asian food love {szechuan peanut noodles.}

i love asian food.
love it.
to my core.

i love chinese food.
i love sushi.
i love hot japanese.
i love korean.
i love it all.

just outside montreal, near our small patch of dirt, it is lacking in the stuff.
here it's all about the greek, morrocan and lebanese.
vancouver it's all about asian.

growing up we would almost always mark a special occasion with either that wonderful brown paper bag stuffed with delicacies from the orient or schlep our way down to capilano west and circle the giant  round table for a memorable feast.
lots of laughter. lots of smiling. special family time. went we went out for it we usually knew two or three other families there as well so that made it a real party.

this may sound weird but i feel my kids are missing out.
missing out on dinners like that.
missing out on those memories.
missing out on that food.
there is no place memorable like that around here.

i cook alot of asian at home. mainly stir-frys.
they are kind of my thing.
i did attempt a chinese food night here at home - authentic recipes...didn't go so well.
i think i will leave most of it to the professionals.
but thanks to a little site called dinner: a love story, we ARE able to add spicy szechuan peanut noodles to our menus.
to me they are perfect. i adapted her recipe a little bit of course because for my purposes the recipe was a little runny but then it was too thick and then i had to double it...so what i present here to you is my take on it.
slightly different, slightly the same.
just plain awesome.
this is what i call good eating.

spicy szechuan peanut noodles

adapted slightly from dinner: a love story.

the perfect accompaniment to this is a wonderfully colourful and plentiful stir-fry coated at the last minute with sweet hoisin sauce {it really is the best} white meat is preferred - chicken or pork - but if the pocket book is plentiful prawns are the ultimate touch. and in a pinch you can substitute ground ginger for fresh.
also if you like the goma ae, like yours truly, do her recipe and drench your spinach in it - perfection.

3 garlic cloves
a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger {or a teaspoon at a time of ground ginger - to taste.}
1/2 cup smooth all-natural peanut butter
1/3 cup of warm water + extra for the cooking process
1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
broad rice noodles.

optional garnish if not making stir-fry: chopped green onion, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, roasted prawns, chopped roasted peanuts, raw bean sprouts.

prepare you noodles according to package directions. set aside.

in a food processor throw in garlic and ginger and pulse it up. add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until smooth. taste. adjust seasoning.

heat a large frying pan on medium heat. drain noodles and add to pan. pour in about half of your sauce over the noodles. toss. cook. pour in 1/4 cup of warm water. if noodles are not looking coated enough pour in more sauce. add a little more water. you want your noodles coated wet, not dry and "thick" but you also don't want to make peanut soup. feel the noodles. be one with the noodles. keep tossing them around the pan. heat them through and when you are satisfied remove from heat, plate them up and top them with the delicious stir-fry you were cooking in the pan next door.
or just inhale them as they are. top with garnish if you feel so inclined. delicious.