Sesame Greens Stir Fry Over Butter Soy Chow Mein

OK, I know it’s been patchy post schedule at best for the last eight months. I haven’t been cooking or writing very much because, I honestly haven’t had time. I’m going to skip the details because it’s not that kind of blog, but suffice to say it’s been quite a year with tons of change – all challenging and positive.

So what’s the good news? Friday night has arrived and I’m at home in my pretty new pad, on my comfy new couch, blogging about a dinner that I finally had the time to make. Life is finally feeling much more familiar.

This was the first Friday in a long time that wasn’t consumed by work. As I roamed around Hartman’s, I really couldn’t decide what I wanted for dinner. I hadn’t cooked in SO long. I felt rusty, a little unsure of myself. Ordinarily I would try to do something new – break in the oven with a brand new dish but I just wasn’t feeling it. I wanted something familiar, something I felt safe in, something from my past. I wanted my something I used to make weekly but hadn’t made in months. I wanted a green stir fry with butter soy chow mein noodles.

Butter soy chow mein noodles are something I grew up eating. They were my mom’s signature comfort food and something my brother and I would request often. The sauce for the stir fry is something I created while I was at home with Bella during her first few weeks. So combining the two of them with some delicious greens after a hard week of business travel and report writing was exactly what my weary world needed.

This dish doesn’t follow my usual high-contrast culinary call to arms. It’s simple. It walks softly and its subtlety soothes my soul. In my completely subjective point of view, three things really make this dish special. The cinnamon and star anise seeds in the sauce lend this dish a can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it, yet distinctly Chinese feel. The combination of Earth Balance, soy and vegetable stock the noodles are cooked in deliver a rich almost creamy sauce for the chow mien noodles. Top these off with a healthy dose of green vegetables, sesame oil, sherry and green onions and I’m home.

I hope you love this as much as I do. If I’ve done this recipe justice, you’ll be making this weekly too.

Sesame Greens Stir Fry Over Butter Soy Chow Mein

Would Rather Gather Original, with legacy files from childhood
Prep time: 20 mins / Active time: 20 mintues / Serves 2-3 generously

For the Stir Fry Sauce”

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 shallots, minced
1 large clove garlic, finely sliced into discs
1 tsp fresh ginger root, finely sliced into discs
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 star anise seed pods (not the same as anise seeds but they will do in a pinch)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable stock
sprinkle of corn starch or arrowroot flour

For the stir fry:
2-3 cups of raw vegetable cleaned and trimmed (you can use anything you like but I love the combination of cremini mushrooms, snow peas, snap peas, green beans, green peppers and broccoli)
1 cup green onions, sliced into discs, light and dark green sections only
large handful of basil (preferably thai), shredded
1 cup toasted/spiced peanuts or cashews
freshly cracked black pepper and sesame seeds to garnish

For the noodles:
4 nests of chow mien noodles
2 cups of vegetable stock
4 tbsp Earth Balance
1 cup soy sauce

Method stir fry and noodles:
1. In a wok or large saute pan over med-high heat, add the sesame oil and heat until fragrant. Add garlic, ginger and saute until soft. Add sherry, soy sauce, shallots, cinnamon, star anise, brown sugar and saute until slightly reduced, about 5-7 minutes
2. In medium sauce pan, bring vegetable stock, Earth Balance and soy sauce to a boil. Add noodle nests and stir to ensure noodles don’t stick together. Cook until el dente and set aside with the lid on. The starch from the noodles will help set the cooking liquid into a sauce.
4. Add vegetables to wok/saute pan, sprinkle with corn starch or arrowroot flour, coat vegetables with stock and cover pan with lid to saute steam. Stir every few minutes to promote even cooking. When vegetables are crisp tender, stir in green onions and basil and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes.
5. Spoon out noodles into bowls with a bit of sauce, top with stir fry veggies and garnish with a small handful of nuts and sesame seeds. Grab your chop sticks and settle in for some comfort couchside!