Recipe: The Store Cupboard Meal Test
I’m on a mission to master the art of the store cupboard meal. I think I will post the fruits of my concoctions here. Some criteria for mastery:
Nutritious: it must be a perfect balance of vegetarian protein, fibre and slow release starches. It also needs to be low in sugar since I am prone to post-meal energy crashes.
Satiating: I don't like anything too voluminous but I do like to feel full, hence it must be high in umami flavour.
Quick: defined in my cookbook as a sub 30–minute journey time from cupboard to mouth.
Mouthfeel: an important criteria for Chinese foodies is a diversity of textures.
Balanced: this goes without saying. It must be balanced in all the essential flavours.
Here’s an idea involving nattō, which I only recently started eating. What a game changer. This traditional fermented soybean is Japan’s Marmite and I love it (more instructions on how to eat nattō).
Ingredients
1 serving of nattō (I bought this from Osato)
50g mung bean noodles or any noodle
5–6 ears of black fungus, rehydrated in warm water for two hours
Any pickles that take your fancy — pictured are spicy pickled kelp knots that I found at my Asian supermarket, and some sushi ginger
1 tsp chilli oil such as Lao Gan Ma, diluted in a slug of soy sauce
Instructions
Boil the noodles (10 minutes).
Meanwhile: drain, trim and finely slice the black fungus.
Remove the noodles but keep the water at a rolling boil, adding the fungus to blanche for 2–3 minutes.
Prepare the nattō according to instructions by simply mixing it with the provided packets of mustard and sweet soy sauce. Omit the sauce if you are vegan; it most likely includes a bonito (fish) extract.
Serve with the chilli oil on the side for dipping and a dish of pickles, or mix everything into one ugly looking bowl. Enjoy.
It was crunchy, slippery, smooth and chewy. Umami, salty, sour, spicy and a little bit sweet. A mixture of cool and warm in temperature, and utterly satisfying. It passed the Store Cupboard Meal test.
Do let me know if you try this and share your result on Instagram with #CelestialPeach.
