Longevity Noodles #SundayFunday

This week the Sunday Funday group is looking at noodles. Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm is hosting. She wrote: "March is National Noodle Month.....Nearly every culture has wonderful noodle recipes. I'm anxious to see what everyone shares."

Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Sue of Palatable Pastime, Rebekah of Making Miracles, and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm coordinate this low-stress group; we only participate when we are inspired. This week, as I already mentioned, Wendy is hosting and picked a theme of a noodles. Here's the #SundayFunday line-up for our virtual celebration of National Noodle Month...

• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Beef Chow Fun

• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Creamy Irish Whiskey Butter Noodles with Fennel

• Culinary Cam: Longevity Noodles (you're here)

• Sneha’s Recipe: Maggie Noodle & Veggie Cake

• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Semolina Soup Noodles

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Vegetarian Drunken Noodles

Oodles of Noodles

We eat a lot of noodles. A. Lot. Ground Turkey and Sautéed Mizuna with Sesame Noodles, Cold Spicy Peanut Noodles, and Hong Shao Niu Rou Mian (Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup) are a few that use premade noodles.

Then we have made many noodles by hand as well, including: Handrolled Pasta alla Gricia, Olive Malfadine, and Pici Alla Crema di Limone.

This isn't even taking into account other shapes of pasta that aren't elongated. Does these even count as noodles? Such as Baked Penne and Cheese, Mbakbaka (Spicy Libyan Pasta) that used shells, and Mexican Street Corn Shrimp Pasta that used rotini.

I'm not even going to talk about lasagna or ravioli! Let's get to my actual post of the day.

Longevity Noodles

This was something I made for Lunar New Year last month, but I held on to the recipe to share for this event because it's a favorite and we make it throughout the year anyway.

No Lunar New Year celebration would be complete without noodles which are eaten to represent a long life and should never be cut. Mushrooms naturally grow quickly and symbolize prosperity; and eating green vegetables such as herbs is important because green represents wealth in the year ahead.

I am certain that there are as many variations of this dish as there are households that celebrate Lunar New Year! But this is my simplified version.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces fresh noodles

• 1/4 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock

• 1 Tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce, plus more to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

• 1 Tablespoon peanut oil

• one 1/4-inch slice unpeeled fresh ginger, lightly smashed

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed

• 1 cup mushrooms (I used shimeji)

• 1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

• 1 Tablespoon green onions, chopped

Procedure

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add noodles and cook for just a minute. Drain noodles and rinse under cold water stop the cooking process. Drain again. Set aside.

Whisk together stock, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat peanut oil in a wok or large pot until shimmering and fragrant. Add ginger and cook until it is aromatic and sizzling. Add the garlic and the mushrooms. Stir to coat with the oil and cook for just a minute or two. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil.

Add noodles and cook until noodles absorb sauce, approximately 2 minutes. Remove and discard ginger. Season with additional soy sauce to taste. Fold in the herbs, then transfer noodles to individual serving bowls. Serve immediately...though this is just as good cold. We don't normally have any leftovers.

That's a wrap for my noodles offering for this week's #SundayFunday. We'll be back next week with meatless main dishes with Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures leading the discussion. Stay tuned!