I make a few stir fry’s – in fact my husband says my food is better than our local Chinese Restaurant (which isn’t saying much – their food is probably the worst Chinese take out I’ve ever had). But when I made these Spicy noodles the first time, I was in love. Really tasty, a little spicy (big flavor, but not hot spicy) and very easy. All you need is a wok or large pot. Although I have a steel wok, I most often reach for my large steel mineral pan.
I have changed the original recipe (off a Misfits Market Recipe card) to include a lot more and varied vegetables. If you have the various seasonings on hand, and like most stir fry’s, it takes longer to get everything ready than it actually takes to cook it.
I actually started buying (well Amazon to the rescue) Lo Mein Noodles, as that is not something I can find locally. But the first couple times I made it I used thin spaghetti, even whole grain spaghetti, which worked just fine.
One of the key ingredients is mushrooms. Mushrooms are very healthy with vitamins and minerals, as well an antioxidants, cancer -fighting actions and can boost the immune system. The original recipe card called for shiitake mushrooms. I don’t usually have these fresh, but I do have a large bag of dried shiitake and dried oyster mushrooms. They need to be re-hydrated with boiling water. This can be done in a bowl with something to weight them down. But by far the easiest way I have found is to use a French Press coffee maker. Put the mushrooms in, add hot water, press down the plunger to keep them submerged. In fact, I have yet to make coffee with it, but I have re-hydrated shiitakes a number of times!
Lay everything out in advance. I generally slice up fresh mushrooms to go along with the dried shiitake, sometimes plain white mushrooms,sometimes some fancier variety. Slice up the pepper (which makes it looks so pretty and colorful!), and today I added some thin asparagus and baby spinach. Ditto with garlic and fresh ginger, which probably take the longest to get ready!
I measure all the liquid ingredients and put them in one cup to pour in. Get the pot of water boiling for pasta – don’t put it in until you know you’ll have the stir fry almost done. Lo mein noodles take only 3-4 minutes, pasta 8-10. Don’t overcook it; add it into the sauce last thing to finish cooking, just like any Italian pasta recipe.
Then get ready to stir fry!
Spicy Garlic, Ginger, Mushroom & Veggie Noodles
an easy stir fry recipe loaded with good for you veggies, readyin about half an hour
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
- 4 stalks scallions or spring onions, sliced in 1" lengths
- 8-10 shitake mushrooms, sliced re-hydrate dry mushrooms
- 4 oz other mushroom or mushroom mix
- 3 tbsp ginger, grated
- 3 tbsp garllic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, or several mini sweet peppers, sliced
- 2 cups assorted vegetables – broccoli, snap peas, asparagus, sugar peas, baby spinach
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp chili oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)
- 12-16 oz long thin noodles, spaghetti, or lo mein noodles, cooked per package directions
Instructions
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Over medium high heat, heat the vegetable oil and add all the mushrooms. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.
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Add the bell peppers and saute 3 minutes until slightly softened. add other vegetables of your choosing, adding the longest cooking first, and cook another 2-3 minutes.
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Add scallions, ginger, and garlic; cook 1 minute. Scallions should turn bright green. Add any soft greens like baby spinach last.
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Pour in all the liquid ingredients: oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil. mix well. Add cooked noodles and toss with tongs to coat and finish cooking the pasta.
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Taste; add more soy sauce if desired.
