Stir fried egg noodles

The hubby was requesting something simple for dinner so the wife didn’t have to cook a lot. Little he knows that the wife can’t cook anything simple. It always has to be lots and lots and lots. And of course it has to taste like heaven, or close to it. Both take time and effort. But she doesn’t mind most of the time. The hubby's wish is the wife's command. As long as he makes his wishes in advance, so the wife can get prepared.

So I went out and got all I need for this stir fry. I don’t have a fixed recipe but I always try to make it with lots of veggies. For this stir fry I got some baby bok choy, some flowering edible rapes, fresh shiitake mushrooms, fresh fried tofu and bean sprouts. Because we haven’t been eating shrimps for a while I decided to use some fresh tiger shrimps and pair it with a big piece of entrecote.

I started preparing everything first. You can slice it as fine or as rough as you like. I like big pieces and because I’m stir frying everything separate first I had big pieces.

I pealed and deveined the shrimps and sliced them in half. Then I sliced the entrecote in thick strips. I started by stir frying the entrecote very briefly with some onion, garlic, oyster sauce and sesame oil. I basically mixed everything together in the pan with the heat on. After everything is mixed and the meat is getting a bit of color I took it out of the pan.

After that it was time for the shiitake mushrooms and the tofu. I bought fresh tofu which I fried in some oil first. I made sure the there was a lot of heat so the mushrooms sheared and didn’t had the time to release a lot of liquid.

Then it was time for the baby bok choy and the flowering edible rapes. I use a big wok for this dish but I had so much veggies it almost didn’t fit. These veggies release lots of water and shrink a lot as well. So although it looked like much, it only filled half the wok after it was done. I stir fried this with just a little bit of water to get them going and some oyster sauce.

In the meantime I cooked the egg noodles in some boiled water till they were no long clumped together. Egg noodles here are like pasta…you have to boil them first before you can process them.

By this time the veggies were almost done. Now it is time to combine everything. The noodles went in first, then the meat and the shrimps, then the mushrooms and almost at the end the bean sprouts.

Because everything was stir fried separately first this dish is done when the shrimp is done. I had a last taste and added some more salt and grounded pepper before serving it.

I love it when the hubby requests noodles. It is easy and you can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge. It is also a great way of getting rid of your leftovers.

Stir fried udon noodles

I was in the mood for an easy 3 course menu. Sometimes you can make dinner in no time. Today was that day.

On the menu:

* Roast beef with toasted sesame seeds and Vietnamese fish ginger dipping sauce

* Stir fried udon noodles with lots of veggies

* Individual tiramisu pots

The roast beef is the easiest part. Go to your butcher or supermarket and buy thinly sliced roast beef. Here they have plain roast beef or with grounded pepper. I normally buy the pepper one but they didn’t had it today. Of course you can make your own roast beef, but then you’ll need a meat cutter and normal households don’t have one. At least I don’t. So save yourself the trouble and buy it all ready to go.

Sprinkle some raw sesame seeds in a non stick pan and toast them till they are golden brown. Make the fish dipping sauce and zest some ginger right in it. Or you can smash the ginger at the same time as the garlic. What you are looking for is a nice ginger flavor in your dipping sauce.

Arrange the roast beef on a plate and sprinkle the sesame seeds between the layers. Then ground some pepper and scoop some dipping sauce over the meat. Serve and enjoy.

If you really want to make it fancy you can serve one slice of meat on a spoon, just like little hors d'oeuvres. Cuz I don't want to wash that many dishes I normally serve it all on one community plate. 

While the hubby and my sister were gobbling away I start making the stir fried udon noodles. Up to a couple of month ago we never ate udon noodles. I just didn’t like it much, because the noodles are quite thick and not much flavorful. Then one day I thought if I could make some kind of tasty sauce and soak the noodles in it, it might actually taste better. And that’s what I did. It was so good the udon noodles didn’t survive the next day. You can stir fry it with any kind of veggie you have. It’s a good way to clean out your fridge by incorporating the veggies. This is what I did tonight:

I sliced 2 onions in rings and diced 2 cloves of garlic. I sautéed them in a bit of oil till they were soft and then added about 300 grams of sliced pork tenderloin. Then I added some fresh ground pepper.

While stirring the meat I added some oyster sauce and I had some chicken marinate left so I added that as well. And of course some sprinkles of sesame oil. This would give you enough sauce to soak the udon noodles.

I used 2 packages of noodles. No need to cook them first, just add them straight in the pan. I flipped them back and forth just to make sure the sauce is on every noodle.

At first they are quite hard and will keep their shape, but as they cook they will soften so it will be easier to incorporate them. I tasted the sauce and added some more oyster sauce and a bit of salt.

While the noodles were cooking I slice some broccoli and some baby bok choy. Since the broccoli has to cook a bit longer I already cooked them in boiling water for a minute or two. Just to soften them a little so they can cook the same time as the bok choy.

Stir everything together and don’t add any water unless you don’t have any sauce at all. The bok choy will release some juice as it cooks.

Once the bok choy is cooked, make sure you taste it for the last time so you can adjust it before you plate up.

This is all that’s left of something that should be able to feed 3 people. The hubby and my sister both eat two bowls. I had some left over chicken and beans.

For dessert I had individual tiramisu pots. For Sunday's dinner at my sisters place I made my famous tiramisu and I made sure I had enough left to fill 4 crème brûlée pots. This evening right after dinner I busted one.

They looked so cute! And they were just big enough to satisfy your craving without making you feel guily for eating top much. I think pictures will say more the words can express.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok at some point I had to share some with the hubby. Cuz after all he will have to share with me once he’ll have his =)

I hope you all enjoyed your dinner as much as we did!