"Procrastination Noodles" (Prawn Lo Mein)

Adapted from: Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumani

Serves: 3

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sesame seeds

salt

150-175 g (5.3-6.2 oz) dried Chinese egg noodles (or 2 cups, fresh)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 inch piece ginger, minced

2 heads baby bok choy

1 tbsp canola oil

2.5 tbsp soy sauce

450 g (1 lb) prawn / shrimp, thawed or fresh

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp lemon juice

2 scallions, chopped small

Nothing goes amiss in this recipe. Not a one. Each ingredient plays its part in this masterpiece. I only post recipes on this blog that my taste buds approve. This dish is next level. In fact, that’s the reason behind the title of this recipe. 

The story goes a little something like this: It was put on my standard weekly menu (I plan meals ahead for the week). I needed to buy fresh shrimp but by the time the day to cook it came around, I couldn’t be bothered—I was not in the mood for trying a new recipe—especially with shrimp. So I put it on the list for the following week. That week, I purchased the shrimp and planned to cook it, but friends came to town and we dined out (and froze the shrimp for later). The following week, I was on a backpacking trip, so I rescheduled it for the week after that. You know where this is going. I think it took about 4-6 weeks before actually preparing it. The kicker to this story of procrastination is how amazing the meal was! To think, all that time, I deprived my taste buds of this perfect concoction. 

I am happy to know the taste now and will keenly rotate it through my future meal plans. 

To note: if prawn / shrimp is not your thing: do chicken! If you’re preparing this with someone who does eat prawn / shrimp and you can tolerate the ‘juices’ to do their thing, I highly recommend leaving them in the recipe as planned (halve it with equal parts chicken), and then plate your finished dish sans shrimp. Either way, you do you!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sesame seeds

salt

150-175 g (5.3-6.2 oz) dried Chinese egg noodles (or 2 cups, fresh)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 inch piece ginger, minced

2 heads baby bok choy

1 tbsp canola oil

2.5 tbsp soy sauce

450 g (1 lb) prawn / shrimp, thawed

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp lemon juice

2 scallions, chopped small

Directions:
1. Heat a medium skillet to medium heat and toast the sesame seeds until fragrant (1-2 minutes). Move to a small bowl and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the noodles. Cook until tender (3-4 minutes), drain, and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, slice the bok choy stems half inch on the diagonal. Coarsely chop the leaves. Set each aside separately.

4. In a medium skillet, heat canola oil and stir in the garlic until fragrant (1 minute).

5. Add bok choy stems, ginger, and soy sauce. Cook until stems are tender (3 minutes).

6. Add prawn / shrimp and cook, stirring often until opaque (2 minutes).

7. Stir in the drained noodles and toss to coat.

8. Add bok choy greens and sesame oil, tossing until greens start to wilt.

9. Finish with lemon juice, sesame seeds and scallions and serve immediately.