use whatever is in your fridge stir-fry noodles

I can watch a marathon of "Chopped" for hours. There's something about watching four chefs vigorously cooking ingredients like lamb testicles in 20 minutes only to have their dishes judged by chefs who are more accomplished. I am addicted to this show. Sometimes when I cook I like to pretend I'm on Chopped. I look in my pantry and fridge and see what I can make using only what I have at home. This has helped me not waste any of the food I buy and I guess it fosters my cooking creativity. The result may not always be great but as long as it keeps me fed and saves me money, it's good enough for me.

What I had in my freezer were almost empty bags of frozen vegetables and I really wanted to get rid of them. I also had mushrooms, baby bok choy and these noodles I picked up at the Asian store last week.

The one on the left are Bean Threads made out of mung beans. The bean threads turn clear when they are cooked. They have a sort of rubbery texture and are great in soups. I grew up eating a lot of bean threads typically in a Filipino chicken soup called Chicken Tinola which is ginger and chicken stock based. The noodles on the right are dried wheat flour noodles kind of like a thin chow mein noodle. The best part about these noodles is they are filling, versatile and FAT FREE!

I didn't want to make a soup so I made my weird version of Pancit (which is another Filipino dish, a lot like chow mein). 

What I used:

- White button mushrooms 

- Variety of frozen vegetables: Peas and Carrots, Broccoli and Pearl Onions

- Baby bok choy

- Bean thread noodles and dried noodles (I used 2 bundles of bean threads, one bundle of dried noodles. This makes two large-ish servings)

- Garlic chili paste (1 tsp. or more depending on how spicy you like it. You can also use just plain chili paste or chili flakes)

- Soy Sauce or Liquid Amminos, I used a little of both

- Vegetable broth for sauteeing (or you can use oil)

- A little bit of Sesame Oil (at the end. This is optional)

- *Microwaved Brussels Sprouts - This is also optional. I added this on top because I had leftovers. 

What to do:

Using hot water from the faucet, in a bowl soak the noodles until they come apart and are soft. I recommend breaking up the noodles in half so you don't have really really long strands of noodles making it a little difficult to eat.

Meanwhile in a wok with some vegetable broth, cook up the frozen veggies and mushrooms. Season with soy sauce/liquid amminos, salt and pepper and chili paste. You can add a little bit of ground up ginger. Cook and taste and add seasonings as you go. 

Drain the noodles then add them into the wok. Put the flame on low-medium. Toss and add more soy sauce or liquid amminos if you want. The vegetable mushroom mixture will be a little watery if you use frozen veggies but that is ok because the noodles will soak up all of that liquid making them really flavorful. If the noodles start to get dry and stick to the pan, add a little bit of water or vegetable broth.

Take off the heat and fold in the baby bok choy until it wilts.