Soba With MOINK Balls and Watercress

Posted on | July 7, 2009 | 3 Comments

When I was in the 9th and 10th grades I had the opportunity to live in Japan. It was during that time that I started my love of Asian foods, noodles in particular. More days than not I had Yakisoba of some type for lunch.

The book Noodles Every Day: Delicious Asian Recipes from Ramen to Rice Sticks by Corinne Trang inspired me to combine my love of noodles with my passion for MOINK Balls.

After reading Corinne’s book I decided to try and adapt one of her recipes to MOINK Balls. I decided the best recipe to try and adapt was the Soba with Beef and Watercrest found on page 102.  Instead of sliced beef I decided to use an Asian style meatball instead. 

I started with lean hamburger, panko bread crumbs and an egg to help hold it all together.  Tossed in some Chinese Five Spice powder as the seasoning in the meatballs.

I formed some meatballs and wrapped them them in half a slice of thick bacon.

After two hours on the smoker they were looking mighty tasty. 

The smoked MOINK Balls were then stir fried in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, green onion, sugar and ginger for just a couple of minutes to coat them good and make sure the bacon was good and crisp.  After removing the MOINK Balls I cooked the watercress.

Here they are all plated and ready to eat.

The flavor profile of this dish was excellent.  The fresh ginger added a nice tang.  The peppery flavor of the watercress complimented the saltiness of the bacon.  Overall the entire dish was a keeper.  Probably not as “healthy” as was intented by Corinne, but it sure tasted good.

Thanks Corinne for the inspiration!  Hope I did justice to your recipe.

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