Asian Coconut Noodle Soup

Wow, the picture is beautiful! I knew I wanted to make it when I saw the pic, and Chris saw it and said, "What is that?!" which means it looks good to him. Always a  plus! Another plus for me is that it uses napa cabbage, if you remember I have a seven pound cabbage ;O) Here is the recipe.

Anyways, soup is always good to make on cold days and we have been having a lot of cold ones lately here in Chester. This recipe combines a lot of my favorite things into one dish. She calls for Rice Stick Noodles and you will want to look for Rice Vermicelli. I get mine from the Asian Grocer (if you live near Richmond, you will probably know it, the Tan-A). The Lite Coconut Milk, I have found, Kroger has a store brand that was about $1.65, score! I used my whole container of tofu, which is 14 ounces and lightly fried it because that is how I like my tofu.

The smell of this cooking is heavenly. I personally would add some hot sauce or more chili flakes but it is pretty good as is. Chris added some sriracha to his and he says now it is perfect.

Salmon Burgers (with cilantro), Creamed Spinach and Thai Tea

Chris loves these burgers. They are simple to prepare and for us 2 meals since it makes 4 patties. I use the frozen salmon from Kroger that comes in bags so don't feel that you have to get fresh salmon to make this burger. They come together pretty easy with the food processor. I pretty much make it the same as the recipe except today I will be using some chopped up onion since I am out of green onions and I use Panko Breadcrumbs since I love them. I use bottled lime juice for a recipe unless I need the zest, you can get a pretty decent sized bottle for cheap on the juice aisle, I do the same thing for lemon juice. I also skip the cucumbers because Chris hates them, feel free to put them on your burger. Make sure to get some crisp green leafy lettuce to put on this burger. I  like to toast the face of the burger buns, I think it makes the burger taste better. I have been meaning to make this burger for my in-laws, maybe the next time they come over I will.

I make my Thai Tea with this recipe, Cha Yen. I believe I have posted this before so I won't go into a lot of detail except to say that I follow the recipe exactly, and I use 1/4 cup loose tea for 2 servings/glasses of tea. I got this tea from Tan-A Supermarket in Richmond, VA. I would show you a picture of the package, but it was just a clear plastic sleeve.

Here is the creamed spinach recipe that I made to go with our dinner. I added 3 minced garlic cloves in with the onions.

And without further ado, here are the burgers..........

Udon Noodles with Spicy Peanut Ginger Sauce

I was looking online for udon noodle recipes that were spicy and I came upon this recipe , I am making it however without meat and using tofu instead, I also had no bean sprouts so I also left them out, along with the chili oil, which I subbed out with some garlic pepper sauce. I subbed out the almond butter for peanut butter and left out the vinegar. It is spicy, with a hint of ginger. I really enjoyed it. Here is the recipe that I made....

 Udon Noodles with Spicy Peanut Ginger Sauce

• 2 sleeves prepared udon noodles
  
• 1 tbsp. garlic pepper sauce
  
• 4 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
• 1 lime, juiced (one tbsp.)
  
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. sesame seed oil
  
• 2 tsp. dry ginger
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. sesame seed oil
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 cups Napa cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  
• 1 Tbs sesame seeds
  

Combine ingredients from Teriyaki Sauce to crushed red pepper in a small bowl.
Cook 2 sleeves udon in boiling water for 8 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.
Combine sesame seed oil and vegetable oil.
 If you happen to have some tofu, cut into triangles and cook on medium until browned on both sides.

Saute garlic cloves in oil mixture

Add your carrots and the Napa cabbage, stir fry on medium high until lightly wilted.
Add your noodles.

Mix in sauce and half of the chopped cilantro.
Serve with tofu and garnish with remaining cilantro and sesame seeds.