Cooking With Your Kids: The Sushi Chef’s Noodles

I can’t believe I haven’t shared my recipe for

The Sushi Chef’s Noodles

Seriously, this is one of my son’s absolute favorite dishes in the world.

What is it?

It’s the noodles we get when we go to “sushi.”    Which to the rest of the world is usually called “Japanese steakhouse,” but in my family goes by the name sushi.

Why do we call it sushi?  As the story goes, I love sushi.  Love it.  Love it.  There’s only one problem.  As a restaurant experience, waiting for a platter of artfully arranged raw fish takes time, especially in the quantities in which I like to order it.  Sadly, the amount of time it takes to make the sushi far outweighs the patience of a typical one, two, three, or four year old.

Enter Japanese steakhouse and the fire, the onion volcano, the banging on the stove with wooden sticks, etc.  All of that is more than enough excitement to keep a little one entertained for as long as his father needs to wait (un)patiently for his sushi.

Even better, my son will actually eat the food at the Japanese steakhouse, including the noodles, which he loves so much we always have to order extra.  Here then, is the recipe for those noodles.

Japanese Steakhouse Noodles

These noodles are simple.  You can use anything you have, including spaghetti.  The basic technique is the same.  However, if you can find them, look for “Cantonese” noodles.  They look kind of like spaghetti (same thickness and color, but they taste slightly different.)

You will need:

  • 12 oz Cantonese noodles
  • Salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • Soy sauce
  • Pepper

Boil the Cantonese noodles in salted water until just al dente.  Remove from the water and dump them in an ice bath to stop their cooking.  Drain and set aside.

Mix the garlic and the butter together to make garlic butter.

In a skillet, add the oil and get it hot.  Then put the now dry noodles on the oil.  Put the butter under the noodles and wait until it is melted.

Pour the soy sauce over the noodles, sprinkle with pepper and stir until the noodles are warm.

Serve.

Note: These recipe is slightly hardcore.  It is every step I can find to make perfectly restaurant-quality Japanese steakhouse noodles.  If you have neither the time nor the inclination to cook the noodles, then shock them, then recook, don’t.  If you want, just boil, drain, put them back in a pot with the oil and butter.  Then add the garlic, pepper, and soy sauce and you’re done.

Enjoy!

Leave a Reply