This is an old family fave we always had at parties. Total simple to make and so light that you could eat the whole tray yourself.
But don’t.

salad ingredients:
½ pkg. somen (8-10 oz), boiled
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
char siu sliced in thins strips
2 eggs, fried crepe style & sliced in thin strips
¾ of a kamaboko sliced in strips
2 stalks green onion, chopped

dressing ingredients:
salad dressing:
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup sesame oil
1/8 cup cooking oil
3 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Tablespoons shoyu

First boil the somen in water for only 2 minutes, don’t go over or I swear it will be glue-like. Immediately rinse it or it will continue to cook. I usually run my (clean) hand through it cause it’s still hot in the middle – see photo.

Now start cutting up all the ingredients, I suggest small “matchstick”-like pieces, they are easy to eat, but take time to cut. In case you don’t know what KAMABOKO is – it’s a “fish cake”. Don’t freak, it’s not that bad, it has virtually no taste it just adds a lot of color. You’ll sometimes see it floating in a bowl of hot Japanese noodles.

Now start laying down the ingredients.

First up, the cooled, drained noodles. Then the lettuce. (If you don’t like romaine you can just use a small head of iceberg.) Then the char siu or “barbequed pork” you can usually find this at any panda express or asian market. Don’t worry about the red dye, just eat it. Next come the lovely yellow eggs…and finally the kamaboko and green onion!

Now just mix the sauce and add it on at the last minute and you’re ready to serve!

Plain old pancakes are great. But add some special ingredients and you’ve got tasty, tasty cakes. I serve these for dinner as well as breakfast!

Jenn’s Basic Pancake Batter ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg
1-3/4 cups milk
1 Tablespoon melted butter (plus some for the pan)

Take all the ingredients and combine in a bowl until smooth. Put a griddle on the stove, put the heat on medium high. Add a small pat of butter. This not only allows for maximum flippage, but a nice brown and lovely flavor. Pour your batter into nice little circles.

At this point, you can sprinkle ANY ingredients you want on top. We’re talking, savory and sweet. Blueberries, bananas, chocolate chips, a favorite in our house is sausage. I cook the sausage first, so it’s nice and caramel-y, then toss a few bite sized pieces on top of the batter, see:

Once small bubbles appear in the batter and start to pop, it’s time to flip. Now hold up. When you flip your pancakes if you get those awful dark circles around the edges and discolored centers, that is because your heat is too high. The first batch usually comes out like this, and if so, turn down the heat. Pancakes should be a gorgeous evenly brown.

Simple. Don’t get me wrong, these are great plain. The secret to my recipe is the vanilla and brown sugar. I mean, you can’t go wrong with that, but when you add stuff, it just makes it that much more flavorful. Get crazy with add-in options, (I dunno about spinach…), but see how creative you can get and you can have a break from boring old pancakes!