Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup - Share a Taste of Home with Friends

When traveling, few things unite people like a great meal prepared and shared together. Food is such a natural and direct way to learn about a culture, which is why I love to cook with friends, a tradition that started many years ago abroad. To me, the kitchen is a creative space. A place full of experimentation, chaos and laughter and our friend's kitchen over at Wilson Creek Pottery is no exception. Recently, we traded in the hustle of the city for a scenic weekend visiting them in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

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In their lovely kitchen, we were surrounded by the warmth of their hospitality and their pottery.
It was the perfect spot for trading secret ingredients and resources. 

Our friends love to travel out in the world and from their own kitchen. They can't help but bring back inspiration from their travel. Their last big trip in India, solidified their love for Indian cooking and Ayurveda. When we last visited, they treated us to Indian fare. From handmade chapatis to showing us how to make our own ghee! 

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This time their adventurous mood was set on asian noodles and a perfect chance for me to return the generosity. They knew of my love for noodles and asked if I could show them how to prepare a dish. There was no question. I had to share with them one of my favorite noodle dishes: Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. (Pictured above) What is delightful about this dish is the complexity of the broth. It's an iconic staple and something I grew up on. To understand my love for noodles is to know me and I was more than happy to share a piece of my home with them. I can have it morning, day or night and my husband couldn't really comprehend this until he saw for himself...the land, people and food of my first home. After a few days into our trip to Taiwan, my husband looked at me knowingly and said, "I get it now."  

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And so today we would all join in culinary adventure to experience the flavors of Taiwan from a cozy house in farm country, Wisconsin. Our plan was ambitious but we made sure to give ourselves ample time. The plan was to prep the broth, the most effort and time intensive part of the dish and we'd prepare it to a point, so that the flavors could be melding while we took a hike nearby.   

And when we tired ourselves of the snowy hills and neighboring animal friends...we would come back home to a simmering broth that would be ready for us. 

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I'm happy to report that our bellies and hearts were full...Now it's your turn! Try it in your own global kitchen!
--> Head over to The Dining Traveler where I shared with her the recipe.

What taste of home would you share? 
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Get everyday adventure ideas @LiveLikeYoureTraveling  

Blue Apron : Travel the World without Leaving Your Kitchen

Some of you may already be following along on instagram and seeing how I've been experimenting in the kitchen and having #culinaryfirsts over and over...and OVER! Every week I cook with exotic ingredients and spices like watermelon radish, forbidden rice and korean gochugaru...but how am I pulling this off without a lot of time in the market and looking up recipes? At the beginning of the year, I had a case of analysis paralysis from all the pinterest boards of carefully categorized recipes, but I got over it and I'm going to tell you all about my little secret to how. 

I really take pride in knowing that I'm selecting good ingredients, but I also want to know that I'm growing as a cook. I want to continue adding to my repertoire and tackling new culinary feats in the kitchen. But of course, who has the time? I first stumbled upon Blue Apron (a weekly meal subscription service) via a friend of mine who gave me one of her free trials (3 meals for 2 people, worth $60). It could seriously be one of the best free trials out there. So I signed up, selected my dietary preferences and my meals were to be sent to us by the end of the week. You can change delivery settings within a week's notice.  

How it Works

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Get Food Packaged Exactly by the Amount Necessary
All the veggies and select cuts of meats come prepackaged, as well as all the seasonings,
cheeses, and other ingredients to make sauces and dressings from scratch.

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Prepare Food Using Step-by-Step Visual Recipe Cards
You're given a dose of the cultural influence to the dish, with all of the ingredients needed plus  a visual display on the front of the card. On the back, a visual step-by-step that acts like a mini cooking course at home. What's great about it is that hubby (who's less cooking inclined) and I can both jump right in and divvy up our efforts, where as traditional recipes tend to require an extra step of organizing and strategizing. Even if you don't subscribe to the service, you can access all of their visual step-by-step recipes via their online cookbook.

Some of My Favorites

Mexican Chicken Mole with Cilantro Rice 
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Wasn't much of a fan of mole until this dish. The rich decadent chocolate and peppers mixed against the lime cilantro accents, collaborated well together. I think we ate in silence, (which is the marker of a truly delicious meal for us).

Chicken Shawarma with Tzatziki, Hummus & Beet Salad
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All I need to say is "Tzatziki spilleth over." A zesty sauce made from scratch
and beet salad. A surprise rush of flavors in such a simple dish with vibrant colors.

Beef Ramen Noodle Soup with Choy Sum & Enoki Mushrooms
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I was a Hoisin virgin until this meal. Quality steak and enoki mushrooms.
Handmade noodles? The noodle lover in me was swooning.
{ ...awww shucks, thanks for including this photo in your Autumn Cookbook }

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Forbidden Rice
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I was excited to use watermelon radish for the first time, (so delicious to the eyes) and we discovered forbidden rice (which is a rich source of anti-oxidants)! What a great replacement for white rice. It's hearty and has an earthy flavor on its own.

Korean Beef Chapchae with Sweet Potato Vermicelli 
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FYI I love spicy food! I loved making yet another culinary first, with the Korean chili spice, gochugaru. The sweet potato vermicelli noodles were a unique element that soaked in all the flavors. Added bonus:  being that I am more conscious about the amount and type of carbs I eat, I liked that it was a great substitute for rice noodles.

 Dukkah-Dusted Tilapia with Eggplant Sofrito and Peppers over Quinoa
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Having never tried dukkah-anything, I was excited to experience new flavors and fish with extra texture. The blistered peppers were a surprisingly delightful way to prepare them whole and we're always down for Quinoa.

 Salmon Burgers with Corn-on-the-cob & Basil Butter 
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Hello juicy-ness! My goodness this was the best burger of the year. The lemon aioli drizzle on the made-from-scratch salmon made for a summery refreshing pairing. 

Savor the World & Learn

1 - Try the world. Hop cultures from meal to meal. Sample before you decide to invest in a full size carton of miso, or bottle of hoisin sauce. Cook with exotic ingredients like sweet potato vermicelli, kumquats or pattypan squash for the first time.

2 - Less anxiety in trying to figure out what to make. We set our preferences, for the dish types (vegetarian, pescatarian, chicken, beef etc.) and the majority of the time it's something we want to eat. I would love it if eventually they could include more specific dietary requirements like dairy free, gluten free etc. 

3 - Cooking class at home  Learn a new cooking technique in every meal. The visual recipe cards give it a "demo" feel. 

4 - Feel accomplished. There's something about the combination of trying new techniques and unique ingredients and doing it on your own from scratch that add up to a sense of accomplishment. I love feeling like I'm learning and exploring right in my kitchen.

Have you tried Blue Apron, or a service like it?...what has your experience been like? 
 

• • •    LESSONS LEARNED    • • •

Let someone else take the driver's seat
so you can enjoy the ride. 

Get everyday adventure ideas @LiveLikeYoureTraveling  

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