Smoky Wok

Macaroni is one of my favourite pastas - very versatile and equally delicious cooked both Western and Asian methods.  For today, I took a page from one of my favourite Hong Kong 'char chan teng' fare and whipped up an extremely easy and soothing macaroni with brown enoki mushrooms in abalone and chicken broth.  I did cheat though and used abalone sauce and store-bought chicken broth instead of going the traditional route, great when you're short on time and perhaps a tad tired.  The ingredient list is extremely short with only the mushrooms and green onions apart from the pasta of course.




As always, you can adapt the recipe to suit your tastes and add chicken, bacon or ham into the mix for a meatier version.

This post is part of my Yuen Chun Recipes, an ongoing project on this blog.


Ingredients:

1/2 packet of macaroni (200 g)
1 bunch of brown enoki mushrooms (substitute with shiitake if you like)
5 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
4 stalks green onions, sliced
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup abalone sauce (I used Yuen Chun)
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce or to taste
Dash of sesame oil
Dash of white pepper



Method:

Firstly, cook pasta according to package instructions.  Make the garlic oil by frying 5 cloves minced garlic in about 3 tablespoons oil.  Remove from wok once fragrant.

Once pasta is ready, strain and set aside in serving bowls.

Boil chicken broth and add abalone sauce.  Add light soy sauce.  Do a taste test and add more soy or salt if desired.

Boil mushrooms separately.  Once softened, remove and arrange on top of pasta.  Sprinkle with green onions and ladle enough broth over the pasta to cover.  Add a dash of sesame oil. garlic oil (if using) and white pepper if desired.  Serve hot.