Recipe: Lo Mein With Pac Choi & Green Onions

2021 Week 17 Newsletter

Recipe adapted from The Woks Of Life

Another tried and true noodle dish that is also ultra flexible! Feel free to throw in additional sautéed veggies or mushrooms and extra protein of your choice (shrimp, pork, chicken, tofu, Chinese sausage, etc). 

~Rae

1 lb fresh Chinese white noodles or Lo Mein Noodle

2 tbs sesame oil

4 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs oyster sauce

2 tbs rice wine

1 tbs grated ginger

½ tbs garlic, minced

pinch of sugar

1 tbs peanut oil

3 green onions, split at the thick parts and cut into 2in lengths

1 cup roughly chopped pac choi

Boil water in a large pot for the noodles. If using the lo mein egg noodles, you can skip this step, as those noodles do not require any pre-cooking. But if using fresh white noodles, you will have to boil them. Just cook until al dente, drain, and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, rice wine, and oyster sauce.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over high heat and add the garlic, ginger, and the white parts of the scallions. Stir-fry for 30 seconds and add pac choi to the wok and cook until the greens are just wilted. Then add your noodles and the green parts of the scallions. Make sure that before you add them, they’re somewhat loose and not all clumped together (you can rinse them in warm water to loosen them up before adding them to the wok).

Pour your sauce mixture over the noodles and stir-fry until the color of the noodles are uniform. A folding or scoop-and-lift motion works well for that. Once everything is well-combined, dish out the noodles and serve.

Recipe: Spicy Sichuan Noodles With Pac Choi

2021 Week 16 Newsletter

Recipe & Pic from Wild Greens & Sardines

This recipe is pretty much a meatless version of Dan Dan noodles (traditionally ground pork is the star attraction) but the sauce is so rich, creamy, and highly flavored that you won't for a minute feel like you are sacrificing deliciousness in favor of incorporating more veggies into your meal. You can purchase chili oil at the grocery store but if you have the time and inclination I highly recommend making your own (recipe included below)- you will be shocked at how many dishes it will find its way into!

~Rae

noodles
8-10 ounces dried or fresh ramen noodles (I usually use buckwheat soba noodles)
Bring a pot of salted water to a bowl. Drop in the pasta and cook until just al dente. Drop into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain.
For the Tofu-Mushroom
1 tablespoon oil
4 ounces firm tofu, finely chopped
4 ounces mushrooms, any variety, chopped (I often use rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms because that is usually what I have on hand in the pantry)
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch of ginger minced

1-2 heads of pac choi, chopped
1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine, Saki or dry Sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
Salt to taste
Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a bit of oil and saute the pac choi until tender and wilted, set aside. Add the tofu and mushrooms and sauté until nicely browned. Add the garlic and ginger, and a little more oil if needed, and sauté another minute. Add the rice wine and soy and stir to combine. Fold the cooked pac choi into the mix and salt to taste.
For the Sauce
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
4 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar
2 to 4 tablespoons Sichuan chile oil plus some flakes, depending on desired heat level (recipe below)
2 tablespoons tahini
Splash of pasta cooking water
Combine the Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce, black vinegar, Sichuan chile oil and tahini in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Add a tablespoon or two of pasta cooking water, just to loosen up the sauce a bit.
Toppings
Thinly sliced scallions
Roasted, chopped peanuts
Ground Sichuan peppercorns

To Assemble
Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce in the bottom of each bowl. Layer half of the noodles on top. Spoon the tofu-mushroom mixture on top. Add thinly sliced scallions, chopped roasted peanuts and a pinch of Sichuan peppercorns. Add a little more sauce on top. Enjoy!

Sichuan Chile Oil
1/4 cup red pepper flakes, such as Korean chile flakes (Gochugaru)
2 teaspoons toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorn
3/4 cup oil, such as grape seed
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 tablespoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
3 bay leaves
2-3 slices ginger

Place the red chile flakes and ground Sichuan peppercorn in a heatproof bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil with the cinnamon stick, star anise, whole Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves and ginger in a pot over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Place a fine mesh strainer over the bowl with the chile flakes. Carefully pour the hot oil all over the chile flakes. Be careful, it will bubble up. Allow the oil to cool completely and allow the oil to infuse for at least 24 hours before using. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for maximum shelf life.

Recipe: Pink & White Fried Rice With Sauteed Greens

A Farm Favorite from Rae

Rae's go-to recipe for turning extra greens into a tasty weeknight meal.

• 1 cup cooked and cooled sushi rice or Jasmine rice (rice that is leftover in the fridge from another meal is perfect!)

• 1 cup cooked and cooled pink or brown rice

• 2 cups chopped greens (spinach, chard, pac choi, turnip greens, radish greens, just about anything goes!)

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 tbs of grated fresh ginger

• 1/2 tbs of grated or finely chopped garlic

• 1/4 cup chopped white or yellow storage onion or scallions (if you use storage onions the flavor will be a bit sweeter)

• 2 tsp neutral tasting oil

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• soy sauce to taste

Add the neutral tasting oil to a skillet or wok and turn the heat to medium. Add chopped onion and saute until soft. Add in greens, garlic, and ginger, and cook, stirring frequently, until the greens are well wilted. Move the veggies to one side of the pan and add the sesame oil to the vacant side. Break the egg into the hot sesame oil and lightly scramble it right in the pan. When the egg is cooked, mix it in with the veggies. Briefly turn the heat to high and sprinkle in the cooled rice. Stir to combine and cook until the rice is hot and getting crispy. Lightly douse the fried rice with soy sauce, stir, and taste, to check for your preferred salt level. Add in more soy sauce to taste.