Amazing Asian-style Dragon Noodles

Funny things happen when your friends are as foodie as you are. Normal conversations don't really exist. You spend hours discussing grains, or Kobe beef, or the best way to make kimchee. You each look up the same food blog online and pore over recipes, dissecting the ingredient list and making substitutions and technique changes that you usually agree on. Day long conversations (via email usually) center around food and drink, interspersed with  "OMG I'm getting sooo hungry" one of the most commonly used phrases.

My friend Andi and I are just like this. Every day, pretty much. We talk food like it's our job. What we had for dinner last night. A new restaurant in town. What we're cooking tonight. New versions of tomato jam. Things to do with bacon. The pros and cons of curry. Cake. Lots of cake. And we always land on "OMG I am sooooo hungry." 

Today for example, almost as soon as I got to work and signed online I got a message from her. It went something like this:

(link to recipe on website)

I'm just gonna leave this here

For you

I made them last night

and HOLY BALLS are they DELICIOUS

You get the idea, right? We are OBSESSED !!!! By now you're probably wondering what kind of recipe we were talking about too, right?  Well Andi had come across a website called BudgetBytes. We are both always searching out new ideas and new dishes to make. We are not "same old same old" people- we like to find new recipes to try all the time. Anyway, she found this website and it's loaded with great budget-friendly recipes. EASY recipes with ingredients you probably have in your kitchen already. I think we spent an entire day discussing the meat-free noodle dishes ! We got to talking about which recipe looked super easy and delicious, bookmarking, printing and saving recipes, and we came across one that looked soooo good we were both dying to try it. She made it last night, I am making it tonight. The recipe is called Dragon Noodles, and to make it you will need:

• 4 oz lo mein noodles (or linguine)
• 2 tb butter
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 tb brown sugar
• 1 tb soy sauce
• 1 tb Sriracha
• 1 sliced green onion
• handful fresh cilantro

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook noodles.  While noodles are cooking, mix the sugar, soy and Sriracha in a small bowl and set aside. In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the red pepper as it melts. Beat the egg and add to butter in skillet, cook, stirring until done. Remove from heat and set aside.

When noodles are cooked, drain completely, then add to skillet, adding sauce mixture. Return to heat and cook, tossing noddles until excess moisture is gone and noodles are coated with sauce. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro and serve immediately.

I had a couple small pieces of sirloin in the fridge so I thinly sliced, stir fried, and tossed with my noodles. It was perfect- like a hot/sweet Mongolian beef. **NOTE- I also multiplied everything else by 4 to make leftovers, using a pound of pasta. This recipe is super easy to double, triple or go bigger.

Honestly, I wish I could claim to be the culinary genius behind these noodles. But that honor goes to BudgetBytes. I hope you stop by the website and check out all the delicious recipes there. Like so many recipes, Dragon Noodles is so ridiculously versatile. You can add whatever Asian veggies you like, cooked mushrooms, tofu, thinly sliced and cooked meat of almost any kind (imagine chicken or even shrimp.....yum!) to turn this into an entree (increase the sauce mixture by two or three times). This dish literally comes together in the time it takes to boil water and cook noodles. The sauce is the key to the delicious DRAGON heat with sweet, hot and salty all at the same time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."