Pan-Fried Noodles+ Sauce

When I was a teen, I worked in an gourmet Chinese restaurant. I loved it there, I was a hostess and I love seeing the food creations the chefs would come up with. I got to taste a lot of dishes that were to be featured on their menus. But, my most favorite dish, was a mixed pan-fried noodles. It had a mixture of beef, chicken, shrimp, and the usual veggies in a stir- fry, peas, ribbon carrots, and water chestnuts. I absolutely loved the dish, while it was easy to buy when I was single, with a family now, I don't want to break the bank.

So, I went to the local grocery store and went through the pasta and "ethnic" food isles to see what I could find. I was disappointed, my "ethnic" food isle didn't have anything that I was interested in.  I went through the isle and picked up Vermicelli and Thin Spaghetti.

Following the boiling instructions, make the pasta. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. Lightly oil a nonstick pan and set to med-high heat. When you place the noodles use circular motions. Cook for 5-8 minutes, dropping 1/2 a teaspoon of water to get them super crispy. Then in your skillet, place a plate on top and flip on the other side. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. I usually leave place them in the skillet and place in oven with a little sauce for flavor at 300 degrees for 5 minutes.

Now for the sauce.

2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced. or 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of garlic powder.
chives or scallions
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt (optional)
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch (mix well, until no bumps)

for a little heat, add 1 tablespoon of Sriracha Hot Sauce or Chili Oil

Mix together, sautee veggies with some sauce, bring sauce to a slight shimmer to thicken. Serve on top of noodles. Enjoy

Simple stir fry

I'm in the mood to get some stir fry flavors and get it done quick. I decided to make a couple of options for this dish. It can be done with thin cuts of steak, pork, or chicken, and if you wanted to make it with vegatables only.

Supplies:
1 pound of meat, thin cuts
1 bag of veggies for stir fry
1 small bag of snow peas
1 1/2 cup of bean sprouts
asian mixture: 1 1/2 teaspoons of each; Soy sauce &fish sauce
2 teaspoons of sherry
1/4 cup of water
2 cloves of garlic minced

served over rice (optional)
1. Cook your meat in a wok, with a little asian mixture sauce.

2. Pop your veggies in the microwave and steam them for rougly 3 mins, so theyre not too soft, but will finish cooking in wok.

3. Toss them in and add rest of sauce. You can add anything else, pineapple, tofu, but not any other meat. Toss a couple more times.

4. Serve over rice.

Viet Spring Rolls

Have you ever seen something at a restaurant and think well, I can do that at home. Discovering my new love for this Vietnamese style-soup, Pho, I went to a restuarant with my husband and he ordered some vietnamese spring rolls. I decided to give them a try and see what happens.

Ingredients:
Raw Shrimp
Bean sprouts (washed, drained, dry)
Romaine Lettuce (washed, drain, cut into long strip w/o center leave)
Rice Paper Wraps/Pancakes
Srichra Hot Sauce
A bowl with cold water large enough to drench rice paper wraps
Peanut dipping sauce
Limes

1. Cook your shrimp in a non-stick sautee pan with some Srichra Hot Sauce, just a bit goes a long way. Cook at medium to high heat, a little salt and pepper. 2-3 mins will do the trick.

2. To activate rice paper, drench in cold water or hot, but it was easier on the hands. Drench in water for 2-3 minutes until the pancakes are pliable.

3. On a cooking board, lay the pancakes, add the lettuce, sprouts, and then cook shrimp in a nice row.

4. To roll, place the stuffing, on the lower part of the pancake. Then fold in the sides and start rolling.

5. Enjoy with some limes and peanut sauce.