In case anyone wanted the recipe for this simple noodle dish, voila! I put it together to use up quickly the spring onions and coriander sitting in the fridge drawer, and was also in the mood for lots and lots of sweet-bitter and crisp-crunchy fried garlic and shallots. It's delicious and I love the idea of flavours coming mainly from members of the garlic and onion family. Of course meat and vegetables can be added but this is the minimalist version to allow better appreciation of the aromatic ingredients.
2 cakes dried shrimp noodles
3-5 cloves garlic minced finely
5-6 shallots sliced finely
2 spring onions sliced in 2 inch stalks, reserve the bulb for other purposes.
Bunch of coriander, washed & torn roughly
Flavourings: soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame oil, cantonese style chilli oil (optional)
1. Cook the noodles as you would pasta, with lots of water and a few drops of oil. Salt is not necessary, the taste of dried shrimps is already incorporated for flavour.
2. In a wok, heat up 2-3 tbsp oil (6-7 on my induction cooker, small flame if you are using gas) and fry the shallots slowly and gently. When shallots are 40% done, add the garlic. Gently does it, we want them to turn golden brown, not stay pale or worse, go black and bitter.
3. Put cooked pasta into wok. Add spring onion and coriander. Drizzle flavourings according to taste and toss everything until well-mixed.
Kid's variation: V ate the noodles happily- in her portion I omitted the spring onion, coriander, vinegar and chilli oil.
Coming up next- roast belly pork!
