bok choy noodle bowls
Bok Choy Noodle Bowls
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 3 turns of the pan
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 inches ginger root, peeled and cut into very thin matchsticks or grated
1/2 pound shiitake mushroom caps, sliced, a couple of cups
1 medium bok choy, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces, then cut sticks lengthwise
Salt and pepper
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup seafood stock, available on soup aisle or, 1 cup clam juice
1 1/2 pounds medium peeled and deveined shrimp
1/2 pound vermicelli (thin spaghetti)
4 scallions, cut into 3 inch pieces, then shredded lengthwise into thin sticks
Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil, 3 turns of the pan, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, and bok choy, then season with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth and seafood stock or clam juice. Put a lid on the pot and bring soup to a boil.
Add shrimp and noodles and cook 3 minutes. Add in scallions and cook 2 minutes, then turn off soup and let it sit 2 to 3 minutes more. Adjust salt and serve.
Here are my thoughts on the recipe. It was pretty good, and it was definitely better the next day. I used chicken and an extra cup of chicken stock instead of shrimp and seafood stock because G hates shrimp. The chicken was good, but it probably had less flavor than if I had used seafood. I also used linguini instead of vermicelli because that’s what I had. Plus I love linguini. The bok choy was fantastic! Really, the only complaint I have is that you kind of have to add a lot of salt to make it taste good. I don’t usually add much salt to anything that I cook, so I get a little bugged when I have to add any. The recipe probably could have benefited from a whole teaspoon of salt added at the end, which seems way over the top to me. On the whole, though, I would say it was good. I would make it again.
