Asian-themed Dinner Part 1: Miso soup

(photographer: Kelvin Chu :P)

I decided to have an Asian-themed dinner this Friday to wind down after a long week--Miso soup, Garlic Soba Noodles, Garlic Parmesan Flatbread (leftover dough from the pizza), and some Almond Jelly (courtesy of my sister)

To start our Asian-themed dinner, I made some simple miso soup using miso paste and some firm tofu (forgot to buy some seaweed). I didn't really have a specific recipe that I followed, just had some boiling water, added some miso paste to taste (the trick is to mix the paste to boiling water in a separate bowl to avoid clumping), and some dashi granules (which is basically fish stock). Once the soup tasted like I wanted it to, I added the firm tofu, which I already cut into cubes and let it boil. Done!

Asian-themed Dinner Part 2: Garlic Soba Noodles

For the main course of the night, I decided to try a recipe I saw online. This recipe looked good from the first time I saw it--simple, quick and tasty. I didn't exactly follow it step-by-step, just sort of went with my gut (whoops--slightly tasteless there... maybe I should've measured). But it didn't turn out so bad!


To summarize the recipe, I fried firm tofu that had been dipped in egg, then covered with a mixture of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and salt. After boiling soba noodles, I stir-fried it with garlic powder, some chopped garlic, and parmesan cheese for flavor. I also added some green onion, and topped the dish with the firm tofu (sliced). Delicious!

Experiment #3: Pizza (with homemade dough)

The pizza itself was really easy to make, just choose a sauce and toppings. I used pesto sauce (from Trader Joe's) and varying toppings (I made 3 pizzas, all with different combinations of the following: stir-fried chicken, avocados, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives).


For the pizza dough, I used this recipe (although, as you can see, my dough did not turn out as delicious looking as this website's). Instead of 4 1/2 cups of flour, I used 50% whole wheat flour and 50% all purpose flour. And instead of the instant yeast, I used active dry yeast, but only 75% of a teaspoon (approximate) according to this.

The pizza dough takes the longest time--after letting it rest overnight, bring it out 2 hours before baking and knead it a bit to form mini pizza-sized dough. Let rest.


When the dough is ready, spread the pizza sauce of your choice onto it (I don't like crust, so I tried to put pizza sauce as close to the edge as possible) and add whatever toppings you like--don't forget the cheese!

Penne alla Vodka

I spent a year in Beijing to learn Mandarin; to eat healthy, I bought a ceramic cooker so I could "cook" my own meals rather than eat the greasy food from the school cafeteria (or any restaurant in Beijing). Truth is, the only dishes I could cook was anything I could boil (i.e. pasta) or steam (i.e. frozen dumplings). Since getting home, I have wanted to cook a dish that did not come from opening a jar and simply pouring the contents out onto a pan for heating. I found this recipe for Penne alla Vodka on the 101cookbooks.com website. Reading the recipe, it sounded simple enough for a virgin-cook to pull off; moreover, it was quick, healthy and delicious. I usually can't eat much of a cream-based pasta but this tomato-cream sauce was flavorful and rich without being too heavy.

Click here for the recipe.