Monday 23 September 2013

Aww, Shucks! It Was Nothing!

Tagliatelle "Udon" con Funghi & Salsa di Ostriche & Peperoncino
Udon Noodles, Mushrooms, Chili & Oyster Sauce


That's right- it WAS nothing... in the work department that is! And there was no "shucking" involved... as there were no oysters involved! Only rich and aromatic oyster sauce- straight from the bottle, straight from the Asian supermarket- and straight to the point in making this into such a tasty dish!

With just a few cremini mushrooms, a little crushed ginger, garlic, Spring onion, oyster sauce and a Phllipino chili sauce, I managed to transform a single-serving pack of "fresh" Udon noodles, into an amazing and satisfying meal! And the whole thing was finished in little more than 10 minutes! Let me tell you how I made it...


The first thing I did, was to cut the mushrooms into nice, thick slices and to pop them into a dry frying pan with a little salt and pepper. No oil or butter... trust me on this! With the heat nice and high, I left them to their own devices, whilst I finely chopped about 1" of ginger and then pounded it down a little with my mortar and pestle, along with a clove of garlic. 

After 2-3 minutes, incredibly, there was the sound of sizzling coming from the frying pan- and this was because the mushrooms had given off their juices and were beginning to "bubble" away... which was a good thing! I flipped them over and let them continue to cook away and become a little brown around the edges.


Once the mushrooms had begun to gain a little color, I added the ground ginger and garlic and a splash of sesame oil... now things could really begin to get flavorful! After 2-3 minutes, I added the contents of 1 packet of Udon noodles- practically packed in single portion, these are great to have at home- lovely and thick and soft and delicious!

I added a splash of water to the pan and popped on the lid for it to steam for a few minutes and for the good flavors from the bottom of the pan to infuse into both the noodles and the mushrooms. I then added 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and the same of a hot, Philippino "banana" chili sauce- which was smooth and sweet tasting as well as hot... pretty delicious stuff in itself! This was also the time to add the finely sliced Spring onion, which of course would be cooked in next to no time!


I tossed the noodles in the hot, juicy sauces and added some finely chopped cilantro and just a last hint of sesame oil and sesame seeds before serving. The finishing touch was a sprinkle of ground chili pepper and dinner was ready! Oh- and so was I! And the cool thing about it is- that in just 10 minutes or so, so could you be too!

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