Sesame Stir-Fried Noodles

I love Asian food of all types and this recipe is a sort of strange culinary mix of Japanese and Chinese flavors and ingredients. It’s an interesting combo but trust me when I say it’s 100% delicious, and very quick to make which makes it perfect for weeknight dinners. You can add some chicken or even seared flank steak to make it heartier but I really love it with just the veggies.

Here’s the recipe:

• 12 oz thin spaghetti or yakisoba noodles 
• 2 cups shredded carrots 
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped including about 2 inches green parts
• 6 oz shiitake mushrooms 
• 1 tbsp minced ginger root 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes 
• 1/4 cup sesame oil 
• 2 tbsp hot pepper oil 
• 1/4 cup Tamari sauce (similar to soy sauce but less salty and richer flavor)

Cook the noodles until slightly chewy and then set aside. In a large, deep sided saucepan heat the hot pepper oil and add in the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and green onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes then add carrots and mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.it should look like this:

Next, add the noodles to the sauté mixture along with the tamari sauce and sesame oil and stir and stir until all the noodles are coated with sauce. 

That’s it! All done. You can top the noodles with more green onions and sesame seeds if you like but there’s definitely enough flavor without it. 

Now I know a few of you foodies are going to be judgy about the fact that I sometimes use thin spaghetti noodles in place of yakisoba but I do. So there. 

This recipe makes a huge batch so I will usually save the leftovers for weekday lunches. I hope you all enjoy it and let me know if you try any variations that you want to share. Happy Tuesday!