One of my very favorite #Asian dishes is drunken noodles. Too bad most people hate noodles these days. The good news is I found this recipe for drunken #eggplant noodles. Eggplant is one of my most very favorite vegetables, so it was a no brainer.
What was concerning, is I replaced a number of ingredients. Definitely check the original recipe for exact specifications.
First, my grocery store didn't have Japanese eggplants this week. I'm not sure if they cook through at different temperatures and times. The skin on Japanese eggplants is definitely not as tough as the tradition European eggplants. When I make this next time, I'll definitely peel the skin off.
I'm also dining solo this week so I didn't want to buy an entire bottle of sake. I decided to sub with white wine, specifically a South African chenin blanc.
Then there's the issue of shoyu sauce. I went with coconut aminos, and the brand readily available in my grocery store is quite sweet, so I reduced the amount of sugar I put in the sauce. This might be why the sauce took longer to thicken than suggested in the original recipe? Again, I'm not actually a trained chef. I think next time I'll try adding the full amount.
Then there's the heat. Drunken noodles are supposed to be spicy, and this didn't turn out as spicy as I'm used to getting in restaurants. Maybe it has to do with the ripeness of the pepper I chose. Maybe I just need to add a second pepper.
All said and done though, I really liked this! And with the adjustments I mention above, I think it would be a crowd pleaser as a main or as a side.
I'm hoping this keeps well, because I plan on eating the remainder for lunch and a snack tomorrow. I'll try to remember to update the post with how that goes.
Modified a Cooking Hawaiian Style recipe | Serves: 4 | Time: ~25 min
Ingredients
2 eggplants, thinly sliced to resemble noodles (original recipe calls for Japanese eggplants)
1 small red #bellpepper, seeded, thinly sliced
1 small #carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
1 tbsp + 2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp white wine (I had a South African chenin blanc on hand)
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tbsp cane sugar
1 small #chile, seeded, thinly sliced (I went with serrano)
Instructions
In a skillet over medium heat; saute bell pepper and carrot until cooked through, about 6 minutes.
Remove veggies from skillet and set aside. Into skillet saute eggplant in remaining oil 1-2 minutes.
Return bell pepper and carrots with remaining ingredients. Cover tightly; cook over low heat until done and sauce is slightly thickened, about 5-6 minutes. I ended up cooking it for 8 minutes. Like I mentioned upfront, I think all my replacements impacted how well (or not so well) the sauce congealed.
Serve in a bowl and enjoy!
Journal
Food & Drink
1 decaf americano
5 glasses of water, planning on 3 more before bed
1 plantain
1 blueberry muffin
Leftover soup with kale chips
Drunken noodles
White wine because I opened it for cooking tonight's dinner and I'm an extremely weak human being
Exercise
4.5+ miles of walking
Food & Drink 9/24/2019 (baby did a bad bad thing)
8+ glasses of water
1 cup decaf
1 cup caffeinated
Mexicali vegan salad from Chopt with a crust of bread
Grilled cheese sandwich
Veggie burger
Fries
Beers with friends
Exercise (at least I walked a lot!)
7+ miles of walking
Comments