On Sunday I found a Japanese market in Wilmette called Sea Ranch, (3217 W. Lake, Lake and Skokie Blvd.). While not a replacement for Mitsuwa, this place has a good assortment of Japanese hardware, packaged stuff, including candy and snacks, frozen stuff and strange produce, both fresh and packaged (pickled burdock root for example). I resisted going in the fish market they own in the same strip mall. That market had a big ’sushi to go’ sign. I fully intended to go back and check it out the next day, but never made it. In the grocery I bought my usual supply of nori, wasabi, somen noodles, dried black mushrooms and black fungus. But I also bought a big honkin’ frozen squid, about 14″ long. I also picked up some tofu, and some enoki mushrooms. I fully intended to attempt to stuff the squid with mushrooms, and broil it, something I’ve had in the past. But when it came time, I didn’t feel up to the challenge, both intimidated by the creature, and knowing it can take a delicate touch to cook.
So I wimped out, cleaned it, cut it up and stir fried it with the mushrooms, some yellow squash and the tofu and piled it onto the delicate somen noodles. The variety of ingredients and textures really appeals to the mouth.
1 yellow squash, halved and sliced
6-8 dried black mushrooms
3-4 black fungus pieces, also called ‘mu er’ or wood ear
enoki mushrooms
1 package tofu
1 big whole ika (squid)
House of Tsang brand Wok Oil
(or your own garlic and ginger seasoned oil)
rice wine vinegar
1 lemon
good quality soy sauce (soyu)
butter
somen (thin noodles)
I cleaned the squid first and left it to sit in a bowl of water, the juice of half the lemon, salt and vinegar while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. Cleaning a whole squid can be a little intimidating, especially for first timers. I’ve cleaned lots of the smaller ones, but this big fella was full of stuff. Its not hard to do, just cut off the head, pull out the transparent spinal cartilage, and squeeze out the insides. Cut tentacles of at the base as well.
I like to reconstitute and cook dried mushrooms and black fungus by putting them in a pot of water and bringing the water up to a boil for 5 minutes or so. (rinse them first). The fungus may take a little longer. After boiling them until soft and moist all the way to their centers, reserve the water and slice the shrooms. I let the water sit for a bit to let any sediment settle before using the liquid.
I browned the mushrooms and fungus in butter and seasoned oil in one pan, and the yellow squash in another, just to speed things up. When everything was nice and brown they were combined and some soy (a dash or two only) and a 4-5 T of rice vinegar went over them.
In a large skillet I started browning the cubed-up tofu in butter and oil, while I sliced up the squid. The squid pieces went into a very hot pan, with some butter, oil, and the juice of the other half of lemon, put the tentacles in about ten seconds after the thicker body pieces. I can’t tell you exactly how long it takes to cook squid, but its not much more than a minute or two. They should turn white and lose its translucency. The squid will be chewy, but it shouldn’t have too much of a rubbery resilience. I cooled the pan down by pouring in some vinegar, then some of the reserved mushroom liquid and dumped in the other cooked ingredients except for the tofus, which got seasoned and dried on some paper towels after they were browned on both sides.
The somen went into some boiling water for a minute and a half and the enoki went into the pan and was heated through at the last minute.
This how-to-coook somen page offers a presentation tip: “In order to serve somen beautifully particularly for your guests, tie the tip of somen bundle with a cooking thread before boiling. Boil somen in the saucepan with the knot downward.” I guess this allows you to lay out the somen threads flat, rather than in a tangled bunched.
As you can see my presentation isn’t that fancy, everything got dumped onto the somen.