Jet black with pink

The thought of glossy jet black rice contrasted with baby pink shrimps was suddenly irresistible, so I did it. I’d intended to make some noodly concoction along the same lines, but then I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond trying to buy some water glasses to replace the ones I smash daily, when a pack of rice caught my eye. I have no patience with doing the same thing twice in a year, so …

Black rice and shrimp salad

Black or mahogany rice, or a blend thereof, which is what’s in this photo, or any other rice (as long as it’s blackish)
tiny cooked shrimps, or bigger if little ones aren’t available – does size matter? No, whatever’s available will be fine, though beware the really tasteless ones that have been cooked, frozen and air-miled out of their tiny little minds –
spring onion (scallions) cut on a slant
red pepper, finely sliced
a scattering of shelled edamame beans
fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks
fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves to make it pretty

Cook the rice according to packet instructions (usually for longer than seems feasible or reasonable). Drain and run under freezing cold water to arrest cooking.
Bring a small pan of water to the boil and throw in the peppers for a minute, then the spring onions for a further 30 seconds. Drain and run under freezing cold water.
Combine rice, shrimps, peppers, ginger and onions. Dress with sesame oil and soy sauce. Scatter over coriander leaves.

It doesn’t get much easier than this. No longer ‘jet black and pink’, more ‘multi-coloured rainbow’ but who cares?

Tofu or not tofu?

All my life I have churlishly and misguidedly thought that tofu was deeply suspect. It used to conjure up images of old hippies with floral patterned flares, dodgy sandals, and beat up camper vans. I also decided it was bound to be slimily tasteless. But now, having tried EN Japanese Brasserie’s made on the hour, every hour, freshly-scooped tofu, I know better.

An extremely waist-friendly stir fry
firm tofu, cut into little squares
a handful of mange tout or snow peas
a handful of fresh spinach leaves
finely sliced red and green peppers
some green beans, blanched for a minute
shelled edamame beans
4 or 5 spring onions (scallions)
slivers of ginger
a squirt of peanut, sesame or olive oil
a dribble of soy sauce

Over high heat, quickly stir fry all the ingredients, adding them in this order: peppers and onions; edamame beans, ginger, green beans and tofu; peas and spinach. This takes 5 minutes in total. Drizzle over some soy sauce. End of story. And for anyone who’s interested, this scores two points on Weight Watchers. Happy waistline …

Old Mother Hubbard …

… went to the fridge, and to her horror, there was not a lot there. But there’s a freezer. Lunch for tomorrow in ten minutes. A narrow escape. I thought he might have to forage for himself. Perish the thought!

IKEA, of all the unlikely places to go looking for food, sells tiny little frozen shrimps, both peeled and unpeeled. In an emergency, the peeled ones are perfect.

a fisful of peeled shrimps
a small fistful of noodles
a scattering of peanuts
3 or 4 chopped spring onions
a handful of baby spinach or pak (bok) choy
a handful of shelled edamame beans

soy sauce
a teaspoon of peanut butter
a dash of peanut oil
a dash of hot water
a dribble of rice wine vinegar
and (optional) a teaspoon of duck or plum sauce

Defrost the shrimps and edamame under running water while you boil a small saucepan of water for the noodles. Cook noodles according to packet instructions (about 6 minutes), drain and run under cold water to arrest cooking. In a bowl, mix together the shrimps, noodles, spring onions, spinach or choy, peanuts and edamame.

In a smaller bowl, mix the sauce ingredients together and chuck over noodle concoction. End of bare fridge panic. Reheated in a microwave at work, this is apparently very good.