Stir Fry with Noodles and Random Shit

So, this was a throw-together meal. We had some left over udon  from making these, some asparagus, and some ham from Local Pig that was juuuust about to go bad. We added some ingredients that we always keep around (mushrooms, garlic, ginger, edamame, radishes, and green onions).  Let me stress that stir fry is one of those things that was pretty much designed to use up what you've got sitting around. I have a pretty loosey-goosey approach to recipes in general, mainly that I almost never follow them ever, and I'm always adding stuff (coughcough*garlic*coughcough) and subbing out stuff that I actually have for other stuff that I very really don't. This way, I never have to make a special trip to the store to make something. My inability to follow a recipe thoroughly is the reason that I am the worst at baking, and I leave all that measuring and specificity to Dave, whose precise measuring in contrast to my eyeballing makes him seem like some kind of a bread-making wizard, when maybe it all just comes down to following directions.

Udon Noodle Bowls with Ramen Eggs

Well, today was a cold, rainy day, so naturally our dinner plans in the Piepan household gravitated towards soup.  Namely Japanese-style noodle soup. There is nothing that can warm you down to your bones like a perfect bowl of udon with fall vegetables. A word about noodle bowls and hotpots: I used more traditional Japanese ingredients because I have them around, and have easy access to them. The great thing about soups and hotpots is that the whole point is to use what you have laying around. Half a zucchini, a quarter of a potato that never got used, some random bits of onion, whatever. You can pretty much put anything in a bowl with some dashi and some noodles (or not!) and it will be delicious. Think of it as a great way to use your scraps.

Udon Noodles

Udon noodles are a thick, perfectly chewy Japanese noodle. As an adult, when I first had udon, it reminded me of the thick, pillowy noodles my Grandmother would put in her chicken soup. A great toothsome noodle is comfort food, no matter where you're from. I didn't get to learn my Grandmother's noodle recipe, but I bet the ingredients were a hell of a lot like the ones from this classic udon recipe.