Shiitake And Scallion Lo Mein

I had bought shiitakes for a meal I didn't end up making.  I needed to do something with them because I didn't want them going bad.  Not only are they my favorite mushroom, but they are on the pricey side.  I found this in the to try file and thought it fit the bill perfectly.  Now I did mess up a bit, which consequently caused my only complaint with the dish: I had 1/2 the mushrooms called for.  I was thinking of the packages in terms of the regular mushrooms which are 8 oz each.  I had 2 packages of shiitakes, so I was thinking I had 1 lb of them.  Well oops, the shiitakes are 3.5 oz each.  Having half the mushrooms needed was not a making for a perfect dish, but on the bright side, I decided this dish was a great base for a lot of  veggies.  All I need to do in the future is pick one that could cook like the snow peas in the pasta water (broccoli, cauliflower, carrot coins) and one that I will sauté.  The sauce was really great, but I did add a dash of sriracha.  (but I am in love with the stuff)  So, this dish will be made again and I would recommend it to even my culinary challenged friends.  Its fast, easy, vegetarian (unless you are a die hard carnivore, in that case use up some leftover chicken etc.. and just warm it in the end with the pasta) and doesn't need any crazy ingredients you can't find at the local Publix.  (yes even the wide lo mein noodles were there!)  Add a salad and this dish feeds 6.  The noodles and the shiitakes make this dish a little on the pricey side, but like I said, you can switch up the veggies and if you must use fettuccine.



Shiitake-And-Scallion Lo Mein

1 Lb wide lo mein noodles
1/4 Lb snow peas halved diagonally
1/4 Cup soy sauce
1/4 Cup mirin
2 Tsp toasted sesame oil
3 Tbl canola oil
1 Lb shiitake mushrooms stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
6 scallions cut into 1-inch lengths
1 Tbl minced fresh ginger
2 Tbl water
2 Tbl chopped cilantro
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the noodles until tender;
  add the snow peas to the noodles in the last 2 minutes of cooking.
Drain the noodles and snow peas and rinse under cold water until cool.
In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce with the mirin and sesame oil.
2. In a very large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil
until shimmering. Add the shiitake and cook over moderately high heat,
undisturbed, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1
tablespoon of canola oil, the scallions and ginger and stir-fry until
the scallions soften, about 3 minutes. Add the water and cook over
moderate heat, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan,
1 minute. Add the noodles, snow peas and soy sauce mixture to the
skillet and cook, tossing the noodles until heated through, about 2
minutes. Add the cilantro, transfer to banana leaf cones or bowls and
serve.