Slippery Thai Noodles with Seafood

My cooking goals in Newfoundland are to cook as much seafood as possible. With that in mind I went in search of a Thai recipe in Wandee Lee's Simply Thai Cooking. We'd been eating a ton of rice and I figured noodles would be a nice change. There's something really gourmet about rice noodles in this dish, which is hilarious because they're so cheap, and even easier to cook than regular egg-based pasta noodles. Unlike last time I didn't feel like making the noodles from scratch because I like the air-like quality of the rice stick noodles you buy in the store and rehydrate.

The recipe calls for squid, which I love to see in a recipe because it's so affordable and also so delicious when done well. The recipe also calls for shrimp, so you can afford to splurge a bit more on higher quality shrimp since the squid is cheap. I went to look for squid but for reason no one had any that day (like my sea smelts that never came to be). They did have lots of shrimp choice.

Oh! An aside on shrimp: The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is in the course of destroying a lot of shrimp, oyster and fish waters. Some of the best seafood from the US comes from those waters. Now, I don't know how I actually feel about this, because according to my trusted sustainable seafood guide, the only fish they list as sustainable coming from those waters is mackerel. Some types of shrimp and snapper are sort of sustainable, but others are very much not. I'm sure, however, that more than three types of fish are coming from that area. The oysters are listed as fine, but are categorized by region under "worldwide".

So my shrimp choice were the tiny frozen Newfoundland shrimp. I have absolutely no idea if they're sustainable. Almost certainly not since they're from Newfoundland. I won't even get into the latest Newfoundland crab fiasco...there's no end to the trouble, except to say that the fishery has subsequently closed for the season.

Anyway, I bought shrimp, and then I figured Newfoundland was the only place you could buy 'chowder mix' in a supermarket. Pre-cut up pieces of cod, Atlantic salmon and squid mixed with baby shrimp and a few scallops. Anywhere else in the country this would sell for a small fortune. Here it's not bad. It's also certainly not sustainable. Alas...I kind of liked the idea of a few scallops and a few pieces of cod, etc. So I bought some. So much for principles.

8 oz. rice noodles (this is half a normal package. I used the whole package, which meant I ended up with a pretty bland dish. In my family sometimes that's a good thing. So I just added my Guizhou Chile Paste to my plate, sat back and enjoyed the Sizhuan peppercorn high).
1 lb mix of scallops, shrimp, cod and salmon (or choose your favourite fish. Squid is a good choice. The recipe says 8 oz shrimp plus 4 oz squid sliced the squid into 1" rings but that seems huge to me. You could wear that as a gaudy bracelet. Think of it as a Thai chastity belt around your wrist. The smell would ward off unwanted acquaintances)
1 bunch of broccoli
A few leaves of bok choy or pak choi
A handful of snow peas (remove the strings of the peas. I kind of try to peel the edges by breaking off the top and bottom and pulling. You can skip the step but you'll be spitting out a lot of fibres while you eat if you don't. Very unattractive, but this is not a date meal. Especially not with your squid chastity belt and all)
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce (find one without MSG and a million preservatives if you can. Caramel colour? Corn syrup? Really?)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)
1 cup water
fresh cilantro for garnish

The recipe says to soak the noodles in lots of cold water for one hour. Then add them to 3 cups of boiling water for 30 seconds, drain, and add to the stir-fry at the end. Yeah, that didn't work. Maybe I should have cooked it longer than 30 seconds. I definitely should have tested a noodle before draining it. Pasta 101. So my noodles ended up tough. I think pouring boiling water over them instead of cold is another option. Leave them in the water until you need them. You can also make the whole package of noodles and have a very saucy meal by doubling the sauce ingredients. Seems a waste to make this meal and have no leftovers. You'll definitely be craving it the next day.

Prepare all the ingredients before turning on the heat. This recipe goes quick:
Slice the squid and shell the shrimp. Mine came in the mix so they were pre-shelled. I've also seen Thai dishes cooked with the shells on, but, like the peas, it's a nuisance to take them off while you're eating. Your choice. Like cooking chicken with the bone-in, it probably gives more flavour.

Chop the broccoli and tear off the pak choi greens (baby bok choi can be left as is).

Chop the garlic. In a small bowl combine the fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce, water and black pepper.

Dissolve the teaspoon of cornstarch in a tablespoon of water (the recipe says to do this later, but later you're rushed)

Now the fun part. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok on high heat!! I never get to write "high heat". It's kind of the same rush as doing something forbidden. I know, I'm a huge geek. I know.

When the oil starts to smoke, add the garlic and stir frantically for 30 seconds. When it starts to burn, add a tbsp of water. Then add the seafood and cook another 30 seconds. Add another tbsp of water as necessary. Add the broccoli, peas and bok choy and stir for 30 seconds. Add the combined sauce mixture, reduce the heat to medium, and let the mixture cook for 3-4 minutes. This feels so long! Whatever will you do with all the time?

Two things: Put 3 cups of water on to boil for the noodles (unless you soaked them in boiling water. Then they're probably fine). Then stir you cornstarch/water mixture.

Add the cornstarch to the stir-fry and turn the heat to medium-low. It feels like the stir-fry is slowly dying, turning down the heat slowly instead of up. Cook 1-2 minutes until the sauce is thickened a little. Mine didn't thicken so much. Didn't feel like it, I suppose. Remove the stir-fry from the heat. Don't cover! It'll keep cooking the seafood. Over-cooked scallop is not good. Probably it's already over-cooked. If I had sashimi grade salmon I certainly wouldn't even want it cooked all the way through. Next time I think I will cook the fish for the prescribed 30 seconds and then remove the shrimp, scallops, and anything I didn't want to cook through from the pan, while I cook the vegetables and add the sauce. Then I'd put them back in when I added the cornstarch and let them cook for only 2 minutes while the sauce thickened. Yes, that's a better idea.

So now either stick the rice noodles in your separate pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, or until they're tender, or place your pre-tenderized and drained noodles directly onto a serving platter. Pour the contents of the wok straight on top and garnish with some chopped cilantro. Also a dollop of excruciatingly delicious chile paste.