My not-so-quite grandma’s egg noodle recipe

Posted on 27 Jan 2012 - by Katkat In: Operation: Julie and Julia

My not-so-quite grandma’s egg noodle recipe

When I first came to the US, I stayed with my grandmother for a while because work was nearer at her house. My grandmother that time was still spry and very energetic and independent. She always loved to cook and care for her family and friends. Of course being a beloved granddaughter, she fawned over me and took care of me instead of the other way around. I believed my leap in weight that time was due to her cooking.

I was missing my grandmother’s cooking for a long time now. She couldn’t cook anymore because she has Alzheimer’s. She couldn’t remember if she seasoned a particular dish already or not so she keeps on seasoning. So the dish would be ruined. Recently I kept remembering this particular egg noodle dish that she makes when I was staying with her. Unfortunately I didn’t observe her while cooking her delicious dishes. I would regret that I didn’t learn her famous lumpia shanghai. Her ginataang halo-halo however I was able to recreate. Anyway I was craving for her egg noodle dish so I tried to remember what was in that dish. I resorted to google search for the sauce/flavor then put my own garnish for the dish. Forgive me for the estimated measurement of the ingredients.

A Chinese Egg Noodle Recipe

1 pack fresh egg noodle
garlic, coarsely chopped
onion, thinly sliced
carrot, thinly sliced in diagonal length
shiitake mushroom, thinly sliced
small shrimp, shell removed
pork loin or beef steak, thin slices
spinach/green bok choy, blanched
scallop ball, thin slices
spring onion, sliced in 2 inches length
chili flakes

Marinade:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp water
1/4 tsp chili flakes

1. Prepare the egg noodles as directed by the packing instructions. (If there’s no instructions, cook in boiling water for 1-3 minutes then drain.) Set aside.
2. Using 1/2 of the marinade sauce, pour over meat and let it marinate for 15 minutes covered in the refrigerator.
3. I cooked each ingredient separate so that I don’t overcook them. In a deep pan/wok with hot cooking oil, I cook the meat first (drained of its marinade) then set it aside. Next the mushroom, then the carrot, then the shrimp.
4. I cooked the scallop balls in boiling water for 2 minutes (I cooked it at the same time with the egg noodle) and set aside.
5. Saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Add the meat, shrimp, carrot, mushroom and saute for few minutes before adding the egg noodle with the scallop ball. Pour the rest of the marinade into the noodle and toss the noodles quickly.
6. Add the green bok choy/spinach and spring onion and toss with the rest of the ingredients and cook for 3 minutes. Add chili flakes and salt to taste.
7. Serve warm.

This was a heavy but satisfying dish. It wasn’t similar to my grandma’s egg noodle dish but it was still yummy. This dish is very versatile, you can add whatever garnish you can think of. The scallop ball was definitely a hit. However I would look for a different sauce recipe next time. I liked the spiciness of this recipe but I was looking for more salty flavor. I didn’t like the hoisin flavor much. I would also add more bok choy in it because the “bitter” taste of the bok choy gives the dish more dimension to its flavor.