Saturday, August 04, 2007

Simple Snack and Some Soba

I've had around 2 shots worth of Ketel One in my freezer for a while now. My Ketel One martini phase, which for me was basically Ketel One from the freezer shaken with a little bit of ice and poured into a martini glass, apparently ended just before I finished the bottle. I had an urge to have some today so decided to roll it into a little pre-dinner snack. Here's what it looked like:
Couple toast points, some caviar, and some chilled vodka in a chilled cordial. After I wolfed this down I took the rest of my bread and made some Melba toast (with bacon grease! >) ) and spread some pate on to it, leading to the post before the last.

With the nicer looking/snootier portion of my meal done I got to making myself a main course:
It looks huge but it didn't take very long to ingest. This would be soba cooked and drained. Meanwhile, julienne some kielbasa (for which I've got a bit of a thing) and fry it up a little in just a teensy bit oil. When caramelization starts, toss in the peas, throw on the lid for a bit for a quick steam, and then white pepper to taste. Dump in the soba, stir to mix, and then add in a little soy sauce. Just enough to splash all the noodles. Continue "stir frying" until the soy sauce forms a light glaze and then plate.

The baby bok choy on top of all that noodle is my favorite kind. Heat up some oil (I like bacon grease) until it's very very hot. You can't use butter here unless it's clarified, but even then the taste is too creamy. Vegetable oil works very well. As the oil is heating up (or before), cut off the end of the bok choy so that you have separate leaves. Wash well but don't over dry. Leave it damp.

In one motion, dump all the bok choy into your wok so that it muffles any oil splatter. You should hear some loud sizzles though. Stir quickly, reduce heat to medium high, and put a lid on. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring the bok choy occasionally and putting the lid back on. As soon as you see the bok choy start to take on a deep green color, remove the lid and salt to taste. Stir for about 30 more seconds and remove from wok immediately. It should be crispy, slightly salty, and very very fresh tasting.

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