For most of my adult life I’ve suffered from Calientephobia or fear of a hot kitchen. This crippling disease can cause profuse sweating, irritability and has wrecked marriages. That’s why the majority of kitchens I have worked in have been air conditioned and/or contained overhead fans or were just naturally cool like my sweet kitchen in Sens that I’m going to tomorrow 🙂
This morning, with other sufferers of Calientephobia in mind, I created a quick, delicious stir fry that will get you in and out of that hot kitchen in no time before symptoms set in. Just follow these few basic guidelines:
1) Buy gambas that have been headed, shelled and de-veined.
2) Get up early in the morning, start the gambas marinating, prep your vegetables, measure out the sauce ingredients and boil the quail eggs.
3) At noon, or when you are ready to eat, boil, drain and rinse the soba, make the stir fry, dump the noodles and eggs inside, garnish, take the wok to the, hopefully, cooler dining room and serve.
We can beat this disease!
This morning when I was getting ready to boil the quail eggs, I noticed that the box contained a free “quail egg” cutter.
Curious, I read the instructions and cut the top off of one of the eggs.
Just as I thought. Into the totally useless gadget drawer goes somebody’s big idea! At least I didn’t pay for it. This time 🙂
Quick Gambas and Soba Noodles
1 lb Black Tiger gambas, headed, shelled and de-veined
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 slices fresh ginger, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
2 red chillies, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1/2 cup chicken broth
20 boiled quail eggs
2-3 bundles of soba noodles, boiled, drained and rinsed
1 hand full of cilantro.
Mix the gambas with the garlic, ginger, scallions, chillies, 1 tbsp of the olive oil, and sesame oil, then refrigerate for an hour.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a wok and pour in the gambas with marinade. Stir fry the gambas until just beginning to turn pink, then add the pepper strips and continue to saute until the pepper is crisp tender. Add the soy sauce, mirin and broth to the wok and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the quail eggs and noodles, then remove from flame. Top with cilantro and serve.
Beverage suggestion: Supa Rice Ronin of Death, a Japanese rice lager
Cooking in Sens 
Looks yummy!
Thank you Arthur, it was good!
HA! Yeah, gadgets are interesting. It was a good idea when I bought it, but now? What was I thinking?
I’m only rivaled by my husband in the possession of totally useless gadgets. He wins 🙂
*Snort* I just spewed my coffee. Well, a little competition in a marriage keeps things running….
😀
Fabulous recipe – today we ate inside the house as it was cooler than in the shade in the garden 🙂 I too have a drawer full of useless gadgets…perhaps we could build a mountain with them all!
Thank you Chica. My idea is to have a free box at our yard sale in Pennsylvania next year. Who knows, somebody might want this stuff 🙂
What’s wrong with a tea spoon or knife?! Anyway, good looking dish indeed.
Thank you Frugal. That was my question.
Looks great. I have never had boiled quail eggs. Hmmm. I think I’ll pick some up, they add a “cuteness” to the dish.
They are cute 🙂 If you can’t find them fresh, don’t get the ones in the cans. 2nd choice are those in jars in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.
They sell them in cans? I do have a source. I noticed them in a little pack of six at the market (next to the fresh duck eggs). Thank you for the advice!
The cans are really dis-gusting! I bought them years ago and had them shipped to West Africa because they were not available there. Better to do without!
Gamba is shrimp? I’ve never heard that before. Looks delicious, will probably make something similar tonight.
Bon appetit!
I too suffer from Calientephobia! Hot kitchens just make me grumpy and want to order out. But these noodles look delicious, colorful, and nice and quick!
That quail egg cutter is truly useless looking. I wonder if it could be used for something else? Gnocchi cutter? I also want to add that Supa Rice Ronin of Death is the best name for a beer. Ever 🙂
That is a great name for a beer, that’s why I suggested it 🙂 Send me your address and I’ll send you the quail egg cutter. Let you figure it out.
I love it Rosemary. The egg cutter has to be the most useless device I have ever seen.
I have to agree Conor. What were they thinking?
I prefer cool kitchens, but am not opposed to cooking on hot days. For some mad reason, two days ago (the hottest day of the year here so far), I decided to cook shepherd’s pie and added chilli and piementón to it!
I could eat those gambas a noodles for breakfast 🙂
Shepherd’s pie is good Mad. And when you have to have it, you just have to have it 🙂
Best money I ever spent was on a new, larger kitchen! I’m totally with you!
Nothing better than noodles and prawns, looks superb….nearly lunchtime now…. 😉
Kitchens are so important if you like to cook.
Looks so good that I just want to dive into the bowl!
Agree on the gadgets. I have very few because I’ve tired of packing them away. The silliest one was the pineapple corer – what a mess to use!
I’ve got a pineapple corer 😀
This looks delicious and the quail egg cutter truly cracks me up. Like everyone else, I’m also guilty of having purchased a “few” useless gadgets in my day. At least this one of yours was free! 🙂 And Calientephobia is a fabulous word!
Thank you Lola 🙂
Looks great! Will give this a try tomorrow 🙂
P.S. I think the quail egg cutter is more useful for cutting unboiled, raw eggs. Nonetheless, it’s not that useful…how often does one eat quail eggs?
Why would you cut a raw egg?
Lol that is an interesting gadget, I never seen one of those.
BTW thats a nice noodle dish!
Thank you Raymund.
simply drolling me, lovely fancy plating too….
kinda hard to find any plates like youre, you make me jealous my friend!
Thank you Dedy. You can finds some amazing plates in supermarkets 🙂
This looks so tasty! Thanks for sharing x
Thank you Isobel.
Awww, I feel for the inventor of the quail egg cutter but anyway I think it’s ingenious : )
There’s always something for everyone and the inventor probably met a need 🙂
Mmm, rather belatedly read this post and am heading for the shops to buy prawns! It looks so good. I have to say I love gadgets and gizmos. Are you familiar with the British food writer Lindsey Bareham? She’s just written a new book (The Trifle Bowl And Other Tales) which revolves entirely around her kitchen equipment. I found I had most of it already. Yup, I’m an addict, but even I would draw the line at the quail’s egg cutter ….
Thanks for the book tip Linda. I’ll certainly look for it.
Hi everyone, the Quail egg cutter is for cutting the tops off of quail eggs so that you can empty the contents out as you can’t crack a quail egg like you can a chicken egg. Quail eggs are great fried in batches or poached.