By Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up minorganmichael@yahoo.com
SHANGHAI NOODLES
Noodle dishes have been a staple food throughout Asia dating back over 4000 years. They were the prominent food in China during the Han Dynasty (206BC – 220AD).
Noodles are generally boiled, but may also be deep fried in oil until crispy.
Shanghai Noodles is a staple dish of Shanghai cuisine usually served in local dumpling houses in China. They are also now very popular in western cuisine (1)
This week’s recipe can be adapted to various meats or vegetarian tastes……Enjoy!
(1) Wikipedia
Original recipe courtesy of www.lifemadesweeter.com
Ingredients
- 1 package of Shanghai noodles, fresh (or substitute with thick Chow Mien or spaghetti noodles)
- ½ lb ground pork or chicken or pressed tofu
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- ½ head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
- baby pak choy sliced
- Sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon of white pepper
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, dissolved in ½ cup of water
- Sriracha sauce (optional)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Marinate the ground pork or chicken or tofu with salt, pepper and ½ teaspoon of soy sauce.
- Wash and dry the Napa cabbage. Slice thinly and set aside.
- In a small bowl, add sesame oil, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, brown sugar, white pepper, salt and black pepper and stir. Set aside. Combine corn starch and warm water to another small bowl and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a wok or heavy skillet on medium high heat and fry half of the minced garlic and ginger for one minute.
- Stir in the pork, chicken or tofu and cook until done. Remove and set aside.
- Add the other half of the ginger and garlic and cook for one minute. Add the cabbage and pak choy and stir until tender.
- Add the meat or tofu back into the wok and stir for 30 seconds
- Toss in the fresh shanghai noodles. **If using dry, cook according to package instructions first.
- Add the sauce ingredients and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and/or Sriracha for some spice.
- Add the corn starch water. Toss well for another minute to combine.
- Remove from heat and toss with sesame seeds and serve immediately.
