MIng Noodles

Our cat Molly, who now lives with my parents in spoiled, feline splendor, is the only cat I've ever met who routinely pronounced the letter 'g'. In fact, her two favorite words were "Ungow" and something that sort of sounded like "Ming." "Ungow" generally meant "hey, I disapprove". "Ming" meant "ooh! very nice!" These noodles are quite Ming.

The original recipe came from Elise at Simply Recipes. I tweaked and adjusted a little bit for taste, but overall the recipe is hers. The taste is a little bit sweet and a little but sour, thanks to the honey and lemon and vinegars (which I bumped up for James). It's also very savory thanks to the mushrooms - especially if you use Soba noodles or some other wheat pasta. Still, these noodles are light enough to enjoy cold at the end of a hot day, and they won't make you feel rolly-polly. Super easy, and super yummy, this dish is super Ming. I think that Molly, who liked pasta, would agree.

Ingredients:

- Lemon Ginger Dressing-

- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (depending on how hot you like it)

- Grated zest of 1 lemon

- 1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

- 1 inch section of ginger, peeled and grated

- 1/4 rice vinegar

- conservative 1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium is ok)

- 1 tbs. honey

- 1 tbs. toasted sesame oil

- 3 tbs. olive oil

-The Noodles-

- 9 oz. dried noodles (whole wheat linguini, or Udon or Soba)

- 7 oz. fresh mushrooms (sliced button or shitaki etc.) 

- 1 1/2 tbs. butter

- 1 tbs. chopped fresh herbs (parsley, basil, mint, cilantro, or green onion)

- 1 tbs. toasted sesame seeds

Process:

1. Make the dressing by putting all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor / blender, except for the sesame oil and olive oil. Pulse a couple of times, until combined. Then, with the machine running, drizzle in the oil.

2. Cook the dried noodles according to instructions. Drain and put back in the pot. Toss with the dressing. Set aside.

3. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the butter and when the butter starts to foam, add the mushrooms. Saute until they are tender but still firm - about 3ish minutes.

4. Add the mushrooms and butter to the pot with the noodles and dressing. Toss. Serve at room temp. or cold with a sprinkling of fresh herbs and sesame seeds. 

Note:

The dressing recipe makes more than is needed for this amount of noodles. Set the left-over dressing aside and use it as a marinade for chicken or tofu later that week.