Hoochy Mama! This week we made a very spicy noodle dish from Christopher Kimball that nearly blew our lids off! The 1/4 cup of chili garlic sauce was the culprit, but the flavors were great! We (or at least I) intend to make it again, but with the spice toned down. Ben hasn’t quite forgiven the dish that made his forehead sweat and his eyes water. To his credit, he ate his entire serving. We’re not quitters around here, and it seems Ben’s honor was at stake.
Hoisin-Ginger Noodles
12 ounces dried udon noodles
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1/4 cup chili-garlic sauce (umm…no…2 tablespoons should be plenty)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
3 scallions, thinly sliced
Cook udon noodles in boiling water until tender. Meanwhile, mix hoisin sauce, chili-garlic sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger. When noodles are done, drain them well in a colander, then toss them with the sauce mixture until evenly coated. Serve noodles sprinkled with the scallions. Optional garnish: chopped roasted salted peanuts.
Luckily, the accompanying dish we made was not face-meltingly hot. We sautéed shrimp in a little oil for about 3 minutes, then added sweet chili sauce, cooking for another minute. It was delicious! We’ll definitely make this again.
Dinner was an adventure in overcoming adversity, but if the biggest obstacle in your day was eating some spicy noodles, then it’s been a pretty good day. I think our temptation, as parents, is to swashbuckle into every possible challenge our children face, eliminating the obstacles. If we are brave enough to practice restraint, though, our kids learn so much more. Sometimes things are hard, but that’s ok, because we can do hard things. We can eat the whole darned bowl of spicy noodles and live to tell the tale!