Ramen Noodles

In my forever endeavor to come up with more family dinners, that everyone can enjoy, I am very happy with having put a Ramen spread on the table! Not the quick packet noodle stuff, packed with flavor enhancers, and unpronounceable and recognizable ingredients. But from scratch, with all the good ingredients. 

Making the dashi (broth, that is used as a base for many Japanese foods) from scratch is an added step, but the Umami that you receive from it is well worth that effort. 

How to make dashi:
In 4 cups of cold water, hydrate a 1/4 ounce of dried kombu (type of Japanese seaweed). This can sit in the water for 15 minutes to overnight. Bring the water to near boiling (do not boil or the dashi will turn bitter) and then remove the kombu. Remove from heat.
Add a teaspoon of dried bonito flakes and let it sit for 5 minutes. Strain.
Taste, and add more kombu or bonito flakes. Make it to your liking.
And your dashi is ready! 



Now make the Ramen:
Serves 2 
The beauty about Ramen is personalizing it. Make it to your taste, add enjoy! This recipe can be doubled easily.

In a large stock pot, heat a teaspoon of sesame oil.
Sauté 2 teaspoons of minced ginger and garlic.
Sauté 1 cup of vegetables of your choice (I used black dried mushrooms)
Add 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup dashi

While the soup comes to a boil, stir together, in a small bowl:
3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sake (optional), 1 teaspoon mirin, 1 teaspoon sugar, Salt, to taste

Add to the soup. Mix and your Ramen soup is ready! 

Boil noodles of your choice. I found these fresh Ramen noodles at my local Japanese store. Unfortunately, they told me that the manufacturer has stopped making it so I got the last batch. 

Top with your favorite Ramen toppings, such as boiled eggs, thinly sliced scallions, bamboo shoots, seaweed, boiled spinach, steamed bok choy, your favorite chili sauce, or Japanese Togarashi chili flakes, a squeeze of lime, pickled ginger… I can go on and on!

Dig in, and enjoy!

Vegetarian Paella

There is something so heartwarming about a large paella in the center of a table. Everyone digs in, shares stories about the various other paellas they have had in their travels, with a glass of Sangria, and life is good. 

I remember the night I sat at the bar of a restaurant in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), Spain and ate one of the best Paellas ever. We grumbled to the chef, whom we had gotten to know well through the years of visiting, that we lacked good Paellas in New York. Chef Juan very generously invited me into his kitchen and taught me his prized Paella Valenciana recipe. What a treat! 

The original Paella is from Valencia, Spain, and had a combination of meat, vegetables, and snails. Today, everyone makes their own version. My favorite one is a Seafood Paella, next to the Vegetarian one. It's a great way to pack in all the vegetables.

Paella is cooked and served in a traditional Paella pan. Fairly easily available, you can buy it in most gourmet grocery stores. In New York, Despaña sells it, along with Kalyustans. I use the carbon steel pans, which require a good scrub after, with a metal sponge, wipe dry, and season with a little olive oil. However, today, non-stick ones are also available. 

Writing a Paella recipe is always a bit tricky, as it depends on the size of your Paella pan. It is sold as 'para dos', 'para cuatro' (for two, for four, etc). The number of people the Paella pan is for is always an even number, but the actual diameter of the pan varies, which is what making writing the recipe tricky. Read the note below on the amount of rice required before adding it all in, keeping in mind, that rice doubles in size as it cooks. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

One bulb garlic, peeled, and thinly sliced 

1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1-inch pieces 

1 green pepper, chopped in 1-inch pieces

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon orange food coloring

Vegetables: 

3 cups of vegetables of your choice, such as carrots, beans, mushrooms, green peas, asparagus 

1 15oz can tomato sauce

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 generous pinch of saffron 

1 teaspoon Spanish paprika

1 sprig thyme 

Salt, to taste

2–3 handfuls of Spanish paella rice 

Lemon wedges, to garnish

Method

1. In a Paella pan for 4, heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a pan.
2. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, careful not to burn. 
3. Add onion, green pepper, bay leaf and orange food coloring. Sauté for a minute. 
4. Add 3 cups of chopped vegetables (carrots, green beans, peas, mushrooms, asparagus etc). Mix with the onions. 
5. Add the tomato sauce and water to fill the pan to the brim. 
6. Then, add the saffron, salt to taste, a dried red chili, Spanish paprika, one stock bouillon cube and one sprig of thyme.
7. Let it come to a boil, and reduce to half. Taste the sauce for salt or any other seasonings
8. Sprinkle the paella rice evenly over the paella pan. Eyeball the quantity of uncooked rice required based on the paella pan size, and the amount of vegetables added in. Do not mix after you add the rice. 
9. Let it cook for 10–15 minutes.
10. Garnish with lemon wedges right before serving