloves of garlic (minced), stir-fried until no longer pink, then 1 Tbsp of soy sauce and 1 Tbsp of sesame oil are mixed in. Noodles - 3/4 Lbs of spaghetti noodles are cooked in a pot of boiling water with 1 Tbsp of baking soda until tender. Baking soda makes ordinary spaghetti noodles taste a bit like Chinese noodles.  Assembly - Divide the noodles into four serving bowls, top with the ground meat mixture, then pour the soup over. I like to garnish with lots of cilantro and some minced green onions. Happy New Year!

louisianaworldkitchen:

Tantan Noodles

Japanese New Year’s Eve tradition requires one to eat a bowl of noodles. Noodles, because they are long, are supposed to signify long lives.

Purists would have plain buckwheat noodles served with dashi-based simple dipping sauce. While growing up in Tokyo, I remember going to Shimokitazawa with my mother to buy freshly rolled and cut buckwheat noodles at a small noodle shop. The shop was absolutely mad busy on New Year’s Eve. They only sold fresh buckwheat noodles on NYE to the long line of customers standing outside all bundled up.

I’m not much of a Japanese food purist, however. Besides, there is no buckwheat noodle shop in my neighborhood. 

So I opted for tantan noodles. Tantan noodles are the Japanese version of super-spicy Sichuan soup noodle dish (dandan noodles). It is comforting and satisfying on any chilly evening, actually. There is no reason to wait until NYE to make these for supper.

This is what I did (4 servings):

  • Soup - 4 cups chicken stock, 1.5 Tbsp Sriracha, 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp sugar, all combined in a pot and heated. (This soup is very spicy-hot. Use less Sriracha if necessary.)
  • Topping - 1 Lbs ground pork, a little bit of Sriracha (to taste), 1 shoot of green onion (chopped), i piece of ginger root (minced) and a few cloves of garlic (minced), stir-fried until no longer pink, then 1 Tbsp of soy sauce and 1 Tbsp of sesame oil are mixed in.
  • Noodles - 3/4 Lbs of spaghetti noodles are cooked in a pot of boiling water with 1 Tbsp of baking soda until tender. Baking soda makes ordinary spaghetti noodles taste a bit like Chinese noodles. 
  • Assembly - Divide the noodles into four serving bowls, top with the ground meat mixture, then pour the soup over. I like to garnish with lots of cilantro and some minced green onions.

Happy New Year!

Filed under food japanese japanese food noodles

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Coastal Ridge Farm in Picayune, Mississippi grows beautiful radishes, daikons and turnips. They also grow gorgeous salad greens as well as all kinds of other things, but radishes, daikons and turnips are what got me to become their royal customer.

I’ve always made this easy little dish using ordinary white daikons. But today at the farmers’ market, they had these stunningly beautiful radishes called “watermelon” radishes. The dish came out pretty!

These are great liberally topping Vietnamese sandwiches or ordinary American barbecue sandwiches. They are also great in salad. 

Namasu (or marinated daikon radish)

  1. Wash, peel and shread 0.5 Lbs of daikon radish or any other types of radishes.
  2. Sprinkle a little salt over shredded daikon, toss, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then rinse.
  3. Squeeze excess water out.
  4. Combine 3 Tbs of sugar and 3 Tbs of rice vinegar, microwave a bit until sugar dissolves.
  5. Pour the vinegar mixture over daikon, and refrigerate for at least several hours.

Filed under japanese food food daikon radish pickled daikon