Chinese Inspired Yaki-Udon

Being a Chinese-Canadian, many people expect me to eat Chinese food regularly at home.  However, I am very different compared to the majority of the Canadian Chinese population. I don't enjoy Chinese food a lot. In fact, contrary to the stereotypical CBC (Canadian Born Chinese), I don't eat rice at all at home. However, what I do like about Chinese food is that it often contains a lot of flavour; some are recognizable, but most are a combination of different spices and sauces mixed together to create a single, delicious sauce, ready to be mixed or poured on top of your favourite grains.

Inspired by my culture, this week I decided to make a Chinese style Yaki-Udon that also speaks to my love for Japanese food. Like many Chinese style cooking, I used trial and error to get the right concoction for my sauce to suit my tastes. In this week's recipe, I will only present the ingredients I used for the sauce with their ratios. You, as a home chef, can mix and match the ingredients to suit your taste. Ready? Let's cook!

Sauce Ingredients:

• Sweet Soy Sauce (30%)
• Black Pepper Sauce (2%)
• Abalone Sauce (10%)
• Unagi Sauce (50%)
• Oyster Sauce (8%)
• Liquid Seasoning (3 Drips)

Ingredients:

• 1 Pack of Udon
• 1/2 Carrot cut into small chunks
• 1/2 Zucchini, sliced into 1cm slices
• 1/2 Medium firm Korean style tofu, diced into small cubes
• 1/2 Onion, sliced into thin slices
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 1/2 teaspoon of prepackaged minced garlic
• 3 teaspoon of corn starch (if necessary)

Instructions:

1. In a pot, boil water and add udon. Cook according to package directions and set aside
2. Add oil to pan over medium heat
3. Add onions and garlic to pan and sauté until it is slightly undercooked
4. Add tofu and zucchini into pan. Saute for 1 minute
5. Add 1 cup of water. Close lid and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes
6. Make your sauce now! Choose any combination of the sauces or follow mine. Mix together and set aside as your ingredients cook
7. Open lid and put sauce and udon into pan
8. Mix everything together and add a few teaspoons of corn starch if sauce is too watery
9. Put udon on plate and serve

ENJOY!