I am looking back into the past but I’m not writing about my life’s greatest hits – the food edition. Well, not really. But a plate of chow mein the way my mum used to make it back in the day with tomato ketchup was certainly a fab lunch treat to come home to after school. You see, in primary school, I had 3 out of 6 years of morning session classes; meaning, I got up well early at 6 in the morning to get to school for 7.20, looked forward to my packed lunch somewhere around 10 and then got saved by the bell at 12.50. Our lunchbreak for me, however, was never enough. Not that my packed lunch wasn’t sufficient. Rather, I was a growing kid who needed plenty of food to grow in both mind and body. So by the time I had gotten home and kicked off my dirty school shoes, I was starving.

I remember I’d sit in front of the TV with a glass of juice waiting for lunch and something like Ninja Turtles or Transformers would be playing on the cartoon channel which made life so much better. Chow mein was one of my favourite lunches. Really tasty, good-looking and quick to make. There was nothing I could fault it for. Another thing was, it was perfect for mum’s refrigerator-cleaning days when all the old stuff had to be cooked or chucked out. Sometimes, leftover meats got thrown into the wok as well and wooohooo. I never complained. We all know leftovers taste great the day after anyway! It’s a fact of life.

We used to visit this family restaurant, Baystreet 21, almost religiously every Sunday. It served a range of local and western dishes. It was always busy. The ambience was nice, the seats were comfy and us little kids loved to bounce around on it so it’d make squishy or farty noises. Year after year, as their clientele grew in size, the restaurant got busier and bigger. The kitchen got noisier and the staff got less friendly. But the food was good, the prices affordable and my dad got along awfully well with the restaurant manager. You could say this was our local ‘diner’. It was a place where families could take their naughty children for a good meal out, have a three course meal at affordable rates in a comfy, homey restaurant. And it was always really fun to watch the parents on the other table struggle with their bratty, spoon-banging children (we were always the most well-behaved ones). One of their memorable dishes, other than the fish & chips, was the chow mein. The first time I ordered it, I was quite blown away by the mammoth portion of noodles which were topped with heck loads of shredded lettuce and a sunny side up. But that plate of chow mein swept me off my feet because of that egg. It was like the whole thing was smiling up at me. Cracking the yolk and having it ooze all over the noodles was a little bit of heaven too.

I’ve had chow mein takeaways since then and my own stir-fry noodles on lazy cooking days. Odd as it sounds, however, the chow mein + sunny side up combo has somehow eluded me. I found myself wanting that little bit of heaven. A simple heaven within easy reach.

I admit this chow mein recipe looks nothing fancy but that’s the beauty of it. It’s nothing fancy. Use whatever you’ve got and it still ends up a pretty voluptuous dish. It’s not as soy sauce-ish, oyster sauce-ish as what you’d normally get at an eatery or takeaway but I love this ketchup-version nonetheless. Chow mein is all about the ethic of using what you’ve got anyway and turning the odd bits into a tasty treat.

This recipe serves 3-4. I don’t use a lot of soy sauce or salt in cooking so you might want to have additional salt (to taste).

Chow Mein with Sunny Side Up
Ingredients

3 packets of Chinese egg/yakisoba/ramen noodles
1/2 cup minced chicken, marinated with 1 tsp soy sauce
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
4-5 leaves of hang bok cabbage, shredded
1 large stalk spring onion, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tbs ginger, thinly sliced
2 tbs hsao shing wine
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs tomato ketchup
1 tbs sesame oil
few shakes of shichimi tōgarashi, for garnish (optional)
few shakes of white pepper
vegetable oil, for cooking

For the sunny side up:
1 medium-sized egg
1 tbs butter

You can use whatever noodles you have at hand. Chinese egg noodles are real nice but I prefer using yakisoba noodles because you can get them in handy packets and I prefer slightly thinner noodles than egg ones.

Soak the noodles in cold water for a minute or two and use your fingers to ruffle through it to separate the strands, think of yourself washing someone’s long hair in a wash basin full of water. Drain away the water then set aside.

In a hot wok over medium heat, heat up some cooking oil and the sesame oil. Add the ginger and onions and sauté. Add the minced chicken and stir fry. Now add the carrots, hang bok cabbage, hsao shing, white pepper and stir fry. Cover the wok with lid, turn the heat to low-medium and let cook for a bit.

In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tbs soy with 1 tbs ketchup. Remove wok lid and add the noodles, chopped spring onions and mixed seasoning. Stir to coat well, making sure the noodles are completely cooked through. When done, serve hot with sunny side up on top. Garnish with shichimi tōgarashi if you like.

For the eggs:
In an egg pan or frying pan over medium heat, add some butter. When the butter is hot enough, crack the egg onto the pan and lower heat.

The egg will start cooking rather quick so be careful. Cover the pan with a lid for 2-3 minutes whilst the egg cooks over low heat. Check on it to make sure the edges don’t get too brown and crisp. If it does remove from heat and shake the pan to loosen the egg from the pan. To get the top nicely cooked, baste the top of the egg with the melted butter in the pan.

When done, all the whites should have cooked through and firmed up. The top of the yolk should be a matte colour, without its uncooked glistening sheen, and warm to touch.

Serve on top of your chow mein.

Yesterday was a lovely sunny day, a little on the chilly side but sunny nonetheless. But let me sidetrack: this is what England does to you. It leads you on, luring you with the advent of Spring with good days randomly bestowed upon us, deceiving you with the popping up of daisies and spring flowers. And whilst we, ignorant sub-lunary beings, soak ourselves in this induced state of temporal bliss, warm and shivery at the same time – as you are in a just-prepared scented bath – a change of day rips away the cloak of illusion from our eyes so we only see grey and pissy rain before us. Just for added luck, they bash us down with a full minute of hippie hail.

Yep. That is what happened today. Thinking it might be all lovely and a little warmer than usual, I planned a summery meal – bukkake udon for my Sunday lunch. A cold, refreshing udon meal with what humble (really, I just mean lacking) ingredients I have was the general plan. All that was thrown on the cold English cobblestone and then crushed to unrecognizable bits under the feet of faceless hurrying city inhabitants. Gutted. Nevertheless, stubborn as I am, I went ahead with the day’s meal plan and made it anyway. Placed it in tupperware boxes and left it to cool in the fridge. And instead of the fantasy I’d created in my head – eating a bowl of cold udon in a tank top, scruffy bottoms and flip flops, I regret to say I faced reality and sat next to the radiator, clothed in multiple layers, as I slurped up my noodles and felt my gum nerves and sensitive teeth cringe a little from the cold sauce.

Nevermind this sad image I’ve created, I was quite happy to whip this up with what leftover rotting ingredients I had available. And although this is quite a non-authentic Japanese dish (please forgive me, the purists out there), I adore my Mum’s Sweet Sesame Spinach which she makes as a side dish to accompany grilled fish and couldn’t see why I would deny myself the joy of combining two yummy dishes together.

If anyone is wondering about the type of udon I’ve used, let me just say that fear not, I didn’t confuse green fettuccini or soba with my udon. Udon come in different thickness and flatness/roundness depending on which region it originates from (correct me if I’m wrong) and these matcha udon I have are of the inaniwa kind from the Akita prefecture. Hence, it’s thin and flat appearance; it is often deemed one of the highest quality udon of the country. Also, as opposed to regular fat and round udon, this udon stayed firm and al dente all through. They are, I should say, quite elastic. When running and rubbing between my hands in cold water, it was very easy to handle and not overly starchy so there wasn’t much of a need to run under cold water for long (to get rid of excess starch, remain its bite and not let it go mushy). You find this type of udon dry in packets so it’s pretty easy in terms of storage. For more information on inaniwa udon, try here.

I was a little anxious about what I could pair matcha udon with. Initially, this was supposed to go into a pudding. I was thinking matcha udon in a custard cream dipping sauce topped with adzuki bean paste but I’m a little worried about that. What do you reckon? Any ideas? Once I’ve decided, I’ll get the ingredients and experiment asap as I once saw someone serve chocolate spaghetti as a pudding and that really intrigued me. I love this matcha udon, however, and it’s going to become a staple ingredient in my pantry cupboard. The taste was very similar to chasoba. And the perfume of matcha is just heavenly, upon opening the packet. I can still smell it on my hands, even now.

This recipe is good for 1. I highly recommend doubling the recipe and keeping the other serving in the fridge for dinner or a midnight snack. So easy to make, store and eat!

Cold Matcha Udon with Sweet Sesame Spinach and Bonito Flakes
Ingredients

For the udon and sauce:
1 portion matcha udon
200ml water
1 tsp dashi concentrate
1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tbs mirin
1 tbs sugar
bonito flakes

For the Sweet Sesame Spinach:
3 cups spinach leaves
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs black sesame seeds, toasted
1 tbs white sesame seeds, toasted

To make the cold sauce, boil 200ml of water. Remove from heat. Add the rest of the ingredients, and leave to cool. Once it is cool, keep in a container and leave in the fridge til needed.

To cook the udon, bring some water to boil in a saucepan. Then add the udon and cook for 4 minutes (or depending on what it says on your udon packet). Drain away the hot water once cooked, run under cold water. As you drain, use your hands to lift and rub the udon (kind of like how you would wash a little boy’s head of hair). I leave the udon in cold water to cool then drain, place in a tupperware container with a little water in the fridge til needed.

To prepare the spinach, first toast the sesame seeds in a non-oiled greaseproof frying pan. Place in a mortal and pestle and lightly crush them. Be careful not to over-crush which would result in the release of oils of the seeds turning it into a paste. Add half a tsp of sugar to the sesame seeds and mix.
In a frying pan, heat the sesame oil. Fry the spinach until they just began to wilt and are coated in the oil. Add the rest of the brown sugar and toss. Remove from heat and add the sesame seed sugar mixture to the spinach. Mix through, making sure that it is evenly coated with the sesame seeds.

When ready to serve, drain whatever excess water from the udon and place in a deep bowl. Bukkake udon usually means pouring the sauce over the topping and udon. However, I didn’t want the sesame seeds to run. I’ve poured the sauce over the udon instead then topped it with the sweet sesame spinach and a pinch of bonito flakes after.

I’m fairly notorious for doing quirky, crazy things. Think balancing a bone china teacup and saucer on my head, applying red lipstick with precision, write a cheque without mistakes whilst picking up some rubbish off my bedroom carpet with my toes, that sorta thing. I mean I quite like multi-tasking.

Sadly, the Advocator of Multi-Tasking admits failure. And the end result is? —- Burnt chicken!

As you can see, the chicken pieces seem darker than they should be. Also, I covered them in too much flour before frying and they went a little strange and soggy. But I suppose, nothing should get you down near Chinese New Year and the marinade and sauce didn’t disappoint me one tiny bit despite my little hiccups. The lemon chicken was fantastic. Tasted so citrusy, sweet and yet savoury. Very very lovely. I would definitely make this again, and not balance too many tasks whilst making this now that I have lived and learnt.

Happy Chinese New Year to all!

恭喜发财，万事如意!

Gong xi fa cai, wan shi ru yi!

As I was starting to feel a little moody about not celebrating CNY with my family and missing out on a whole month’s worth of reunion dinners, light banter and drinking, I decided to whip up my own eve of the eve dish. Nothing exciting of course but enough to perk me up and chase away those damn blues. Also, to anyone mildly interested, Diva’s hair is getting much much longer! I’m absolutely thrilled. After chopping away my long black locks 3 years ago to get it more in sync with my jet black rock-chic style and I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude, the inner female was getting way too wistful. The chocolate brown & blonde to ginger-caramel highlights I started sporting a year ago is thankfully paying off as well.

Life is pretty smooth-sailing. Work-wise, it ain’t fantastic but I can honestly say I’m feeling all jittery about getting started on the first chapter of my dissertation. Apart from that, I’ve sent off applications to Royal Holloway and Birkbeck universities for 2 different MA courses – Postmodernism and Modernity, and Gender, Sexuality and Culture respectively. Thinking of the future is shit scary but I’m thrilled about being able to further my studies beyond the undergraduate level. All this, I’m praying will happen. Everything is balanced on funding right now from my sponsor. You can see how I might be bogged down with this massive burden on me back.

How have I solved this problem temporarily? EAT!

If you’re feeling moo-moo like I am, a little worried about the near future, stressed out? Go make yourself some food, buddy. CNY is all about feasting. Even if you’re not Chinese, pick up those chopsticks. Who says you only get to feast at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s? I’m keeping the ball rolling.

If anyone’s wondering how my Miso Yaki Udon is any different from Mum’s Yaki Udon with Shimeji & Shrimp, this is egg-free, chili-free and uses miso rather than soy sauce to flavour it. It is a slightly lighter version and the miso gives it a more interesting flavour I’d say, than using plain soy.

This recipe is good for 1.

Lemon Chicken
Ingredients

1 chicken breast
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp hot water
2 tsp clover honey
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 small garlic clove, chopped
a little flour to toss chicken in
salt and pepper, for seasoning
olive oil, for frying

Miso Yaki Udon
Ingredients

1 serving udon
1 tbs sake
1/2 tbs mirin
1 1/2 tsp fresh miso
1 tbs hot water
1/4 cup carrots, thinly sliced into strips
2 large shitakee mushrooms, sliced with stalks removed
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or minced
1 heaped tbs onion, finely chopped
1 spring onion, sliced
sprinkle of black sesame seeds
olive oil, for frying

To make the lemon chicken:
To prepare the marinade for the chicken, combine lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a deep bowl. Dissolve the honey in the hot water then mix into the bowl of sauce. Cut the chicken breast into cubes and then leave to soak in the marinade for at least an hour. In a deep dish, pour a little flour and season it with some salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the fridge, drain off the marinade but keep it to make the rest of the sauce for later.
Heat some oil in a frying pan. Toss chicken lightly in the seasoned flour. Don’t over do it. I did that and ended up having a really weird crispy outer layer. A little will be fine just to give the chicken a little crunch.
Once the oil in the pan is hot enough, fry the chopped garlic to flavour the oil. I usually fry it til golden brown then remove so it doesn’t turn black later. Add the chicken pieces and fry til golden brown. Remove and let sit on a paper towel.

In a saucepan over low heat, stir in the cornstarch into the remaining marinade until this thickens and attains a gooey sticky consistency. Set aside to cool for 1-2 minutes, then pour over the fried chicken pieces.

To make the miso yaki udon:
If you’re using dried udon, cook this first and set aside whilst you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Heat some oil in a wok. Sauté the garlic and onions. Add the half the spring onions, mushrooms and carrots and sauté in the sake. Now add the cooked udon and the rest of the spring onions. Lower heat. Dissolve the miso in hot water then add, along with the mirin, to wok. You don’t want to burn the miso as miso should not be exposed to high heat.

Sprinkle some black sesame seeds and mix through. Serve.