Jade: Bitemyspaghetti

As much as I love this country, and I have to say this because I think my dad reads this blog..so yes, love the weather, love the food, love that shops shut at 5; what irks me is the scarcity of good quality noodles. Tell me if I'm simply looking in all the wrong places but where are the piles of fresh egg noodles and glistening kuay teow? Perhaps I should place an ad in the Daily Mirror next to the attractive 60 year old who seeks younger woman for meaningful conversation and walks by the beach. Only mine will read: desperate Chinese girl seeks freshly made noodles or better yet, noodle maker to cheer her up on lonely nights.

What prompted this little tirade was a recipe I'd recently come across that called for shanghai noodles. To be fair I didn't really bother looking for them considering it's bloody difficult to get egg noodles as it is nevermind which part of China they come from. I used spaghetti instead, which although yielded beautiful results, just wasn't the same. It's like making maggi goreng with wanton noodles..it's plain wrong. But anyway...

Shanghai-nised Spaghetti, which, my whinging aside, was utterly delicious-- [adapted from Kitchen Unplugged]

100g spaghetti

2 cloves garlic, minced

bacon ( completely optional, i think keeping it vegetarian would've been lovely too. but I bought half a kilo of cooking bacon a few weeks back, dont ask me why, so I'm trying to use it all up. )

Half a carrot, julienned

Cabbage, julienned

Black wood ear fungus or mushrooms, julienned

Half a bell pepper, julienned

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce ( I used kicap manis and

omitted the sugar, but either way, that little bit of sweetness is what makes this noodle dish)

1/2 tsp light soy sauce

1/8-1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp chinese wine

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1. Boil the pasta in salted water, drain and set aside

2. Heat up some oil and fry the chopped up bacon till crispy

3. Add the sesame oil and fry garlic till fragrant

4. Add vegetables and stirfry for about 2 minutes, only because I like my veg crunchy, but if you prefer softer veg, add a bit of water and let it simmer

5. Toss in the spaghetti, add the sauces and fry over high heat until the noodles are well coated, tasting as you go along.

6. Dish up, garnish with pickled chili, kick off your shoes and sit down to an absolutely fantastic meal :)