Garlic Noodle Bowl

You know the song about Little Bunny Foo Foo? Hoppin' through the forest, abusing field mice, etc.? That's sort of how my relationship with tofu has gone. Not so much eating it, but cooking with it. I like the idea of it but after a disastrous attempt at Black Pepper Tofu (hopefully to be vindicated later this week) and now this, I feel like it gets one more chance and then I'm-a float down like that good fairy and turn it into a goon. Little Bunny Tofu.

Side note for those who are interested in the Black Pepper Tofu incident: I couldn't get the top of the tofu box open so I resorted in stabbing it repeatedly like that one scene from Psycho and then the too-soft tofu started oozing out and all over me and the kitchen and I gamely persisted in trying to coat the goo with cornstarch before I got some on my foot and then called my sister to pick up some shrimp.

This bowl has all the potential to be great...except for the tofu. That's where it goes a wee bit wrong for me and it's again not to do with the taste but with the cooking. Parmesan-crusted tofu? Sign me up! Parmesan-crusted tofu in which the Parmesan crust does not remotely adhere to the tofu and instead opts to adhere to the bottom of the (oiled) pan? Not so great. Why didn't I use chicken? I kept thinking to myself.

But other than that, this bowl has it going on. Wholesome and with some nice maraca-shaking flavors from the kale, buckwheat noodles, snappy radishes and Parmesan cheese. It's so nice to look at, too! And even nicer that it's good for you.

So, dear reader, I'm going to present to you the recipe for the Garlic Noodle Bowl: What it Could Have Been.


Garlic Noodle Bowl (very loosely adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
(Serves 2)

1-2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced
1 lightly beaten egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch green onions, sliced
5-8 oz buckwheat noodles
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil

Mix 1/4 cup of the Parmesan with the breadcrumbs and a few shakes of salt and pepper. Pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet until uniform in width. Dredge in the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet, and fry chicken until browned and cooked through, 5-10 minutes, turning once. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a salted pot of water for the noodles. When water boils, add the noodles, cook until done and then drain. Toss in a little bit of olive oil with the noodles so that they don't become too sticky.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet. When hot, add garlic and green onions, cooking till fragrant. Add kale and cook until wilted (but not so much that it loses all semblance of color and crunch). When kale is ready, assemble bowl. Buckwheat noodles, topped with salt and pepper to taste, garlicky kale, some of the extra Parmesan cheese, radishes and sliced chicken. Enjoy!

It also might be fun to try this with roast garlic...another infinitely adaptable recipe!