My recipe countdown to the new year is in its home stretch and Recipe #10 is Curried Udon Noodles, from the acclaimed cookbook Veganomicon (an appropriately heavy-sounding name for this tome). I finally remembered to request this cookbook from the local library and I'm so glad I did.
The recipe for the curried udon noodles from Veganomicon is posted online on the kitchn and I followed it very closely.
Udon noodles are Japanese wheat noodles. I love their chubby, chewy toothsomeness. Apart from the udon noodles, all the ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples (but the dish would be great with any kind of noodles, really). I used what vegetables I had on hand, a yellow bell pepper, onion and shitaake mushrooms. The recipe also calls for curry powder and strange as it sounds, my kitchen is packed with Indian spices of all hues but no generic curry powder. So I used my closest approximation to generic curry powder, Kitchen King masala! The curry roux is an interesting thing, and once the roux is made, the whole dish comes together very quickly. My final substitution- using tofu in place of seitan.
The results were delicious! The noodles are...well, slurpable, that's all I can say. And I do believe this is the very first time I made anything resembling Japanese food.
If you have used the cookbook Veganomicon, do you have any favorites in there that you would recommend as must-try recipes?
I loved this dish too, but my pic was not that appetizing, so I never posted it. I have quite a few recipes that I like in Veganomicon, here are a few I tried and liked- Bean balls, Chickpea cutlets, mexican millet, cornmeal crusted tofu & broccoli polenta.
ReplyDeleteEverything I've made from that book has been great. Recently I made the French lentil stew with tarragon, which was thoroughly enjoyed by both me and my toddler. We had the sweet potato version of grilled yuca tortillas for dinner tonight, but I don't know if that counts as a "recipe" -- it's just sweet potatoes, black beans, and seasoning fried inside of a tortilla. It was good, though.
ReplyDeleteI have always used Maggi noodles, always an easy last minute option. I liked your idea of 'currying' the noodles, it definitely gives it a different taste, I am going to try this next time I cook noodles.
ReplyDeleteThis dish looks delicious and truly an east meets south-east dish! The flavorings are so unique.. I haven't used this cookbook before but seeing your post is making me go out and put a hold on this book in library right now :)
ReplyDeleteI lurrrrrrve curried udon and ramen, blissful! And i love Japanese curry. He he, i use my garam masala+turmeric as curry powder equivalent.
ReplyDeleteI love udon noodles and even my 4 year old slurps them up when we visit this place nearby which does really nice Japanese food at decent prices. I especially love their curry with sticky rice, so I can imagine that the curry and Udon noodles combination must be great. Pity we don't get Udon noodles here to cook with :(
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays Nupur, V and Dale
ReplyDeleteHave great eats ahead :-)
I've been meaning to order this book from the library, too. Now I'm motivated! This noodle dish looks delicious and I can't wait to try it.
ReplyDeleteI often make "curried" noodles like Namya (Thai rice noodles) garnishing with bai kaproa/Thai basil. Noodle King rocks btw!
ReplyDeleteDear Nupur
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays & Happy New year to you and your loved ones.
Pavani- Thanks for sharing the names of those recipes, they all sound great and I'll be trying a couple of them while the book is in my hands! My pic is not that appetizing as well, but with the pressures of the recipe marathon, I posted it anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteKat- Thanks for sharing your recommendations- yes, all the recipes sound very interesting. Tarragon is herb I don't use often, so I should really try that stew. I love the combination of sweet potatoes and black beans!
Namita- Yes, the combo of curry roux (thick and rich) and noodles is great. I can see how Maggi would be wonderful in this dish :)
PJ- You won't regret checking it out the library- the book is simply full of great ideas and recipes.
musical- Yes, blissful is the right word! The recipe called for garam masala too, it was wonderfully spicy.
Miri- Perhaps you could ask the restaurant where they buy their udon? But this dish would be great even with the usual spaghetti or Maggi.
BongMom- Thank you for the wishes!
Lydia- You'll really enjoy flipping through this book- lots of great ingredients and creative ways to use them.
Soma- Thank you so much, and wishing you the same!
yum,,,
ReplyDeleteCan i use angel hair pasta? i do not have udon noodles
ReplyDeleteNupur... I tried it the way you had mentioned it (with Kitchen King) and it came out very well.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have Udon but I did have Soba... so I used it instead.
Also, didn't have Seitan or Tofu so ended up using a frozen veggie burger (that I cut up and added in with the veggies). It was excellent.
Thanks.
I made a slightly modified version - i use a tbsp of everest channa masala + 1/4 tsp turmeric powder instead; i mix the soy sauce into the roux and then keep adding brown sugar and hot sauce till the whole mixture tastes appetizing
ReplyDelete