shanghai noodles with bacon and eggs
After returning to New York, I immediately went on a shopping spree in Chinatown to stock up on Chinese New Year supplies and other things that I hope will help me cope with how much I miss the food in Taiwan (when I can’t get out to Flushing, that is). Funny though, I also got a shipment of nice-looking bacon in the mail. What to do?
Jumble everything together, of course.
about 8 ounces fresh Shanghai (thick) noodles
3 strips bacon
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2-inch segment of ginger, minced
3 dried shiitake mushrooms (soak them in water for several hours beforehand), or a handful of fresh ones, or a mixture, sliced
lots of baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
1 scallion stalk, cut into 1-inch segments
3 eggs
for the sauce:
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 cup water or broth (or the water you soaked the dried mushrooms in)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I mixed the dark kind and the light kind)
1 teaspoon rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions. When noodles are done, drain them and toss with a bit of sesame oil so they don’t stick together. (I try to time things so that the noodles are done cooking riiiight when I need them but this doesn’t always go as planned. But it’s always worth a shot.)
Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large pan over medium-low heat until crisp (but not burnt!). Set aside on a paper towel. Remove most of the bacon fat, leaving enough to barely coat the surface of the pan.
Turn heat up to medium. Add garlic and ginger. After a few seconds, add mushrooms and stir them around. Cook for a few minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned (if you’re using fresh ones). Add bok choy and cook until the leaves are a bit wilted.
Cut bacon strips crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to vegetable mixture, along with scallions and sauce. Add noodles and coat them evenly with sauce. When sauce begins to thicken, push noodles aside and add the eggs to the pan, scrambling them a bit. Scrape them around. When eggs are mostly cooked, mix them into the noodles.
