Noodles/Pasta

I was in the mood for ramen, but I didn’t have ramen noodles at home.

I knew I could get them easily because the local grocery store I regularly go to does carry them.

But it was one of those days I didn’t feel like leaving the house.

I thought about making ramen noodles from scratch.

I did that before.

But I was too lazy to do so.

But sometimes “laziness” leads to a new discovery (lol).

When I googled hoping to find easy ways to make ramen noodles, I ran into some interesting information, which suggested cooking spaghetti in water with baking soda.

I was skeptical, but it sounded like a better idea than making noodles from scratch.

It turned out pretty good!

This cooking method created a similar smell/taste and also a similar chewy texture.

I used a tablespoon of baking soda for 1 litter of water, plus a little salt.

First, I boiled water, took the pot off the heat, then added baking soda and salt (it foams, so you should be careful if you try this), and then put it back on the heat, and added spaghetti.

I recently got a jar of Shio-Koji (salt with rice malt), and I’m loving using it as it adds umami to any dishes, including this ramen soup.

I got mine at Sala Bran Cafe.

Initially I was afraid that the jar was too small, but I only use a little each time, and I like the idea that I use it up when it’s still fresh.

For the toppings I had edamame, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed veggies (onion, cabbage, carrot), basil, and roasted seaweed.

So good.

My craving was definitely satisfied.

“Napolitan Spaghetti” is NOT Italian, but one of the most beloved pasta dishes in Japan.

We don’t seem to know exactly how it was created, but based on some googled information it was likely originally created at Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, Japan, sometime around 1940-1950.

Cooked spaghetti is sauteed with various vegetables and processed meat (onion, green pepper, and bacon/sausage are popular) and then most importantly flavored with ketchup.

Cooking pasta with ketchup may shock Italians (lol), but since I grow up eating this dish regularly as a kid like many Japanese people, I still crave for it once in a while.

This time instead of using meat or fake meat, I decided to make “bacon” with “Atsu-age” tofu which is already deep-fried and firmer compared to regular tofu.

I cut the Atsu-age tofu into small pieces, marinated in soy sauce based marinade (soy sauce, sugar, garlic powder, oil, miso) and cooked/broiled in the oven until it was crispy.

I was very happy with the result because the texture was spot-on!

It was also nice to cook it in the oven so that I could do other things using the stovetop while cooking the “bacon”.

I like my Napolitan Spaghetti with a lot of vegetables.

This time I used onion, green pepper, Shiitake mushrooms, carrot, and zucchini.

As many do today, I added a few extra sauces in addition to the ketchup, including soy sauce and Tonkatsu sauce, to create depth in the flavor.

Finished with ITALIAN parsley from my planter herb garden. 🙂

Spaghetti is a comfort food for a lot of people, including my husband and me.

When I was little, I was always asking my mom to make “meat sauce spaghetti” for dinner, but it seems that in the U.S. spaghetti and meatballs is a more popular dish, and that is probably what my husband remembers as one of his childhood favorite meals.

I used store-bought spaghetti and Heinz sauce.

So, the star of this post is the meatballs.

I believe that getting the right texture is the key in making plant-based meatballs.

I’ve experimented with various recipes, but this one may be one of my favorites.

https://foodwithfeeling.com/easy-vegan-meatballs/#recipe

I had to modify the recipe a little because I didn’t have all the ingredients and I was a bit lazy in completing some steps, but they still turned out great.

I think the recipe is versatile.

I will still use it as a base recipe, but I’m looking forward to changing things a bit to see if I can make them to suit my specific liking.

Doesn’t it look great?!

Now I know how to make good plant-based meatballs, I have a feeling that spaghetti and (plant-based) meatballs will be a part of our dinner rotation.

Homemade pasta was another thing that I missed making and eating when we didn’t have a functional kitchen.

It seems to impress people easily, but making pasta at home is not that hard.

The dough looks a bit shaggy at this time right after it was mixed and formed into a ball, but…

Once it rests for 20 minutes or so, the dough becomes smooth and ready to be rolled out.

While my pasta dough is resting, I make sauce.

It’s a creamy tomato type sauce.

I also prepared crumbled tofu (marinated and fried), vegan meat (from a store, and cooked at home), and sauteed king mushrooms x garlic to add to the sauce later.

I didn’t have a rolling pin, so I used my husband’s can of soda (I just wrapped it with a parchment paper), and it worked perfectly (lol).

(I don’t want to buy a lot of kitchen tools if I don’t have to. I’m trying really hard not to clutter my small kitchen.)

The important thing about cooking homemade pasta (or store-bought pasta) is that you don’t want to overcook it.

Especially homemade pasta cooks so fast, and you want to make sure you take it out of the water when it’s still al dente.

Combining everything all together.

I got fresh Italian parsley from my planter.

So happy that I have easy access to a few fresh herbs.

Chopped Italian parsley and quick vegan “parmesan cheese”.

Lunch is ready.

I really should make pasta more often.

It’s been a busy week.

And for some reason I ran out of fresh veggies quickly this week, so I had to rely on frozen vegetables for a few days.

I was able to finally go grocery shopping yesterday, so tonight I enjoyed cooking the veggies I had just bought.

I didn’t have a concrete plan on how to make the sauce, but it turned out great.

My husband said it was the best pasta sauce I’ve ever made.

Creamy pepper sauce: sauteed garlic (4 cloves), half onion, and 2 orange peppers, about 1/4 cup cashew nuts, sundried tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, soy milk, soy sauce Koji

The soy sauce Koji is a Umami powerhouse and did an awesome job in this sauce too.

I’ve recently made soy sauce Koji, and I’m loving it.

I’m hoping to have a whole post to talk about it soon.

The pasta was served with corn and sauteed asparagus.

No meat.

No fish.

But it was so satisfying.