I know it seems like weather makes up a big part of my life right now, and the reality is, it does. Coming from SA where we get about 8 months of sunshine, or, to be more accurate, about 2500 hours per year, the 1709 hours that Munich typically gets, was always gonna be a bit of a challenge. However, this year is apparently unseasonably cold and rainy for Munich, and it has been a surprisingly tough adjustment. So, on the few days that the sun has teasingly shown its face we’ve made the most of it, by braaing with the small group of friends we’ve been slowly making, heading to the park and our local beer garden, soaking it up.
In SA when weather ruins an outing, you just postpone to the next day and its fairly certain sunshine. In Munich I’ve been doing the same, and I realised that I’ve been putting off sight seeing and exploring this beautiful city, thanks to the poor weather. So I’ve decided that that has got to change, and you can totes call me out on it if I haven’t mentioned one sight I’ve seen in the next few weeks. (It’s pouring R/N though so I’m going to just spend a little more time writing this blog.)
On the plus side, we haven’t been completely cloistered and in the exploring we have done, we’ve gone to quite a few Vietnamese restaurants. Since our trip to Seattle last year, and our first taste of Pho, we’ve been solid fans. One of the best so far has been the Jaadin Grillhouse, where we went for a friends birthday. Everything we had there was amazing, my lovely lad joined the others on the tasting platters which included beef in betel leaf, pork spring rolls, crispy prawns and duck and mango salad. As the only veggie in the group, I had deep fried wantons, or Gyoza chay that were fresh and crispy and perfect. I had their veg Pho as my main and it didn’t disappoint, which was savoury and spicy with mint, basil and sprouts sprinkled on top, just like the perfect bowl of Pho should be. If you’ve never had Pho, I highly recommend it – though make sure the people who make it know what they’re doing.
It’s been tough to find the spices I need for a really good pho, as it seems the standard spices from the super market revolve around a set of very standard basics. so I’ve been getting creative with other eastern inspired dishes. One of which is the noodle and tofu bowl below, perfect for lunch or a light dinner and full of the bright and rich signature flavours I needed in my life on a rainy day.
tofu and veg noodle bowl
Ingredients
- approx 1-2tbs Olive oil to sautee
- 1 medium zucchini chopped into thin sticks
- 4 portabellini mushrooms sliced
- 1 clove of garlic chopped coarsely
- 1 1cm slice of ginger peeled and grated
- 1 handful of flat rice noodles
- half a block firm tofu chopped into cubes
- 1 spring onion sliced finely
- chopped roasted peanuts
- 1 small bunch of mint and coriander
- 1 tbs Maggi sauce*
- 1 tbs Sriracha
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp light soysauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 3 tbs water
Method
- Mix half the ginger and garlic with the soy, Sriracha, Maggi, honey and sesame oil in a medium bowl with the water.
- Add the cubed tofu to the sauce and coat. Leave to marinate for as long as possible or while you prep the remaining ingredients.
- Heat a frying pan to medium high and add a tbs olive oil.
- Take the tofu out of the marinade and reserve the sauce for later.
- Fry the tofu in the pan til golden then take out of the pan and set aside.
- Put a small pot filled with water on to boil for the noodles
- Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining oil.
- Add the remaining garlic and ginger and spread out in the pan
- Add the mushrooms and zucchini and toss to coat with garlic and ginger
- Sauté until browned but still crisp about 2-3 min.
- Add half the marinade and toss. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add noodles to small pot with boiling water
- Check noodles after about 3 min and when done, remove from the pot and drain.
- Place the noodles in a serving bowl, cover with sauteed veg, the fried tofu and the remaining marinade.
- Garnish with chopped herbs and roasted peanuts
- Enjoy
How do you feel about these flavours? Ginger, garlic and coriander are really just fantastic, though I appreciate that for some, coriander is like licking a bar of soap. If that’s you, how do you survive? which herb is your replacement for that fresh burst of flavour? let me know below.
* Also, I’ve been fighting with the Maggi sauce debacle. After years of being convinced MSG was the enemy, the new studies proving it doesn’t negatively affect anyone, and big names like David Chang and Andrea Nguyen using it freely, mean I am trying to consider using it in my cooking. Whats your view?
Eggs and Kisses 