Look At The Pretty Noodles

This really is a thrown together dinner. I had half a package of Chinese noodles, some tofu, carrots, a wedge of cabbage, ginger, and a red pepper. I tossed in some parsley and water chestnuts at the last.

How do you give a recipe for something like this? Instead, I'll give you the recipe for the marinade and you can use whatever vegetables you like.

2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon black bean garlic paste
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
4 tablespoons hoisan sauce
2 star anise ground fine
a few red pepper flakes

Place it all in a measuring cup and then add:

Enough Canola oil to bring the marinade to 1 cup.

Place in a large plastic freezer bag with the vegetables and let sit a few hours until you are ready to make dinner.

One other tip, which is probably obvious but I only recently realised it-when making a noodle dish, cook the noodles, drain them well and then briefly stir fry them in oil to separate them. Then, add the rest of the stir-fry and mix well.