Undoubtedly, one of the most important staples in Japanese cooking is the noodle. Whether it is a trying a simple ramen dish, making handmade soba noodles, or just understanding the great cultural divides within regions of Japan, noodles are an important part of both Japanese culture and cuisine.Chef Takashi Yagihashi is a top Japanese chef in America and his book, Takashi’s Noodles, is definitely a book you will want on your culinary reference shelf. Harris Salat, a food and culture writer for renowned publications like Gourmet, the New York Times, and Saveur, contributed to Takashi’s Noodles as well.

Introduction to Japanese Noodles — Buying and Cooking Noodles

Yagihashi starts off with an introduction to his experience growing up in Japan and how his humble kitchen beginnings propelled him to the culinary success he shares today. His simple approach to explaining the various types of noodles, and how they vary in different parts of Japan, make this not only a source for recipes, but a true educational read on Japanese food culture.

Integral pats of the Introduction include an explanation on how to buy and cook noodles. The key element in much of Japanese cooking is the source of ingredients and preparation of the base ingredients. Since Yagihashi is a Japanese American restaurateur, the sourcing of ingredients is well-suited for a U.S. based audience that may not be familiar with what options ethnic aisles or Asian grocery stores offer.

Other components of the Introduction include an explanation on the proper way to blanch vegetables and what dashi is, one of the most widely used ingredients in Japanese cooking.

Recipes in Takashi’s Noodles

Takashi’s Noodles contains six chapters devoted to all things noodles, and a seventh that is a welcome surprise containing popular Japanese style appetizers. Chapters include:

• Ramen
• Soba
• Udon
• Somen
• Asian Noodles
• Pasta
• Appetizers

Yagahashi’s recipes are very straight forward and easy to follow — even for a less experienced cook. All soup bases and sauce accompaniments have recipes included as well. And, of course, there is the signature recipe for the dashi. Dashi is actually a type of stock that is added to numerous noodle dishes and other Japanese dishes. It had its beginnings in early times when butter and animal fats were not found in Japanese cuisine. The dashi provided the flavor and is often regarded as the “umami” element in many Japanese recipes. While its derivation of dried kelp and shaved bonito flakes may sound less than appetizing, trust in its ability to elevate your noodle dish to the level of those found in Japan’s most popular noodle stalls.A few recipes of note in Takashi’s Noodles include the Cold Soba Noodles (page 43), Curry Udon (page 68), Beef Short Ribs with Saifun Bean Threads (page 96), Rice Noodle Pho (page 106) and the Gyoza (pages 148-150).

About the Author — Takashi Yagihashi

Chef Yagihashi grew up 100 miles northeast of Tokyo in a small city called Mito. He grew up near neighborhood noodle shops that cultivated his love for noodles at an early age. Attending school with a kid from one of these noodle shops gave him an inside look at the world of noodles — one that he likened to a Japanese noodle version of the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory.

Yagihashi had an earnest start in local mom and pop kitchens that eventually launched an international culinary career that sent him to Tokyo, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Detroit. He has received countless accolades for his cuisine, including a prestigious James Beard award.

He opened his restaurant Tribute in Detroit in 1996 to rave reviews, and he went on to create Okada in 2005 for the Wynn Las Vegas. He became a member of the Macy’s Culinary Council and opened Noodles by Takashi at Macy’s in Chicago and then opened his namesake restaurant Takashi in 2007. Takashi received one Michelin star in both 2010 and 2011. In late 2011, Chef Yagihashi opened Slurping Turtle in downtown Chicago, focusing on what else but Ramen, along with items from the bincho grill and sashimi.

Our Tasty Travels Experience with Takashi’s Noodles

This is an ideal book for both inexperienced and experienced home cooks looking to learn more about Japanese noodles. The recipes are very straightforward and I’ve made a number of the dishes already. If you are in an area with Asian markets, some of the ingredients you can purchase (dashi for example), but it is more fun to take on the challenge to make your own. If you are unfamiliar with ingredients and Japanese terms, there is a great glossary included explaining some of the most common ones. Even Brett, who is a wee bit challenged in the kitchen, could create a traditional Japanese noodle dish (if he actually tried! Ha!)

• Title:Takashi’s Noodles
• Author: Takashi Yagihashi with Harris Salat
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (2009)
• List Price: $24.95 US, 168 pages
• ISBN: 9781580089654

I’ve always loved Thai food and after a recent visit to Bangkok, I am even more hooked!  In keeping with our weekly themes, I decided to do Thai for this week…or perhaps for 2 weeks!

Kao soi is known as a meal for one and is popular in northern Thailand.  There is speculation that it may have some roots outside of Thailand. It’s basically a noodle dish topped with meat in a curry sauce.  It would probably be great with pork or shrimp, but we used chicken since I finally found some decent skinless breasts at the local grocery store.  Most stores here seem to sell whole chickens and lots of interesting chicken parts, but not a lot of decent breast pieces.

I had looked at a few different recipes for kao sai and opted to create a combination of a few of them to come up with our own version. 

The whole dish is pretty simple to make and will probably become a regular staple in our cooking rotation. 

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon diced red chili (optional)
2 skinless chicken breasts, chopped in bite size pieces
1/2 chicken bouillon cube
3/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tumeric
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar or regular sugar
Noodles (quantity and type really depend on personal preference) **

Garnishes:
Fresh cilantro (or coriander as it is often called here in Taiwan)
Chopped shallots
Chopped green onions

Directions:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and toss in the minced garlic. We like garlic a lot so we used about 4 smaller cloves, so this is obviously up to personal taste.  Add the red curry paste and chopped chicken, stirring to mix all the ingredients.  Let the chicken brown for approximately 2-3 minutes before adding the remainder of the ingredients. 

Add the coconut milk, bouillon cube, water, soy sauce, tumeric, sugar, and fish sauce.  Fish sauce is optional as some people have trouble locating it in their markets.  Some people cannot get over the strong odor, but the taste really enhances Thai dishes.  Don’t worry, the overpowering smell of the fish sauce does not come across in the dish.

Continue to stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed while bringing the pot to a gentle boil.  Let simmer for about 10-12 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.    Once cooked, cover and set aside to keep the curry warm.

If you are using fresh noodles, they should only take a couple minutes to cook. My fiance does not like anything with egg and since we were at the store together and watching me, I opted against the true egg noodles.  I used another type of fresh Asian noodles we see all over Taiwan.  If you opt to use dry noodles, you will need to soak them for about 20 minutes up front or start cooking them before the meat.  I say quantity is up to personal preference because some people like more of less noodles.  We used 1/2 of a package because we are trying to watch carbohydrates and prefer more of a soupy curry.   Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water.

Lastly, typical Chiang Mai noodles have bits of crispy noodles on top.  We took a few strands of the leftover noodles and deep fried them in a little olive oil, until crispy.  Place them on a plate and let cool.  

Divide the noodles amongst the 2 bowls and top with the curry mixture.  Garnish with the shallots, cilantro, green onion, and squeeze some fresh lime on top.  Now, too much cookbook reading and Food Network watching has got me wanting to learn the art of plating.   Although my attempt is no where as beautiful as some I’ve seen, we topped our bowls with the crispy noodle creation for a little flair.

Wine Pairing:
2006 Thierry Martin Gewurtzraminer

Since the dish was fairly spicy, a little sweet from the sugar, and had the citrus of the lime, we went with an Alsatian Gewurtzraminer.  I think I would’ve preferred a wine that was a little less sweet, it certainly cut the spicy aspect of the curry sauce.