However, I don't want to be mean, & post this recipe, & have whomever the lovely original author is
find it,
& be hurt,
or upset,
or (worse) angry about it.
So the reason I'm posting this recipe is because obviously I thought My Prince & I would like it. I was disappointed when I didn't like it (after My Prince added God-knows-what-all to his serving, he liked it fine...more on that later, though), & it means that I probably resorted to eating honey nut Cheerios for supper that night. Food has calories in it, even food that's not breaded or deep-fried, & I won't waste the calories or energy on eating food I don't care for.
So I post this recipe today, even though I chalked it up as a failure. Maybe if you
read through it,
& read through my notes,
& view my photos,
you'll catch something that I didn't, & we can rescue this recipe together.
Or maybe you'll have some suggestions for
additions,
or corrections,
or omissions,
or substitutions,
that would add (or subtract) the magic touch that rescues this recipe.
...or maybe we'll determine it's not worth working on any further, & you can share with me a comparable recipe that is fabulous without needing any changes at all!
I found this recipe in People magazine. It is supposed to be the recipe that the cooks use at the Atlanta restaurant Straits (owned by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges).
Straits garlic noodles
- 2 pounds egg noodles
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons garlic
- 4 tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 2 stems of basil (Thai or regular)
- 1/2 pound Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 cup oyster or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
- 1 cup bean sprouts (optional)
*Boil egg noodles in hot water for 10 minutes, until tender. Strain & set aside.
*Heat up a wok or or medium-size skillet or pan. When it's warm (about 2 to 3 minutes), add butter, followed by garlic, tomatoes, basil, mushrooms, & strained noodles. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
(I used a skillet. I don't have a wok. I doubt that this significantly contributed to my bad outcome, though. Also, this recipe didn't specify whether to use fresh garlic or minced garlic or what, but since the measurement was in tablespoons, I assumed minced garlic would be fine. Any ideas about that? I did use real, fresh basil stems.)
*Add oyster sauce or soy sauce to pan & toss with noodles until fully blended. Sprinkle black pepper & sugar, tossing well.
(I used soy sauce. Do you think omitting the sugar would help this? I don't think I liked the sugar...)
*If desired (this is an option at the restaurant), add protein such as chicken or shrimp, or a vegetable. Plate&serve.
(I did add the bean sprouts, which you'll notice never got mentioned again after the ingredients. I did not add protein, & My Prince & I did decide that that might would have helped the dish. The consistency&texture were fine. It just plain didn't taste great. My Prince added chicken, which may have helped a little, but it wasn't enough to convince me to make it again with added protein. He also added nuts, but they were honey-roasted peanuts, not cashews, so I was appalled&disgusted by that addition. I think he may have added hot sauce, too. His concoction makes me nauseated just recalling it today. I simply drowned mine in soy sauce to make it edible...I love soy sauce! Seriously, though, if anybody has any suggestions, please share. We keep a lot of these ingredients on hand, & this would be convenient if it were better!)
*There is a Straits Restaurant in Atlanta, & I've heard that it's good, though we haven't been. This is supposed to be one of their recipes, but I can't imagine that something so unsavory could be so popular. It's possible that one of the questions I posed to you was the problem. There is also the possibility that there was something lost in the translation between the kitchen & the interview People magazine did with Chris "Ludacris" Bridges.
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