Spicy Peanut Vegetable Noodle
Inspired by a recipe of Spicy Sichuan Noodle (Dan Dan Mian) by Cook's Illustrated, I made this noodle dish with a lot of vegetables: carrot, celery, dried Shiitake mushroom, savoy cabbage, and green onion. A traditional Dan Dan Main can be very spicy with red chili oil sauce and Sichuan pepper, but I adjusted the heat level of my noodle with just one J's little dried red chile pepper whose seeds were carefully removed by me. The key was the spicy peanut sauce. It was a simple mix of several usual ingredients but provided a great rich flavor - a likable Asian taste. I used Thai rice flat noodle, which was great with the spicy creamy peanut sauce. The sauce was a magic to make J eat tons of vegetables so quickly!
Spicy Peanut Vegetable Noodle
SERVES 2
3-4 dried Shiitake mushroom
1 1/2 cup water
2 tbs low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs dry sherry
4 tbs chunky peanut butter
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tsp Japanese chicken soup powder (option)
8 oz Thai rice noodle, soaked in very hot tap water in 25 min, drain
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 small carrot, cut like a match stick
2 celery, cut like a match stick
4-5 savoy cabbage leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove, mined
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
1 small red chili pepper, seeded, minced
4 green onion, chopped
Black pepper and while pepper to taste
1. In a small bowl, soak dried Shiitake mushrooms in 1 1/2 cup water until soften. Squeeze the mushrooms to remove the liquid and slice them while reserve all of the liquid left in the bowl and from the mushrooms squeezed.
2. In the bowl with the reserved liquid, whisk in soy sauce, oyster, sherry, peanut butter, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chicken soup powder (if use). Set aside.
3. In a pan, heat 1 tbs vegetable oil, saute carrot, celery, and cabbage, sometimes cover to steam, until soften. Add in garlic, ginger, and red chili pepper, cook 30 sec. Add sliced mushroom, noodle, and sauce mixture, stir gently, cover and simmer 5 min. Adjust taste with black pepper and white pepper.
