Jjam-bong: udon, Korean style (매운우동)

Long before people in Korea and Japan started calling themselves Korean and Japanese, people in Nagasaki and Pusan knew that culturally they had more in common with each other than with their respective political capitals in Edo (Tokyo) and Seoul. One of the things they shared was this dish, jjambong or champon. It is served as soup that comes in a multitude of flavours and accompanying goodies.

I fix it the Korean way. It takes exactly 15 minutes and costs under 1 quid to fix a flavourful, healthy and delicious lunch. This is how it goes.

1. Slice thinly a couple of pre-soaked shiitake. I normally keep some soaked shiitake in the fridge so that I always have it handy. Feel free to follow my suit.
2. Next thing is to soak black kikurage, white kikurage and golden needles 20 g each in water for at least 20 minutes. I f you can't get hold of those, just skip this step.
   
3. Then peel and slice a few cloves of garlic.
4. Heat a frying pan, add 1 tbsp odourless vegetable oil. Sprinkle some black and white sesame (third a teaspoonful each), wait until it starts sizzling.
   
5. Fry the garlic in the pan until fragrant (light yellow in colour), then add 3 very finely sliced medium onions. When those are nice and fragrant too, add the sliced shiitake. Fry until the mushrooms are fragrant too.
   
6. In the meantime, bring to boil exactly how much water you need for your udon. I use the bowl you can see on the picture as the measure.
7. When the water boils, add one pack of udon. Bring to boil again, reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes.
   
8. Tip the frying pan into the sauce pan and add the kikurage, golden needles, and half a handful of whatever leafy vegetables you have: spinach, pakchoi, kangkong, Chinese broccoli. Dissolve 1 tbsp gochujang in the broth. You will need to find this delicious chilli paste as it is defines the taste of the whole dish.
   
9. Let boil for a minute or so. Mind that the udon does not get overdone, it should be cooked just one notch beyond al dente.
10. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped spring onions.

This spicy dish, also known as jjam-bong (짬뽕) if cooked with thinner noodles, when consumed regularly is known to boost your sexual drive.

Whip up a lunch: Cantonese egg noodles with shiitake and daylily buds (廣東雞蛋面)

bowl of noodles is my favourite lunch - a dose of taste, flavour, liquid and nutrients. It makes me feel like a well fed, watered and weeded plant. I do not buy pre-packaged ready-made instant broths but make instead my own. It is really a no-brainer and can help you clean up leftovers from the fridge. Here is what I fixed myself for supper tonight.

1. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms and daylily buds.
2. Make broth by bringing cold water to nearly the boiling point with a 4-5-cm piece of dried konbu. Remove the konbu.
3. Put a curl of dry egg noddles into the boiling water. Cook 6-8 minutes until just a notch beyond al dente.
   
4. In the meantime, toast sliced garlic and sliced shiitake in a bit of vegetable oil until fragrant. Add daylily buds and sauté lightly. Add fish sauce or soya sauce for veg(etari)ians.
5. Tip 4 into 3. Reduce the heat and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Serve with chopped coriander leaves, spring onions or fried tempeh.

A bowl of goodness: Taiwanese seafood and mushroom noodles (海鮮麺)

o, they are going to have JUST noodles?" thought I watching Taipei's smart office crowd going down on their lunch. For an Asian outsider, noodles may not sound like a meal. In Russia noodles are considered lowest grade junk food popular amongst trumps, students and washed-up bachelors.

That is all because nobody cares to fix them properly relying solely on whatever they find in the instant packages. However, with a bit of imagination it is very easy to recreate the kind of gorgeous meal I saw in Taiwan. It is healthy, filling and delicious, a little constellation of delightful chunks and pieces. The recipe couldn't be more simple: put everything in a bowl, pour boiling water, microwave for 3 minutes. Below are the ingredients I usually use.

Seafood:

• two types of shrimp,
  
• squid,
  
• baby octopuses,
  
• clams,
  
• mussels.
  

Seaweed:

• konbu,
• wakame.

Mushrooms:

• shiitake,
• cloud ear,
• jelly ear,
• yamabushitake,
• oyster mushroom,
• snow ear.

Veggies:

• kamjam (daylily buds),
• lotus root,
• pak choy,
• kang kong.
  

A smidgen of toasted black and white sesame seeds livens up an already vibrant mix even further.

I made this one Korean style, flavoured with kimchi, but I also make it, with the help of some herbs and condiments, in a variety of other styles:

• Japanese miso (miso paste and katsuobushi extract),
• Thai tom yam (galangal root, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves, chilies and fried chili paste),
  
• spicy Szechuan (doubanjiang, Szechuan pepper and sesame oil) or
• Korean gochujang-flavoured udon.