Goya Champuru Yakisoba

Guess what - we got GOYA! In case you don't know, goya is a bitter melon that looks like a bumpy cucumber and is indigenous to Asia. Right now in Tokyo, people are finding other ways to stay cool besides using the AC, so planting goya as a "green curtain" in front of your windows and veranda is all the rage. As a result, we have a surplus of goya everywhere, including our own garden.

The most famous dish using goya is an Okinawan one called "Goya Champuru," which I will show you how to make one of these days. This is a variation on this dish using yakisoba, which is a treat that Japanese eat during festivals around the country. It has a real feel of summer, the way watermelon and hot dogs do in America.

This dish uses a number of items that may only be available at an Asian foods market, but unless you've lived in Japan, I guarantee you've never had anything like it.

Ingredients:

2 mounds of yakisoba
1/2 goya, cut lengthwise
80g spam (yep, they love this stuff in Okinawa)
2 tbsp salad oil
2 tbsp chicken broth
60 cc water
2 eggs
2 tsp soy sauce

Directions:

1)  Cut the goya into thin slices to resemble half-moon shapes. Soak them in saltwater for 10 minutes.
2) Heat up the vegetable oil in the frying pan, and add the goya and the spam. Cook until the spam has just begun to darken.
3) Add the yakisoba noodles and the water, and stir fry, tossing gently until the water has evaporated. Add the chicken broth and mix.
4) Mix the eggs in a small bowl, then pour in the saucepan. Cook until eggs are gently hardened.
5) Add soy sauce, mix and serve.

Tips:
* Goya is very bitter, and when it is cooked it it usually soaked in salt water to remove some of the bitterness. This is done to taste - some people prefer it bitter and others prefer it cucumber sweet. After a few times eating it you should be able to judge how long you want to soak your goya.

Zucchini and Shrimp Capellini

My favorite pasta is capellini. When I was a kid I was unfortunately subject to some very bad pasta that was always thick and sticky, so for many years I did not like pasta. It was capellini (from a different source than the said thick and sticky) that freed me from the curse.

This quick and easy recipe was designed especially for summer, and goes perfectly with the light and fluffy capellini. It will not bog you down or having you feel hot tired and sticky as we so often do this time of year.

For the sauce:
6 deepwater prawns ("northern prawns", or "pink shrimp")
200 g tomato sauce
1/2 a small-medium sized eggplant
20 g celery (finely chopped)
20 g bulb onion (finely chopped)
20 g red pepper (finely chopped)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vinegar
1 head of garlic
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1) Start by cooking the olive oil and chopped garlic in a saucepan.
2) Add the shrimp when the garlic has been browned, and cook on low heat.
3) Add the onions and celery to the mixture and let them cook until soft.
4) Then add the remainder of the vegetables, and a little salt.
5) Add the tomato sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for about 3 minutes until done. Be sure there is just a little extra moisture in the sauce for when you add the pasta.

Pasta: 
120 g capellini,
half a zucchini (cut lengthwise)

Directions:
1) Use a peeler to slice sheets off the zucchini.
2) Slice the sheets lengthwise into very thin strips, like pasta.
3) Boil the zucchini with the pasta (approx two minutes) until the pasta is slightly al dente
4) Quickly cool the pasta by dumping it in a sieve and running it under cold water.
5) Add the pasta to the sauce pan and mix it all up on low heat, tossing until the sauce has coated the noodles. Then, serve.

Tips:

* My recipe does not use a lot of sauce - you may want to double the recipe if you prefer extra sauce.
* By the way, up there the picture has been taken with the sauce set on top only to show you the contrast of the zucchini strips with the noodles. As all pasta lovers know, proper pasta is served with the sauce mixed in with the pasta - it doesn't make for a good picture but sure makes for a good mouthful! I gave the instructions above as adding the pasta to the sauce, but you serve it any way you wish.

Hungarian Paprikás and Nokedli (Spätzle)

Coming from a Hungarian family, my sisters and I grew up eating traditional Hungarian foods like Chicken Paprikás. An easy dish to make, it requires minimal spice and prep time, and can be on the table in about an hour. 


Ingredients:


2 large chicken breasts
1 1/2 TBSP butter
2 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or crushed
2 TBSP Hungarian paprika
1 bouillon cube 
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup heavy cream


Directions:


1) Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces and brown in skillet over butter. Remove the chicken and set aside.
2) Brown the chopped onions and garlic in the leftover butter in the pan. 
3) Move onions and chicken into a larger pot, make sure there is just enough water to cover the chicken. 
4) Bring to boil. Add bouillon cube, pepper, paprika and salt.
5) Cook on low heat until the chicken is extremely soft, usually 40 minutes. 
6) Remove chicken.
7) Add flour and heavy cream, stir until you get a gravy-like consistency.


Although this dish can be served with any kind of pasta (I often substitute fusilli) the traditional recipe calls for Nokedli (or Spätzle in German), a kind of miniature dumpling. 


Ingredients: 

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1) Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until the batter is smooth. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

2) Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt it well.

3) Nokedli are very small noodles. You can use a slotted spoon to squeeze through dough, roll it out and cut it into small pieces, or use a piping bag to squeeze out small chunks of the dough into the boiling water. (I use a piping bag.)

4) Boil the noodles until they float to the top. (2-3 minutes) Don't crowd the pot, lest they stick together. 

5) Fish them out using a sieve and toss them in a colander. 

6) When all done, toss them with some olive oil to keep them from sticking together and serve right away.

Serving: 

1 tablespoon of sour cream and a bit of parsley

Serve the paprikás by putting the chicken on top of the nokedli and covering it with the gravy. Add the sour cream on top, and parsley on top for color!