This is The World According to Buchs - Keepin’ it moving since 2003!

Many, many times, my good friend The Chuck has asked me to share my knowledge of the culinary arts with him. At first, he wanted some one-on-one lessons, just the basics. Recently, he’d requested that I offer group sessions, where he and several other people could come to my home, and I would walk through the process of making a dish with them. That’s a bit much for me - primarily because I’m a horrible teacher. I have no patience for stupid questions.

I was thinking about it recently, and decided that I would try to post some of my favourite recipes here. I’ll get photos up at a later date.

So, here you go… my first recipe to share are my own version of “Garlic Pan Fried Noodles“. Please note that I *never* measure anything, so I’m only guessing when I say something like “2 tablespoons”. Granted, I’ll be close, but everything is to taste.

Ingredients

• 1 Package of Japanese noodle soup. You could use Ramen, but I prefer Ichiban Sapporo brand. It doesn’t matter what flavor you go with, we’ll be throwing that little packet away.
• Soy Sauce. I’ve also had good results with Japanese dumpling sauce.
• Vegetable Oil. Not Olive oil.
• Garlic. We’ll need it minced, eventually, so you can buy a jar like that, or get it whole in cloves and do it yourself.
• Green Onions. 2 stalks should do.
• Fresh Cilantro.
• Toasted Sesame Seeds. They’re for garnish, so if you don’t have any, it’s OK.

Equipment

• 2-quart saucepan.
• Wire Mesh strainer (a standard colander will work, but you might loose a few noodles)
• A big ol’ chopping knife.
• Large frying pan or Wok.
• Something to stir with. I’ve had the best results with a pasta spoon.

How To Boil Water

Boil some water to cook the noodles in. If you need help with that, stop reading now and go watch Emeril or something. I like to use a lot of salt.

Once it gets all bubbly, throw in the noodles. Cook them until they’re just “al dente” (slightly undercooked), about 3-4 minutes. If they’re still crunchy when you bite one, it’s not done yet.

Pour through the strainer or colander, and put the noodles back into the saucepan, and set aside. Add some of the soy sauce to the noodles. Not too much, about 2 tablespoons. Stir it all up good. Let it sit for a while - 10 minutes is plenty; we want the noodles to soak up the sauce.

Cut

While you’re waiting for the noodes, do some chopping. Each of these should be done and set aside before we move on.

• Mince the garlic cloves, if you need to. That means chopping them up into little bits. For best results, take your big ol’ chopping knife and press down on a clove or two using the flat side of the knife to break it apart, then chop it up.
• Chop up the green onions. Cut off the tips, then cut into little slices, about 1/8″ thick. It looks nicer if you cut them at a 45-degree angle.
• Chop up the Cilantro. It’s for garnish, so you don’t need a whole lot. about a handful.

Hot Hot Hot

Add some oil (about 1/2 tbs.) to the noodles, and stir them up - try and coat them lightly with the oil.

Put your Wok on the burner, and turn to a medium heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with some *more* oil. Add the minced garlic to the pan, and saute. Don’t let the garlic burn - it will taste like shit. If it burns, throw it out and try again. I can not stress that enough.

Once the garlic starts to brown (not burn!), add the noodles to the pan and turn the heat up to high. It should be sizzling. Stir frequently with the pasta spoon - try and break the noodles up so you don’t have clumps. After about 2 minutes, turn the heat back down to medium, and let it sit for about 30 seconds. Stir it up again, and let sit for another 30 seconds. Add the green onions and cilantro, and give it one last stirring - break up all the clumps, and mix everything in there nice.

Remove from heat, and pour into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top, and eat it up. Should serve about 2 people, or one hungry person.

You could serve this with some grilled shrimpies on the side, like I do (jumbo prawns!). Or just eat it on it’s own.

As a bonus, I’ve heard that this dish re-heats in the microwave extremely well. So, you might want to make a double-batch.