Easy Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Fettucine

Got some fresh Fettuccine and Parmigiana Reggiano at Chelsea Market today so I'm making this for dinner. This recipe calls for brown beech mushrooms because I like to use them with bacon. You can, of course, substitute any mushrooms like sliced bellas. I love creamy Alfredo sauce but not too much with the calories that comes with butter and milk. Campbell's canned cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken) works great and is relatively low calorie.

This recipe is not low calorie but if you omit bacon (or use bacon bits), it should be fairly low. If you're not watching calories then go to town and use as much bacon as you want*. (*not responsible for clogged arteries and heart attack after ingesting this meal)

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked Fettuccine
2 cups brown beech mushrooms
1 cup chopped bacon (about an inch wide)
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom
1/2 cup water
Some Parmigiano Reggiano

In a pan, cook bacon without oil over medium heat. You should be rendering the fat from bacon and when the bacon starts to brown transfer them to a paper towel. Throw away most of the oil except for about 1/2 tablespoon. Don't clean your pan! You want those brown bits on the bottom.

In a bowl, combine cream of mushroom and water. Whisk until smooth. Sauté mushrooms over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the soup mixture into the pan and let it get all the drippings from the pan.

Once it starts to boil, add in cooked fettuccine.

Turn off the heat and mix well with bacon. You can reserve some to top the pasta. Serve with a few sprinkles of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Vegetarian Pad Thai

Pad Thai (spicy fried Thai noodles), serves 4

This is easily my favorite Thai dish, and I'm confident you'll enjoy my take on it. In particular, I highly recommend you find Maesri Pad Thai sauce rather than substituting another brand.

The quality and moisture content of Pad Thai sauce varies wildly, and it can make or break a dish. Also, Maesri does not use fish sauce, making the recipe vegetarian (and easily modifiable to vegan).

Note that I use non-stick spray in place of cooking oil in several steps, to save calories. You can use vegetable oil in those steps if you prefer.

Ingredients:

• 1 package firm tofu
• 3/4 lb. dried rice noodles (I use Erawan Brand, Size M, Oriental Style Noodle)
• 3 eggs (Vegan? Omit the eggs!)
• 1.5 bottles (about 13 oz.) Maesri pad thai sauce
• Non-stick spray for frying
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 carrot
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp prik pepper flakes
• 3 cups fresh greens beans
• 1 can baby corn
• 1 package spiced tofu
• 1/2 cup raw peanuts (or roasted peanuts to save time)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil

Prep:

1. If using raw peanuts, roast in a wok on high heat. Toss them continuously until lightly toasted, 5-10 mins.
2. Let peanuts cool, put in a plastic sandwhich bag and smash into small pieces with a rolling pin, mallet, etc.
3. Clean carrot, bean sprouts, and scallions under cold water.
4. Peel then shred carrot into thin strips (to make about 1 cup).
5. Cut scallions into 2" segments. Discard tip and root parts.
6. Chop firm tofu into 1" cubes.
7. Drain can of baby corn.
8. Chop spiced tofu into small 1/4" x 1/2" pieces.

Cooking:

1. Bring two pots of water to boil.
2. Turn off heat for one pot of boiling water (this will be for noodles shortly).
3. In the other pot, add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp vegetable oil, and add the green beans for 10-15 seconds, then remove and drain. The salt and oil help preserve the vibrant green color.
4. Add rice noodles to first pot of hot water and let them soak off to the side. As soon as they are done soaking (see tip below), drain.


TIP: Never boil rice noodles; they will become soft and brittle, and turn to mush! Instead, put them in hot water and after 4-5 minutes check their consistency every 30 seconds. They are ready for frying when you tug at both ends of a noodle and it stretches firmly before snapping. If it doesn't snap at all it's too early, and if it easily pulls apart it's too late.


5. Put a wok on high heat and spray with non-stick spray. Fry tofu cubes until golden brown.
6. Push tofu to one side of wok, and add eggs to other side. Scramble eggs with a fork.
7. Fry the eggs until cooked through.
8. Spray wok with more non-stick spray, then toss in noodles. If you don't have a giant wok, you will need to fry the noodles in 2 batches (if too crowded, they won't cook properly).
9. Vigorously toss and stir noodles to prevent them from sticking to wok. Fry noodles for 1-2 minutes.
10. Add in baby corn, scallions, and spiced tofu. Continue tossing, and fry for 1 minute.
11. Pour in Maesri Pad Thai sauce, and sprinkle prik pepper flakes on top. The pepper flakes are ultra hot, so use sparingly!
12. Vigorously toss noodles to coat them with sauce. Fry for 30 seconds.
13. Add in bean sprouts. Fry for 30 seconds.
14. Turn off heat, and plate noodles.
15. Garnish with crushed peanuts, lime juice, and shredded carrot (on side, to be mixed in by lucky guest).

Curry Noodle Soup (Mi Kari)

This is an all time Malaysian favorite, a bowl of piping hot curry soup served with noodles and toppings such as chicken, pork, cockles, shrimp and tofu. It goes with the name Mi Kari or Laksa Kari. I used to eat it at least once a week and I see that Vance is catching on with my childhood craze. While this is not a traditional recipe, it's the closest I can get without buying a plane ticket back to Malaysia. This recipe is quite easy to make, the hardest part is to stop eating it! I've only tasted Ipoh style Curry Noodle Soup so there might be some other variations out there.

Ingredient A:
1 onion, sliced
1 cup red chillies, sliced
1/2 cup dried chillies
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water

1 cup curry powder
1/2 cup Massaman curry paste
1/2 cup oil
1 cinnamon stick
2 sticks lemongrass, halved
3 cans coconut milk (400mL)
2 vegetable or chicken bouillon (2 1/8 oz.)
2 1/2 qts. water
Salt to taste

Toppings:
Chicken breast, poached and shredded
Shrimp, shelled and cooked
Fried tofu cakes, sliced

Yellow noodles, blanched
Bean sprouts, blanched
Mint leaves
Lime, cut into wedges
Fried Onions

Add ingredient A into a food processor or blender and puree into a paste. Mix curry powder and curry paste into the puree. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large pot. When it's hot, add in cinnamon stick and lemongrass. Fry for a minute. Turn heat to low. Add in the pureed spices and fry until it is fragrant, for about 20 minutes. Make sure you stir constantly or the spice would burn. Add in water, coconut milk and bouillon. Turn the heat back up to high. Cover the pot and let it boil. Turn the heat to medium when soup is in rolling boil. Simmer for about an hour and add salt to taste.

To serve, put enough yellow noodle and bean sprouts in a bowl. Top with toppings of your choice (omit chicken and shrimp for vegetarian option) and mint leaves. Pour enough curry soup into the bowl. Sprinkle some fried onions on top. Serve hot with lime wedges.