mah jong mien (aka peanut butter noodles)

a light meal that is rich in flavour

I have no idea why this is called Mah Jong Mien in Taiwan, as it has nothing to do with the game of tiles, but it has been a staple go to meal growing up in our household.  My mom is the queen of putting together a healthy home cooked meal in minutes from items found in her pantry and fridge, and this peanut butter noodle dish is just one of those.  I think we ate this as kids weekly - and still do whenever we are home to visit.  My mom's version is even simpler - she mixes peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and garlic together in a bowl until smooth then tosses it with the noodles and vegetables.  It's super easy and tasty.  Below is my take on our family staple.

what you need:

for the peanut sauce

• 2 heaping tbsp natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp naturally brewed soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 slices fresh ginger
• 1 large garlic clove
• 2 green onions
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp grapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 tsp white pepper 

for the noodles

• 4 servings of any dry asian noodle, you can even use pasta (e.g. linguine)
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 handful fresh cilantro
• a small bunch broccolini (or broccoli) 

what to do:

1. Start by getting your sauce ready.  Thinly slice ginger and roughly chop garlic.  Cut off bottom white part of green onions (about 2 inches) and slice lengthwise.  Get the rest of the ingredients for the sauce measured and ready on hand.
2. In a small sauce pan on medium, heat up grapeseed and sesame oil.  Add ginger, garlic, and onions.  Sauté for about 1 min, then deglaze with the water.  Add soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, and white pepper.  Stir until peanut butter dissolves, and reduce heat down to a simmer.  Allow it to reduce to about half.

   

   garlic, onions, and ginger sautéing

   

   reducing sauce

3. Get a large pot of water on the stove on high heat to cook the noodles.
4. While waiting for the pot to boil, clean and prepare vegetables.  Peel and grate the carrots, and slice broccoli into long slim pieces.  Slice remaining green onion on a bias and roughly tear cilantro.  
   
5. Once the water is boiling, add noodles.  Depending on what kind of noodles you are using, your cooking time will vary.  Whatever your package indicates, set your timer for 1 minute shy of it's cooking time.  This is because you want to put the vegetables in with the noodles to cook for 1 minute.  
   
6. Drain noodles and vegetables, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
7. Return noodles and vegetables to pot and pour reduced peanut sauce over noodles and toss.  You may need to add a little bit of the cooking liquid if the noodles seem too dry.  Toss in some of your cilantro and green onions, but reserve a small amount for garnish.
8. Transfer noodles to serving platter and top with cilantro and green onion for garnish.  Serve with your favourite hot sauce if desired - we used sriracha.  Enjoy!

with sriracha

fresh rolls with peanut sauce

so fresh and so clean

I learned how to make fresh rolls a few years ago when I served at Thai Paradise, a cute little restaurant downtown Toronto.  They are perfect as an appetizer, snack, or a light meal.  Tonight we made lots and that was dinner!  I've made them a few different ways, with various fillings and trying to perfect a peanut sauce.  You can pretty much use any veggies and/or protein you like (cooked tofu, shrimp, strips of fish, chicken, pork, beef).  Most restaurant fresh rolls have vermicelli noodles in them too - I don't make it that way at home because I don't want to wrap a carb in a carb.  The sauce really does complete this dish, so if you're allergic to peanuts, you can try almond or cashew butter instead.


Portion your ingredients according to how many fresh rolls you want to make.  Each roll will need at least 1 shrimp and 1-2 of each veggie slice.


What you need:


Fresh Rolls

• rice paper
• raw black tiger shrimp
• red pepper
• carrot
• green onion
• avocado
• asparagus
• green beans
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• fresh basil leaves

Peanut Sauce

*if you make the sauce a few hours beforehand, the flavours will intensify

• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 or 2 tsp soy sauce 
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 dashes of thai fish sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger (optional)
• 2 thai chillies chopped finely
• 1 green onion chopped finely
• 1 tbsp cilantro chopped finely
• 1-2 tsp honey 
• boiled water (amount will depend on consistency of the sauce and how it tastes, i.e. dilute if too salty)

*these are rough estimates, make sure you taste the sauce and adjust to your taste

What to do:

1. Put peanut butter in a bowl, then slowly add the wet ingredients (except water).  Stir gently until smooth (this is why natural peanut butter works best...hydrogenated peanut butter will be chunky and separated) - add the rest of the ingredients and taste.  Add water as required.  
2. Cut red pepper, carrot, green onion and avocado into long strips, about 2/3 the diameter of your rice paper.  Cut the asparagus in half.  Blanch the asparagus and green beans in boiling water for about 1 min, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.  Save the boiled water for step 4.  Spread veggies out on a plate and set aside.
3. Peel and de-vein shrimp.  In a skillet on medium heat, add a bit of cooking oil and garlic.  Sauté shrimp just until cooked, season lightly with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and add to your spread.
4. Transfer the boiled water to a shallow pan and place it on the lowest heat possible.  
5. Take a rice paper and slide on side of it into the hot water, but keep holding the edge.  Keep turning it in your hand (clockwise) until it feels soft and pliable.  
6. Lay the rice paper on the board.  Put the shrimp and veggies in the centre, fold up one edge, fold up the edges on either side, then roll tightly to finish.  
7. Serve with peanut sauce and enjoy!

Random Tips:

• If you are making these in advance, store them in an airtight container lined and covered with a damp paper towel.
• Set up a small work station so you have an area to make the fresh rolls (cutting board, clean counter space) and the filling lined up within reach.  
• The rice paper is tricky and it usually takes one or two to get the hang of it, so don't worry if your first few rice papers envelope on themselves and becomes a gluey mess.

my fresh roll favourites

garlic sauteed shrimp

fresh roll assembly!