Baby Bok Choy & Noodle Stir Fry

I’ve been craving noodles and had a bunch of veggies left in the refrigerator from the juicing, so I decided to throw together an Asian stir fry earlier in the week. Now, when I do things like this… I really suck at keeping track of how much of what I throw in, so bare with me — as these amounts are estimates.

Baby Bok Choy & Noodle Asian Stir Fry

1 pkg fresh-made Asian flour noodles (purchased at Russo’s)
1 pkg whole baby bok choy (Russo’s)
1 small head brocolli, chopped
2 or 3 carrots, sliced thin and chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
2 or 3 celery stalks ,sliced thin
1 c fresh bean sprouts
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1 in cube fresh ginger, chopped
1/2 block firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 in pieces
1/4 c canola oil (or other oil with high smoke-point)
2-3 c soy-ginger broth (I used pre-made from Trader Joe’s) — or any other stock
Salt & pepper to taste

Sauce
3 tbsp black bean sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 c water
1-2 tsp bottled ginger paste
1-2 tsp bottled garlic paste
1 tsp fresh or prepared lemongrass paste
1 tsp sesame seeds

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

Heat oil in wok or wok-like pan on med/high heat. Add celery, carrots, broccoli, green pepper, ginger and green onion. Stir frequently until vegetables begin to wilt. Season with salt and pepper.

Add noodles and continue to quickly mix the vegetables with the noodles. Add in the broth 1 cup at a time, constantly stirring, until the noodles begin to absorb all the liquid. You may need more or less liquid, depending on how hydratded your noodles are. You could also pre-cook the nooldes in the broth to avoid this step — as it is a pain in the butt. The noodles will stick if you are not careful.

Once the noodles seem to have absorbed all the fluid and have become rehydrated, add in the sauce and thoroughly mix all the ingredients to cover them in the sauce. Add in the bok choy, tofu and half the bean sprouts. Continue to carefully stir to mix well and then cover the pan (if you have a lid — I had to use foil). Lower heat and allow delicate veggies to cook/steam until wilted. Add additional fluid if necessary — to prevent the noodles from burning to the bottom.

Once the boky choy is cooked, plate the stir fry and top with fresh bean sprouts and chopped cilantro. Eat!

I can honestly say this is the best Chinese food I have ever made. I have always struggled with making Asian food taste authentic and not like soy sauce straight out of the bottle. This dish was delicate and perfectly seasoned. It wasn’t exactly like takeout, but it was a pretty darn good substitution. The 4-yo even tried baby bok choy for the first time… a HUGE feat.

Mmmm….