Ms. Ha's Kimchi Yakiudon

When I lived in New York, my friend Kathy and I used to cook each other dinner all the time. It was fun, we both like to cook and it saved us a little money. Win - win - win. No one cooks for me in Japan. That's not a complaint, just a fact.  Kathy made kimchi yakiudon over the weekend in NY, so I asked her for the recipe. I cooked it up tonight and it was exactly what I needed on a hectic Monday night. Gooey, kimchi-y and filling.

I prefer yakiudon to yakisoba because I like the texture of udon noodles more than the noodles they use in yakisoba. Considering the name, you'd think they'd be buckwheat soba noodles, but you'd be wrong! Yakisoba is actually made with egg noodles similar to the ones you find in ramen. Please feel free to use this tidbit to start a conversation with a good looking stranger.

Kathy is a really good cook by the way. I'm more of a baker - I use measurements and am sometimes overly anal about cooking. She's a free spirit and her recipe instructions are fun because they force me to experiment and go with the flow. In the spirit of Ms. Ha, here is the basic recipe:

1. Heat up some oil in a hot wok or skillet. Add chopped garlic and ginger.
2. Add onions (greed, white, yellow - whatever). Add pork belly slices (beef if you prefer). Salt and pepper. Cook awhile until pork is cooked.
3. At this point, you can add any other veggies you like - mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, bell peppers. The sky's the limit!
4. Add kimchi and mix well.
5. Add boiled udon or egg noodles. Add about 1 TB of soy sauce, 1 TB mirin and some sesame seed oil.
6. Add chopped cabbage at the end and mix well.

TADA!!