honey walnut shrimp

When I was in high school I remember weekend nights when friends would sleep over and at around midnight or so my parents would ask if we wanted to go out for Chinese food.  Yep - true story.  So we would meander over to Chinatown in Seattle and sit down for a 2nd dinner.  One of my favorite dishes that we would always order is Honey Walnut Shrimp and I've had a hard time finding any that can come close to the dish we used to order at Honey Court Restaurant in Seattle.

food (food) | pf chang's inspired garlic noodles

As much as I love the whole in the wall Chinese restaurants that serve up authentic Hong Kong style chow mein and duck 4 ways - sometimes I crave what the chainwide restaurants serve.  In this case, it's PF Chang's Garlic Noodles.  To curb this craving, I used some items I keep stocked in my pantry (I love when I don't have to shop for food) and whipped up a close enough dish that fooled my taste buds.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 tbsp garlic chili paste
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
• 4 tbs chopped garlic
• Package of chinese noodles or egg noodles (gluten free options include rice or quinoa noodles)

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to packaging.
2. Drain and toss noodles in garlic chili paste.
3. Heat oil in a large pan (preferably a wok) and sautee garlic just before they turn brown (if you over cook the garlic will turn into chips giving it a bitter taste).
4. Add noodles, sugar, and vinegar to garlic oil.
5. Toss noodles until evenly coated with mixture.

I served this up with the Trader Joe's Miso Cod fish (which I highly recommend)!  Enjoy!