Stir fried Mushroom Noodles with Yu Choy (Chinese Broccoli)
Serves 4
Take-out style noodles with the perfect blend of smoky mushrooms and sharp greens. Look for eggless pulled fresh wheat noodles (in the refrigerator case), vegetarian oyster sauce and fresh shiitakes at reasonable prices in large well-stocked Chinese markets. For a more intense mushroom flavor use dried shiitake mushrooms as described below.
1 pound fresh, thick wheat Asian noodles
½ pound fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 pound Asian greens such as yu choy or bok choy
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 large shallot, finely minced
1 star anise
6 teaspoons canola or peanut oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce
4 scallions, green tops only, sliced into 2 inch pieces
1. Fill a large 4 quart pot with 2 quarts of water and bring to a rolling boil. At 1 tablespoon of salt to the cooking water and add noodles. Cook according to package directions, which shouldn’t be very long for fresh noodles, about 4-5 minutes. Drain immediately and rinse with plenty of cold water to keep noodles from sticking together and set aside to drain of excess water.
2. Remove thick stems from shiitakes and slice tops into 1 inch wide pieces, if necessary for large mushrooms. Remove tough ends from yu choy (or whatever green you’re using), wash and dry greens and slice into pieces no longer than 3 inches and no wider than 1/2 inch.
3. In a wok or large, deep 12 inch skillet heat 2 teaspoons oil and add mushrooms. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, stir and cover the wok for 2 minutes to sweat the mushrooms. Remove cover and cook until most of the water has evaporated, move mushrooms to a dinner plate and set aside. Heat another 2 teaspoons oil in pan, add greens and sprinkle with another pinch of salt. Saute until bright green, about 2-3 minutes. Remove greens from wok and place with mushrooms. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil, add minced garlic, shallot, and star anise and fry for 30 seconds. Add drained noodles and fry for 3-4 minutes until hot, then pour in soy sauce, rice wine, and vegetarian oyster sauce and fry another 2 minutes. Add cooked mushrooms, greens and scallions and combine until everything is evenly heated. Remove star anise and serve immediately.
Variations:
Dried shiitake variation:
Omit fresh mushrooms. Soak the contents of a 3 ounce package of whole dried shiitake mushrooms with enough hot water to cover. Let stand for an hour or overnight until mushrooms are plump and soft. Remove tough stems from mushrooms, shake off excess water and slice into thin 1/4 inch thin slices. Proceed as directed above as for fresh mushrooms.
-Slice 6 ounces fried tofu very thin, about 1/8 inch, add along with noodles.
-Stir in 1-2 teaspoons hot chili sauce along with soy sauce and rice wine.
