experiments

I like to experiment in the kitchen. I usually start off with a recipe, or at least an idea of what I'm going to do, but it often ends up producing something completely different! Sometimes these experiments result in things we want to remember, other times they are quickly forgotten. My one problem is that I don't know what to call my successful creations.

Tonight we had a "throw it together" supper, which turned out to be amazing! I wanted to try the thai noodle and bok choi recipe, but couldn't find miso paste at any of the grocery stores I visited. (Please let me know if you have found it locally!) So I figured I'd just do some other sort of sauce. Then, the store I stopped at after work didn't have wide rice noodles- only the very skinny vermicelli. So I thought we'd try them out. And when I got home, the head of pac choi looked a lot smaller than I remembered, so I decided to add some scapes and zucchini as well.

When I started to cook, I didn't even bother to look at the recipe... instead I decided to experiment on my own.

I diced up the chicken breasts, and stir fried them in the wok along with a little sesame oil, and I added a little salt and pepper. When the chicken was cooked, I removed it, and put in a handful of scapes (chopped in 1" pieces), one zucchini (diced), and 5 cloves of minced garlic. Yes, it is a lot of garlic but we like it! When that was well on its way to cooked, I added in the chopped pac choi.

Meanwhile, I put the vermicelli noodles in hot water for 4 minutes (as directed on the package) and then added them to the mix. I also put the chicken back in.

For a sauce, I used hoisin sauce that I found in my pantry. And I put in the remainder of the cilantro from last week's share. And that's it!

our dinner... not sure what to call it!

Susannah, excited for her dinner

We all very much enjoyed this meal, and the only thing I would do differently would be to add more sauce. These noodles really soak it in, and need a lot more sauce than you might expect. When I first dished it up, it was great, but by the time we took seconds (and thirds!) it was starting to get a little dry. We added a little more sauce, and it was excellent again.