Copper Well Lane Vegetarian Noodles

From Fuschia Dunlap’s book “The Food of Sichuan.” I tried to make gluten free by using GF ramen noodles. It was delicious but because of the noodles not being in a soup, they were a tad “gluey.” You could just add a bit of water or soy sauce to loosen them.

Ingredients

2 tsp tahini

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp chinian vinegar

4 tbsp chile oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4-1/2 tsp round roasted sichuan pepper

2 tbsp thinly sliced scallion greens

4 tsp finely chopped or crushed garlic

10 oz dried noodles - I used 6 blocks of unseasoned GF ramen

Handful of spinach - optional

For the topping:

3 dried shiitake mushrooms

2 dried chiles

2 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 tsp whole sichuan pepper corn

2 tbsp preserved vegetable (yibin yacai)

2 tsp light soy sauce

1/4 tsp dark soy sauce

What to do

First make topping: Cover the dried shiitake with hot water from kettle and soak 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, snip the dried chiles in half and shake out as many seeds as possible. Heat cooking oil in seasoned woek over medium heat.

Add chiles and stir-fry until they are beginning to darken, then add sichuan pepper and sizzle for a few moments until it smells wonderful, taking care not to let it burn.

After 20 minutes, drain mushrooms then discard stalks and finely chop the caps.

Remove spices with a slotted spoon or fine-mesh strainer and discard.

Add mushrooms to infused oil and stir-fry until fragrant and crisp.

Tip in presrved vegetable and stir-fr briefly. Season with both soy sauces.

Divide tahini and remaining ingredients except noodles and leafy grens between two bowls and mix.

Boil noodles - option add a handful of spinach. After noodles are cooked, drain them then divide between bowls. Top with mushroom mixture and stir well before eating.