Shrimp & Bok Choy Stir-fried with Noodles
The Lunar New Year started on Sunday and goes through February 15th. It’s a time of celebration all over the world. There are wishes to be made, food to be enjoyed, and plenty of hope and good fortune for the new year.
During the new year, you’ll see red envelopes covered with gold writing, red and yellow lanterns, and plenty of oranges. Each one of these things is a symbol that represents happiness, luck, wealth, or good fortune. But colors aren’t the only important part of the festivities. Food is just as important because it also symbolizes wealth, happiness, and good fortune – all things we hope for in the coming year.
Some of the more common food choices for the festivities are dumplings, egg rolls, and noodles. So, for the next couple weeks, I’m going to bring you a few recipes to help celebrate the year of the rabbit. Today, I’m starting with these stir-fried noodles. Noodles symbolize longevity and the wish for a long and healthy life of the person eating them. They are often served boiled or fried and always, always uncut because the longer the noodle, the longer the person’s life.
While stir-fried noodles are great on their own, they’re kind of boring. I mean, when you order chow mein from your favorite Chinese restaurant you usually get them with vegetables or a protein of some kind, right? Not only do those extra ingredients add flavor, they make the final dish that much more interesting. Well, this year, Melissa’s Produce provided me with a ton of produce to use to make some delicious dishes to help usher in the 2023 Lunar New Year. Even though I found the noodles and shrimp on my own, Melissa’s gave me with the bok choy, carrots, garlic, and onions that I added to fill out this delicious dinner. The final product was not only a delectable meal, it was full of symbolism.
As I mentioned, the noodles represent a long and healthy life. But shrimp are also a popular choice for the new year because they symbolize good fortune. According to Umami Cart, eating shrimp is believed to bring you happiness in the new year. “The idea of good fortune is that of overall success and prosperity. It means more than just wealth, but also joy, health, laughter, success, and betterment.” In other words, this is a dish so full of good fortune and happiness, you should be grinning from ear to ear by the time you’re done… and believe it or not I was. The noodles, shrimp, and vegetables swimming in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar were so good, I couldn’t wait to go back for more… and neither could the rest of my family.
Notes
Adapted from Melissa's Produce
Ingredients
- 2 bundles of chow mein
- 1 bag of Melissa’s bok choy, chopped
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 onion, cut into wedges
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons rice wine
- 1 tsp chili oil (optional)
- ½ teaspoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 2 scallions, chopped
Instructions
- Boil the noodles until al dente. Rinse out the starch and let drain completely.
- Boil the carrots until tender. Drain and let it cool.
- Heat olive oil, butter, and half of the garlic in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds
- Reduce heat and stir in the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, rice wine, and chili oil (if using) and let simmer for a few minutes.
- Return heat back to medium-high, add the egg noodles and stir fry for a few minutes until coated; set aside.
- In another skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3minutes. Transfer to a dish.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the rest of garlic to the same pan and cook until fragrant. Add the onion and carrot, stir fry for a minute. Add the bok choy, oyster sauce and sesame oil and stir fry until bok choy is tender.
- Return the shrimp to the pan and stir fry for another minute.
- Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water together in a bowl until you have a slurry. Pour into pan to thicken the sauce. Add the scallions at the last minute.
- Make a bed of noodles on a dish. Add the shrimp and bok choy combination on top. Serve immediately.
