Udon with Tamarind~Teriyaki Chicken

 

Udon with Tamarind~Teriyaki Chicken

and scallions and eggs

These days families are super busy, especially if you have school age children involved in every sport possible under the sun, also including music lessons, dance, cheer (my awesome spouse is an award-winning cheer coach), drama (aren't they all at some point?) and then some.  I'm exhausted just writing that sentence!  My point is:  families sometimes require a dish that is easy to prep, easier to cook and everyone may be happy to devour it.  This is a dish that you can sub chicken with tofu, sub scallions with whatever veg you like.  The beauty of cooking is that you can make a recipe your own. 

My amazing previous spouse is Japanese-American, we had two sons together and so we were exposed to a lot of delicious Japanese food.  Her mother and father, both, were exceptional cooks. Grandpa's expert dish was curry chicken (look for that dish coming soon!). Grandma could do no wrong cooking Anything.  Udon quickly became a favorite when days were long and dinner needed to be fast, or it was going to be late.  A particular ramen noodle company was also a favorite back in the 80s and 90s but then the ramen boom happened.  Taking a drive to San Francisco's Japan Town and having udon for lunch was a real treat. I have never stopped enjoying ramen and udon noodles.

These are dried udon, or soba noodles, so you do not need a lot to boil. 

Let's get to it, shall we?

The recipe for My Tamarind-Teriyaki Chicken over Udon with scallions and eggs:

Ingredients

For two people:  2 packages of Udon noodles 

3 scallions:  half greens chopped for garnish/ half stalks halved and halved again (from root to half stalk)

2 - 4 eggs

1 package of 4 or 6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs (four feeds two well, or three nicely)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil 

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

4 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped (or from a jar, 2 tablespoons)

1 rounded tablespoon Garam Masala

1 rounded tablespoon smoked Paprika

1 rounded teaspoon black pepper

*optional sauces, but I use these:

I use soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, vegetable oil, and this time, I used Tamarind-Teriyaki sauce from the store; it was awesome!  Hoisin sauce will do very well. For fun, I added Garam Masala spice blend and smoked Paprika and black pepper. All of those flavors, the spices, sauces, fresh scallions and garlic married and caramelized onto the chicken. The kitchen aroma was fantastic!

If you want to marinate the chicken, you can easily mix the garlic, the quartered scallion stalks, the spices, oils  and sauces in a large bowl.  I recommend marinating them two hours before cooking, even overnight would be great. I did not have that much time last night, so I added all of it a little at a time, one after the other, starting with the oils, spices over medium-high heat, adding the chicken when the oil began to ripple. I then added the sauces and stirred vigorously the coat all of the chicken which I had sliced into large bite-size chunks. I then reduced the heat to medium-low and let it all simmer, allowing the spices and sauces to caramelize on the chicken without burning.  Delicious!

I added the quartered scallion stalks continued simmering, about twenty minutes in all. 

I start boiling the water when I start cooking the meats I use when making udon/ramen dishes. I add a tablespoon or two of soy sauce and a crushed garlic clove to season the noodles. That's just me; I know there those out there who'd condemn me for it. You know what I say, though, right?  Make it your own!

As the noodles are boiling, add the eggs, separating them around the pot you are using. You can stir them to scramble the eggs throughout the noodles, but I like them whole; they are just poaching in the noodle water, absorbing the flavors. 

So after about thirty minutes in, the chicken is done, and the noodles are finishing.  Prep your serving bowls.  My spouse likes it when I add a few drops of toasted sesame oil to the bottom of the bowl. I had a surplus of scallion greens for garnish, so I threw a few extras into each bowl. The one with the hashi/chopsticks, is mine. 

I add the noodles first, as usual with noodle based dishes. I try to scoop out the eggs evenly between the number of people eating (two in this case) while scooping out the udon. I try to place the chicken in a semi-circular way but sometimes, it gets messy. There is no shame in messy.  I add the scallion garnish last.  You can add whatEver you want to the your bowls. Fish cake crescents, vegetables, sesame seeds, Nori (seaweed).  Add what You like!  That's the big idea, here. Now, time to enjoy!

With that, Thank You for your visit, your time and consideration.  I hope you have enjoyed this recipe and its variations. You can use leftover meats or veggies in these fast dishes.  You can make it vegetarian, adding or eliminating items to make it the way you would want it.  There is no exact right or wrong with this. It is meant to be a family fun favorite. Hopefully. 😀

Now!  Go cook for someone you love!

Itadakimas'!

Banjo napping with me.