I’m making Chow Noodles and Pepper Shrimp. Fairly simple dishes that can be adapted and personalized easily. The methods and spices I use here are the basics of most Chinese stir fried cuisine… well local Chinese anyway.
So i’ll put the exact amounts so we can get familiar. A bad ounce could spoil your whole dish. On the upside, once you’re comfortable with them, you could easily adapt them to similar dishes.
Chow Noodles & Pepper Shrimp
Ingredients
Chow Noodles
- Pack of egg noodles
- julienned christophene
- cabbage and sweet pepper or whatever you could get your hands on from the fridge at the time.
- 1 tsp of equal amounts of crushed ginger and garlic combined
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ tsp five spice powder
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp vetsin (MSG) Same as the amount in a typical pack of corn curls FYI
- Sesame oil
- 2 tbsp good quality rice wine. Try not to drink any until after.
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- hold on to some chopped chive to use as garnish
Pepper Shrimp
- 1 lb fresh shrimp not frozen. Large, deveined, but with shells intact.
- Hot pepper to your liking- avoid pepper sauce
- 2 cups mixed vegetable of your choice I used water chestnuts, onions and sweet pepper here. Pinapple works well.
- 1 tsp of equal amounts of crushed ginger and garlic combined
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp five spice powder
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp good quality rice wine
- ½ cup tomato paste - not ketchup
- Sesame oil
- ½ tsp vetsin
- chopped chive as garnish
Instructions
Chow Noodles
- To get it started, add the egg noodles to boiling water flavoured with a teaspoon of 5-spice powder and salt to taste . Cook until al dente. (derived from the latin phrase "soft to the dentures")
- Next, turn off your smoke alarm and heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a wok until it begins to smoke. throw in the ginger and garlic and stir fry quickly until it turns just slightly brown.
- Add the vegetables, salt, 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder and rice wine and stir fry that mix for about 3-5 minutes over high heat.
- Dump the cooked noodles into the stir fried vegetables, adding the white pepper, vetsin, sugar and soy sauce. Stir fry for a couple minutes over medium heat until the soy sauce is properly distributed.
- Now it's time to turn off the stove, dramatically add a few dashes of sesame oil so that any onlooker thinks you're a big time chef, stir for a bit and remove your creation from the wok. Garnish with the chopped chive for the finishing touch.
Pepper Shrimp
- Season shrimp with salt, 5-spice powder, hot pepper, white pepper and vetsin.
- Marinate for an hour or 2.
- Heat 1/2 cup cooking oil in your trusty wok until smoking. Throw in shrimp and the ginger and garlic into the wok. Cook shrimp over high heat for a couple minutes on each side.
- Remove Cooked shrimp from the wok.
- Remove most of the oil from the wok and add vegetables, salt, sugar, a dash of white pepper, and rice wine. Stir fry for 2- 3 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and 1/2 cup water, bring to a simmer.
- Place the shrimp back into the wok and simmer for a few minutes. Turn off heat and add a few dashes of sesame oil.
- Remove from Wok, garnish with chopped chive. Done.
- Serve over a bed of Chow noodles or next to it as the case may be.
Notes
Chow Noodles
To get it started, add the egg noodles to boiling water flavoured with a teaspoon of 5-spice powder and salt to taste . Cook until al dente. (derived from the latin phrase "soft to the dentures")
Next, turn off your smoke alarm and heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a wok until it begins to smoke. throw in the ginger and garlic and stir fry quickly until it turns just slightly brown.
Add the vegetables, salt, 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder and rice wine and stir fry that mix for about 3-5 minutes over high heat.
Dump the cooked noodles into the stir fried vegetables, adding the white pepper, vetsin, sugar and soy sauce. Stir fry for a couple minutes over medium heat until the soy sauce is properly distributed.
Now it's time to turn off the stove, dramatically add a few dashes of sesame oil so that any onlooker thinks you're a big time chef, stir for a bit and remove your creation from the wok. Garnish with the chopped chive for the finishing touch.
Pepper Shrimp
Season shrimp with salt, 5-spice powder, hot pepper, white pepper and vetsin. Marinate for an hour or 2.
Heat 1/2 cup cooking oil in your trusty wok until smoking. Throw in shrimp and the ginger and garlic into the wok. Cook shrimp over high heat for a couple minutes on each side.
Remove Cooked shrimp from the wok.
Remove most of the oil from the wok and add vegetables, salt, sugar, a dash of white pepper, and rice wine. Stir fry for 2- 3 minutes.
Add tomato paste and 1/2 cup water, bring to a simmer.
Place the shrimp back into the wok and simmer for a few minutes. Turn off heat and add a few dashes of sesame oil.
Remove from Wok, garnish with chopped chive. Done.
Serve over a bed of Chow noodles or next to it as the case may be.
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2 Comments
HAHA!! dat woulda kinda spoil the effect fuh tru geisha girl. i would support a tone down.
“dramatically add a few dashes of sesame oil so that any onlooker thinks you’re a big time chef”
I tried this and the bottle flew out my hand. I think I need to tone down the drama before I try that again.