Pan-Fried Noodles with Pork and Bok Choy (Yakisoba)

• 2 inches fresh ginger (peeled)
• 2-3 bok choy
• 4 oz. pork (most cuts will do)
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1 teaspoon Chinese soup paste or a mix of chicken and beef stock
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon shokoshu
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5-6 oz. cooked Chinese noodles
• 1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• rice vinegar and mustard

1. Crush the ginger using the blade of a knife. Chop the bok choy stems into 2-inch juliennes and keep separate. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cut it into small strips.

2. Mix the hot water, soup paste/stock, soy sauce, shokoshu and oyster sauce in a bowl to use as a sauce later.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a wok over a medium heat. Loosen the Chinese noodles, add to the frying pan, pressing them into the bottom. When they are crispy, turn them over and cook on the other side. This is done to make them crunchy. Separate them again and then put them on a warm plate.

4. Pour a little more oil into the wok, add the ginger and fry. When you can smell its aroma, add the pork and press it down.

5. Next, add the bok choy stems and after 1 minute add the leaves. Stir in the sauce you made earlier.

6. Bring to a simmer and add the potato starch, thickening to taste. Add the sesame oil for an extra special aroma.

7. Remove the piece of ginger and pour the sauce over the noodles. Add vinegar and Japanese mustard to taste.

from Harumi's Japanese Cooking

Yield: 2 servings

Japanese Rice

• 2 cups uncooked sushi rice
• 2 1/2 cups cold water

1. Rinse rice thoroughly until water runs clear. Drain and leave it for 30 minutes before cooking. During this time the rice should visibly plump up.

2. Take a heavy-bottomed saucepan and put in the rice and the cold water. No salt. Bring to a boil. When you hear it boil, put on a tight-fitting lid and turn the heat down low.

3. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes. Do not take the lid off at any point during the cooking. After it has rested, stir the rice with a wooden spoon.

from Harumi's Japanese Cooking

Yield: 4 servings

Beef on Rice (Gyudon)

• 1 lb. onions
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 lb. thinly sliced beef
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup mirin
• 4 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 3 cups hot cooked rice
• pickled ginger (beni shoga) to taste

1. Cut the onions in half lengthwise and then slice into half moons 1/2-inch wide.

2. In a medium-size saucepan, bring the wine and water to a boil over moderate heat. Add the beef and simmer for a few minutes, skimming the surface of the broth as it foams. Add the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and cover with a drop lid of aluminum foil (rests directly atop the food) and simmer for a few more minutes.

3. Remove the lid, add the onions and again simmer until the onions are transparent and soft.

4. Put the hot cooked rice into 4 bowls. Ladle the beef and onions, together with some soup from the pan onto each rice bowl and garnish with little pickled red ginger.

from Harumi's Japanese Cooking

Yield: 4 servings