Rainbow Sushi

This is my favorite sushi rolls - The Rrrreinbo Roll!!!! At least that's how the Sushi Master says it when he hands it to me - haha! It's simply a California Roll topped with Salmon, Tuna and Yellowtail (other places use Hamachi or Guacamole on top too). I get this as take-out sometimes when I'm lazy to cook and just pick it up on my way home.

One of my favorite sushi restaurants to go to is Royal Tokyo Sushi Den in Addison! It's tucked away in a strip of a shopping center and you would never think to look for it there. I love this place! It's quiet, they have modern asian decor that is warm rather than stark, the sushi masters are acutally Japanese and they appreciate when you buy them a round of Kirin as they make your order. It's a great place!

Thai Basil Udon

4 Servings
Carb: Udon Noodles
Protein: Chicken Breast
Veg: Bell Pepper and Mushrooms

I had some Thai Basil and some Udon noodles I wanted to use so I just threw this together. I hadn't intended for it to become a noodle soup but I didn't realize the soup base would be so salty. I hadn't thrown out the water I used to boil the noodles and I used that to dilute the soup base. This turned out great becuase the gluten in the water helped to thicken the soup a bit.




Ingredients:
3 Udon noodle packets (7 oz each), boiled and drained
Water (about 3-4 cups), reserved from boiling udon noodles
1 lb Chicken breast, diced
1 Bell Pepper, sliced
4 oz white Beech Mushrooms, stem trimmed
4 oz brown Beech Mushrooms, stem trimmed
4 Scallions, sliced on diagonal
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 tsp Ginger, thinly sliced
2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup Thai Basil leaves
1 tsp Chili Garlic Sauce
1 Tbsp Thai Fish Sauce
2 Tbsp Japanese Soup Base
1/8 tsp Ground Coriander
1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
Salt to taste

Recipe:
1. In nonstick wok, heat oil on medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle ground coriander, Chinese five spice powder and salt on chicken(I just put the diced chicken on a plate and sprinkle enough to lightly coat 1 side of all the chicken pieces). Mix chicken around to coat.
3. Add chicken pieces to oil. Don't move chicken for about 20-30 seconds - just leave it where it lands. Lightly stir for 3 minutes.
4. Add Bell Pepper and a pinch of salt. Lightly stir for 1 minute.
5. Add Ginger and Garlic. Lightly stir for 1 minute.
6. Add Fish Sauce, Chili Garlic Sauce and Japanese Soup Base. Stir and add Scallions.
7. Mix in mushrooms and cover for about 1-2 min.
8. Add 2 cups reserved Water and then Udon Noodles. Mix to combine and turn off heat.
9. Taste and add more water 1 cup at a time if the soup is too salty.

Plating:
1. Using tongs or chopsticks lift noodles, chicken and vegetables into a bowl.
2. Ladle Soup over noodles.

Mommy and Me Bento Time

Another quickie bento I slapped together for my mom and myself. We have lunch together about 2-3x a week and I brought this for us today. Mommy loved it! She thought it was so cute yet filling :)

Bento Items
Left: Rice topped with leftover 3cups Chicken
Top-Right: Stir-fry Bean Sprouts
Middle-Right: Edamame
Bottom-Right: Oden

Bento Numero Uno

Recently started to buy into the bento-mania craze. This a quickie first attempt with store-bought Gyoza and edamame. Hoping the visual gratification will help with portion control and weight-loss.

Squash Soup (Tsai Gua Tang)

4-5 c squash (peeled & cut into large chunks)
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
1 tbsp satay powder
.5 tsp white pepper
salt to taste
2 c water
*heat oil on medium and saute garlic. add squash, satay powder, white pepper & salt. stir to coat squash and slowly add water. cover and simmer on medium for 7 min.

I got to make this soup with my mom! I didn't think to take a picture of this at the time so that's kinda upsetting but this is a brothy soup and it's really tasty! The squash gives the soup a really distinct taste and the satay powder added a lot of flavor.