Meatless Monday: Quick Asian Supper

You need to have these items in your stores cupboard for this emergency supper:

Plain Chinese egg noodles
(1-2 blocks per person, the type that only need boiling for a couple minutes)
-or-
fine egg noodles
2 tablespoons miso paste
2 tablespoons tahini
2-3 segments edible dried seaweed, chopped/snipped into small pieces
Bottled soy sauce

Miso is made from fermented soybeans and has a salty, meaty flavor. It’s perfect for adding to soups, stews and for making these kinds of pasta sauce. Tahini is a blend of ground sesame seed and oil. You can get dark or light tahini.  So this quick supper has the components of complementary protein – grain (noodles), bean (miso) and seed (tahini) as well as a dark green and leafy vegetable.

Boil enough water to cook noodles. Add 2-3 extra ounces of water for sauce.

Add seaweed to steep and become tender.

Add two tablespoons of tahini (sesame spread) to heat-proof, shakeable container. Gradually add the boiling water to loosen it up. You don’t want it to go soupy but it does need to be smooth. Now add in two teaspoons of miso paste, gradually combining it into the tahini, shaking to smooth the sauce. (This sauce makes enough for two people so just multiply it up for however hungry mouths need feeding.)

Drain the noodles mixture and plate.  Either add a bit of butter or drizzle a tad of  vegetable oil  over the noodles to help emulsify the sauce. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss to cover well. You can add soy sauce if you like although the miso may be salty enough for most people.

What? No Seaweed?

If your family has twigged that seaweed is not cabbage and categorically state that it not an acceptable accessory to any recipe then hope that you have some broccoli in the fridge that can be cut up into tiny florets. In a pinch, frozen spinach can work although dinnertime discussion of this vegetable can be just as contentious as seaweed!

But do persevere with the seaweed – it really is good for you. Seaweed is chock-full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. It even is brimming over with essential amino acids, which are useful for muscles, bones and the brain. My Beloved who has rather traditional Irish dietary tastes has come around to seaweed in soup. But then there exists an Irish seaweed cookery book so I tell him seaweed is as traditional as potatoes!