Susan's Savour-It!: Jamie's Food Revolution Recipe Series: Seafood and Greens Noodle Stir-Fry...

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Jamie's Food Revolution Recipe Series: Seafood and Greens Noodle Stir-Fry...

It's all about cooking up Jamie Oliver`s Food Revolution recipes these days, and the next one up from his top ten is a noodle stir-fry. Each of his recipes were hand selected to bring a series of basic cooking techniques to your culinary repertoire to cook for your life. This dish is definitely about practising to hone your knife skills-- chopping and slicing ingredients into bite-size and consistent pieces for even cooking. He makes a Veggie Noodle Stir-Fry and says, “A great way to make sure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs is to eat the rainbow. Eating a mixture of different coloured vegetables, like in this stir-fry, will help you do that. This dish will give you two of your five-a-day. Of course, feel free to use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge – this is a great dish for using up leftovers too!” Indeed, and that is exactly what I did! I scoured my freezer for meat and decided I could do a seafood variation with frozen shrimps and squid tentacles. And I had a whack of green veggies, bits of onions here and there-- how perfect were these ingredients to concoct my noodle dish... I even had a can of sliced bamboo shoots in my cupboard. Just a trip to the store for noodles and I was all set.

Noodles is truly a beautiful customizable dish- one that you can add any combination of your favourite ingredients, using up leftovers laying around in the fridge, and also a fabulous dish to try a new ingredient or two with the family!

For me, Cook For Your Life means... being able to look into your fridge and pantry, and quickly know what ingredients goes with what to come up with something decent to cook for you and your family, and not waste leftovers and food. People who lack the skills would throw out wilted produce and slightly bruised fruit. That is the P.O.W.E.R. of food education and cooking, and it begins with learning the basics of food and cooking!

Bak choy, broccoli, zucchini, cilantro and green onions make for a green noodle affair!
Use up those onions ends and bits too.

Everything in it's place-- Mise en place, the French call it, is the best method ever in the kitchen and the secret to success especially in stir-fries and when you have a lot of recipes on-the-go. It gets everything prepped and ready within your reach-- no frantic last minute running around so you can keep focused on delivering your tastiest dish(es).

Here are some of my tips to keep organized:

1) Wash, peel, chop and slice everything. Measure all your spices and ingredients as needed;
2) Set separate bowls out for ingredients such as garlic and onion to use as you please;
3) Arrange ingredients for each dish on large separate plates to keep you on track of everything in the recipe;
4) Keep your counter and sink clean; place empty dishes into the sink as you go to give you more counter space for the finished dishes;
5) Have your seasonings and condiment jars opened and ready to use when you need to add a dash or splash;
6) Have your cooking utensils within reach such as extra spoons for scooping sauce or for tasting.

Seafood and Greens Noodle Stir-Fry
Makes 6 to 8 Servings

Flavouring Sauce:
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2 Tbsp. chicken or vegetable bouillon seasoning
3 tsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil

1 cup water

Filling:

1 pkg. (1 lb.) fresh egg noodles (I used miki- a type of Shanghai yellow wheat thick noodles)

2 Tbsp. oil, divided

1/2 onion, cut into thin slices

2 green onion, cut into 1-1/2 " pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pkg. (300 to 400 g) medium shrimps, shelled, de-veined, rinsed and pat dry

1 pkg. (small) frozen squid tentacles, thawed and rinsed with inner hard cartilage removed, pat dry

broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoot (buy in a can, drain and rinse well)

zucchini, sliced into coins and cut into thick strips
bak choy, sliced in half

2 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine

2 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed in 1/4 cup water
cilantro for garnish, chopped

Cut and slice all the vegetables. Set aside. Deeply score your shrimps down its de-veined back be careful not cutting through (this will create shrimp orbs that are heartier to eat, and very typical of Asian shrimp stir-fries). Slice the cleaned squids into even pieces.

Prepare noodles according to package instructions. Drain.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in hot skillet/wok on medium-high until hot. Add onions and garlic, cook for a minute until fragrant. Add shrimps, cook for one minute on high heat, toss until translucent then add the squid. Toss for another minute or so until cooked through. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in skillet/wok, add broccoli, bamboo shoots and a little water until vegetables are par-cooked, stir-frying for two minutes. Add bak choy and zucchini and cook for one minute more adding cooking wine. Return the shrimp mixture and toss with the noodles. Pour in the flavouring sauce and toss well; cover and let steam for one to two minutes. Stir in the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.