Long Life Noodles with Garlic, Ginger & Sesame

Chinese noodles are symbolic of a long life during the Lunar New Year celebration. This inspired me to make garlic noodles with some fresh Asian veggies. I used Melissa’s brand fresh Chinese noodles and Asian vegetables to make this special recipe. I love a creamy sesame sauce mingled with lots of finely chopped garlic sticking to the long noodles. I want it gingery, garlicky and loaded with flavor. The pan-wilted bok choy and broccolini add greens to this Chinese vegetarian dish. Just a pinch of chili flakes give some heat, with a salty dash of tamari, garnished with caramelized minced garlic, scallions, toasted sesame seeds and fresh slivers of ginger. Kumquats and oranges look pretty and inviting with their color, as the juice and zest give a squeeze of citrus to the noodles.

 Long Life Noodles with Garlic, Ginger & Sesame

Ingredients

• ½ pound (8 oz.) Melissa’s Fresh Chinese Noodles, cooked

• ½ cup Melissa’s Napa cabbage, sliced

• 3 Melissa’s bok choy

• 5 stalks Melissa’s Chinese broccolini, ends trimmed, chopped

• 12 cloves garlic, minced and caramelized (use a cast iron pan)

• 1/2 bunch scallions (green onions), chopped on the diagonal

• ½ red onion, half slivers, chopped

• ⅓ cup tahini

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 4 tablespoons mirin (rice cooking wine)

• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, thin matchstick slivers

• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (for sauce)

• 1 tablespoon white miso

• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance vegan butter

• ¼ cup vegetable stock

• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

• 6 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• 6 tablespoons grapeseed oil

• 1 tablespoon orange juice, fresh squeezed

• 1 tablespoon yuzu juice

• 1 teaspoon (pinch) red chili flakes, to taste

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted, garnish

• kumquats, sliced thin, garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

NOODLES

Bring a large pot of water to boil with a pinch of salt and cook the noodles for 3 minutes, or according to package directions (do not overcook). Drain and rinse. Toss gently and quickly with one tablespoon of Earth Balance vegan butter and a drizzle of sesame oil. Set aside.

SAUTE

Dry roast sesame seeds in a hot pan for 4-6 minutes or until toasted. Set aside.

In a medium pan, saute the red onion on medium heat using a small amount of sesame oil, about 1 tablespoon, for 6 minutes. Splash in some mirin rice cooking wine and allow the onion to caramelize, another 6 minutes.

In a separate pan (preferably a small cast iron) caramelize the garlic in half sesame oil and half grapeseed oil, about 12 minutes or until golden. This will make your garlic oil for seasoning as well as the pieces of garlic in the noodles.

Add the whites of the green onions, bok choy and broccolini. Saute until the greens are wilted, about 5 minutes.

Dash in the vegetable stock to steam the greens, along with half of the minced ginger, and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Save the rest of the fresh ginger to garnish the noodles.

SAUCE

Make the sauce: mix tahini, miso, tamari, rice vinegar, orange juice, yuzu, grated ginger, sesame oil and a little vegetable stock to blend. Whisk the ingredients or use a food processor until well combined. Taste your sauce with a small tasting spoon. It may be fairly salty due to the miso paste and tamari, but once you’ve mixed it into the noodles the saltiness will balance out. If you want it creamier or nutty, add more tahini.

Mix the noodles in wide bowl with the sauce, then add the garlic oil with all the pieces of garlic and combine gently. Toss the noodles gently again. Add the bok choy and broccolini.

Garnish with shredded Napa cabbage, fresh ginger, scallions, toasted sesame seeds, kumquat slices and red chili flakes to taste. If you prefer more garlicky scallion noodles, just top the noodles with the garlic topping, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, then serve the veggies on the side. Enjoy!