Posted on

OZU Macrobiotic Restaurant Review (New York)

I promised this a while ago, and here it finally is…

Ozu (Macrobiotic) Restaurant Review

Ozu is a small Japanese restaurant on the upper west side. I found it because my friend Mel works nearby and we wanted to find a place close to her work for our weekly lunch date (we have since moved to dinner dates; we just work too far apart for lunch to pan out as planned). Ozu is macrobiotic, but not really advertised as such. Traditional Japanese food is typically macrobiotic by default. Here is another inside view (small and cozy, but nice):

We went for lunch one day back in September and I got the lunch special – a macro plate with a side salad. Possibly the best macro plate I’ve had – a close tie with Good Health’s. This macro plate was: chickpeas, seaweed, carrots, yams, kabocha, and brown rice.

The salad was fabulous too, and came with a slightly tangy dressing.

Mel got a noodly pad thai dish…

A Second Trip to Ozu!

I didn’t grab a picture of the noodly dish at the time, but I brought Bobby and another friend back just a few days later and they both got the “Thai Noodles” on my recommendation. The dish had thick rice noodles stir fried in peanut sauce, with broccoli, string beans, carrots, kale, and collards topped with raw bean sprouts and walnuts. They added salmon as well.

I am pretty sure they were very satisfied. I got this vegetarian macrobiotic (and vegan actually) fried rice. I don’t know how I finished it all, but I did.

We also split the “Carrot Pancake” appetizer, which apparently I forgot to photograph. It was a pan-fried pancake of wheat flour, cabbage, carrots, kale, ginger, kabocha squash, coconut milk and carrot dressing. Served with soy dipping sauce. Reminded me a lot of my okonomiyaki (Japanese frittata thing) – I love my okonomiyaki recipe; must make it again soon.

Macrobiotic food is just about the only type of food I can always finish without feeling guilty and/or sick. Macrobiotic eating has really really helped me overcome any and all kinds of food phobias that I used to have; I would say that macrobiotics has actually been the major factor in helping me learn to eat intuitively. (Part of macriobiotics is remembering that it’s not about the food, and that to be macrobiotic you sometimes should not be macrobiotic… if that makes sense.)

Would anyone be interested in hearing more about macrobiotics?

I have touched on it before, and I did a macrobiotic experiment a while ago (macrobiotic wrap-up posts here – scroll to bottom of page), but I’m sure there is more to discuss. Do you have any specific questions about macrobiotics? Want any macrobiotic recipes? Leave comments and let me know!

P.S. I did do Meatless Monday yesterday and I also didn’t have any added sugar (as far as I know), both for Healthy Monday.

Posted on

Yasai Yaki Soba Recipe {Project Food Blog}

Today’s post is my second Project Food Blog entry (see my first entry here). The challenge? “The Classics”. Each contestant must pick an ethnic classic that (s)he is unfamiliar with. We’re supposed to keep it as authentic as possible.

Ethnic food? Nothing new to me. Authentic ethnic meals? Okay, now you’re onto something. I make a lot of so-called “ethnic” dishes, but they are not usually true to the traditional recipe. I’m always modifying and Maggie-fying dishes, sometimes to the point that they are unrecognizable by the end. I always enjoy the outcome, but I will admit that I can’t follow a recipe to save my life. So this challenge is very… well, challenging for me (as it is supposed to be). The main reasons that I usually change a recipe are:

  • I don’t have all the ingredients and I make substitutions
  • I healthify recipes by reducing the amount of oil or adding extra vegetables
  • I simplify recipes to make them quick and easy

My Challenge: Yasai Yaki Soba

Japanese food is a definite favorite for me, but I rarely make traditional dishes. I use a lot of Japanese ingredients, but I don’t make a lot of Japanese dishes. I leave that up to Bobby’s mom (one of my two favorite cooks – my mom being the other one). In my googling I came across a few recipes for Yasai Yaki Soba. I had to pick it because Bobby and I have an inside joke about Yakisoba (it involves a hysterical commercial they used to play on California TV). Turns out that I had almost all the ingredients needed and I only had to run out for 2 things: the garnishes.

Yasai Yaki Soba: What does it mean?

I know there are linguists out there (Lauren and Amber Shea!) that share my passion for words, so let’s break down this recipe to see exactly what Yasai Yaki Soba is.

Yasai = vegetable. Yaki = from yaku, which means “to bake or to grill”. Yaki appears in a lot of Japanese dish names – teriyaki, sukiyaki, takoyaki, okonomiyaki. Soba = buckwheat noodles. I had a lot of trouble finding Japanese etymology resources online, so all I can offer are these definitions. (If you know of a good resource please let me know!) So this is a veggie noodle dish that is “grilled” in a wok (fried). This version happens to be macrobiotic (if organic eggs count) and vegetarian.

Yasai Yaki Soba: The Recipe & The Details

I set about setting up my ingredients.

The main source of panic for me for this recipe? The vegetable oil! I never use that much to stir-fry things. I got over it though; I had to follow the recipe to be authentic. That is the point of this challenge.

Yasai Yaki Soba Recipe (Serves 2)

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces soba noodles (dry weight)
  • 1 green pepper, sliced and chopped
  • 1 large thinly sliced carrot (I used a mandoline)
  • 1/2 cup sliced onion
  • 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Seasoning Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine (mirin)
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Yasai Sauce Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons rice wine (mirin)
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder)

Garnish Ingredients

  • pickled ginger
  • sesame seeds (black or regular or both)

Method

  1. Cook the soba noodles according to the package (usually 4 minutes in boiling water). Immediately rinse with cool water to stop cooking. Set aside.
  2. Beat the 2 eggs and mix in the seasoning ingredients. Add the veggies (pepper, carrot, onion, garlic) and then add the noodles (gently so they don’t break).

  3. Heat a wok over high heat for 1-2 minutes until it’s very hot (almost smoking), then add the vegetable oil. Add the noodly veggie egg mixture and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix together the yasai sauce ingredients while the noodles are cooking.

  4. Remove from heat, add the yasai sauce (while still in the wok), and mix. Divide between 2 dishes and top with the garnishes – ginger and sesame seeds.
  5. Enjoy!

Yasai Yaki Soba: What was challenging?

I had a few difficulties with this…

  1. I followed the recipes to a T – I actually went out and bought the specific garnishes that the recipe called for. And those garnishes made this dish exactly the classic dish I was hoping for! I don’t usually do this, but maybe I am missing out. The little things really do make a difference.
  2. The oil content. When I stirfry I don’t usually use this much oil. I use enough, but I never take the risk of using too much and making it soggy with fat. I used the amount it called for, but it turns out I was probably right – Bobby and I both prefer it less oily.
  3. It didn’t have as many veggies as I usually use, and I was tempted to add more in. When I make noodle-veggie dishes, I always use at least half veggies (in terms of volume). This had more noodles than veggies, but it made me appreciate the simple flavor of the soba.

So this challenge was awesome in that it made me appreciate the fact that I am actually a very good cook (Bobby loved it), I don’t have to always make uber-healthy food, and it solidified my love for true Japanese cuisine. Thanks Project Food Blog!

I will remind you how to vote for me tomorrow. I will also be back either later today or early tomorrow with my weekly roundup – I was out all day yesterday and didn’t get to it.

What’s your favorite ethnic dish?

Mine is papaya salad, duh. I would have made that except I’ve already made that lots of times.

*Note: I combined elements of 2 recipes to get this recipe. See here and here for my inspirations.

Posted on

Recipe: Cold Vietnamese Soba

This recipe is from my week of failed menu planning. It was my second noodle dish of the week (first – Miso Eggplant Soba).

This is “Vietnamese” only because I added fish sauce and because cucumbers are vaguely Vietnamese (because lots of Vietnamese dishes have them; they don’t come from Vietnam). Vegan/vegetarian alternatives to fish sauce include (but are not limited to): vegetarian fish sauce, papaya juice, other fruit juice, rice vinegar + sugar, apple juice, and so on. I made this dish for lunches, and it was just as good as the other soba dish I made last week. Again, I don’t usually do noodles for lunch, but this was satisfying. I would probably have it for dinner (or even breakfast!) too.

Maggie’s Cold Vietnamese Soba

Ingredients

  • 1 bundle soba noodles (1.5-2 servings; they come in bundles)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (could cut this down)
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced
  • 1 small/medium cucumber, sliced or chopped
  • dash of soy sauce (or bragg’s liquid aminos)

Method

  1. Cook noodles as directed (boil for 4 minutes; rinse in cold water).
  2. Toss noodles with olive oil, chili powder, fish sauce, scallions, cucumber, and soy sauce (or bragg’s). Add more or less of the saucey ingredients, to taste.
  3. Serve garnished with cilantro (last week’s herb of choice).

So simple. I made this on Sunday afternoon (last Sunday, the 18th) when I was in a cooking mood (2 batches for 2 lunches). Sunday prep makes it easier to bring lunch during the week.

What’s your go-to lunch?

Posted on

Recipe: Miso Eggplant Soba Noodles

I first learned about soba noodles from my half-Japanese fiance. He introduced me to “zaru soba“, a favorite of his mom’s, which is simply chilled soba noodles that you dip in a soy saucey sauce. I made it way back in 2007. They are usually topped with scallions and bonito flakes and sometimes seaweed. Ever since my first bite of zaru soba I have been on the hunt for more delicious soba recipes. I found a recipe in The Dancing Gourmet and decided to Maggie-fy it into this…

(Note – I think this would also be awesome if you subbed mushrooms in for the eggplant. Just saying.)

Maggie’s Miso Eggplant Soba Noodles

Ingredients (serves 1-2; 1 as a meal or 2 as a side)

  • 1 bundle of soba noodles (it’s probably 1.5 – 2 servings)
  • 1/2 of a small/medium eggplant, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon miso
  • 2-3 teaspoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • 1-2 tablespoons water (or more, as needed)
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 of a medium cucumber, thinly sliced (mandoline again)
  • a few spritzes of bragg’s liquid aminos (or soy sauce)

Method

  1. Cook noodles according to package (usually boil for 4 minutes and then rinse in cold water).
  2. Saute the ginger and garlic in the olive oil over high heat for 1 minute. Add the eggplant and reduce heat to medium; saute for 2 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water if it starts to dry out.
  3. Add the miso, honey, and mustard and continue to cook over medium heat. Add more water as needed to make this into a creamy sauce. Cook for about 2 more minutes.
  4. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the scallions, cucumber, and noodles. Spritz with bragg’s or soy sauce.
  5. Serve garnished with cilantro (or whatever is in your fridge).

This really was good. I brought it for lunch, which wasn’t the best idea as I don’t like having noodles for lunch, but it worked. I actually don’t like noodles in general so the fact that I liked this must mean it’s pretty delicious.

I have another soba recipe coming, so stay tuned…

What’s your favorite noodle? Do you even like noodles?

Posted on

Recipe: Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

For vegans, sub in tofu for the shrimp. Yes, it’s that easy.

(Instead of eating out last night according to the plan, we ate in.)

After this meal Bobby said, “I guess we don’t have to go out for Vietnamese anymore.” This meal was better than most Vietnamese restaurants we have found in the city. It cost about $5 for everything (that’s overestimating), which is much cheaper than eating out in New York.

As an alternative dressing you can add on a peanut sauce – mix together peanut butter, hoisin, rice vinegar, and fish sauce – heavy on the peanut butter – and you will have a really fabulous topper. We used that in addition to the dressing below because I prepared the peanut dressing for a side dish.

Maggie’s Vietnamese Shrimp Salad

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce (romaine is fine too), chopped
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 servings Asian noodles (I used ramen – real ramen, not the dorm food) (vermicelli are great too)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
  • 1.5 cups frozen cooked shrimp
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped

Dressing ingredients

  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or lime)
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar
  • ground pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Make the dressing by stirring all dressing ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a pan on high heat. Add the garlic and onions; saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the shrimp and saute for another minute or 2. If the shrimp is uncooked, cook until they are done through. Remove from heat.
  3. Cook the noodles as directed on the package, then rinse with cool water until they are room temperature. Drain, but not too much (sometimes noodles can dry out depending on what kind you used).
  4. Mix together the lettuce, cilantro, scallions, and noodles; top with the shrimp mix. Add the dressing.
  5. Eat!

I served this with spring rolls (recipe will come tomorrow). Here is my old spring roll recipe.