For the Love of the Stove

Helen Chen
Easy Asian Noodles 


I made this dish as a birthday dinner for one of my really good friends and it was delicious.  He LOVES spicy food.  You know when you go to a Thai restaurant and they ask you on a scale of 1 - 10 how spicy you want something, well he says 11.  Scary.  I'm more of a 5 or 6.  This made everyone happy.

Ingredients
1/2 pound wide, flat rice noodles, large 1/4 inch width
3 T oyster sauce
2 T plus 2 t dark soy sauce
2 T white distilled vinegar
1 T chili-garlic sauce or Sriracha chile sauce, to taste
2 t fish sauce
2 T sugar
2 t Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 t cornstarch
8 oz lean pork or chicken, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
3 T canola oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 small carrot, thinkly sliced on the diagonal
5 oz yu choy, broccoli rabe or broccoli, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup canned straw mushrooms, or mushroom slices, drained
6 extra-large raw shrimp (16/20), peeled, deveined, and split in half lengthwise
1 scallion, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves or sweet basil, packed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, optional


Directions
1.  In a large pot of boiling water, cook the noodles until al dente, about 3 minutes.  Don't overcook because they are going to be cooked again.  Drain, rinse in cold water , and set aside to drain again.
2.  In a small mixing bowl, combine 2 T of the oyster sauce, the soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, fish sauce, and sugar.  Stir well to dissolve the sugar.  Set aside.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 t soy sauce, wine and cornstarch.  Add the meat and stir well.
3.  In a wok or stir-fry pan, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat; do not let the oil smoke.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until it sizzles.  Be careful not to burn the garlic or it will become bitter.  Stir the meat up again and pour it into the pan.  Cook, stirring briskly, until the pork or chicken is almost cooked, about 2 minutes.  Add the carrot, greens, onion, and mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the greens turn a darker color and begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the shrimp and cook until the shrimp begins to turn opaque, about 1 minute.  Add the noodles and pour the soy sauce mixture over the noodles, loosening the noodles with a pair of chopsticks and stirring until they separate and are heated through and the sauce is well blended.  
4.  Toss in the scallion and basil and stir until the basil is wilted, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to a large serving platter, garnish with cilantro, if using, and serve immediately.