vegetables & noodles w/ homemade teriyaki sauce

Before this dish, I hadn't done any East Asian inspired recipes, and I was seriously craving a great bowl of noodles.  Sometimes these local restaurants just don't hit the spot.

I had to get creative with this recipe since rice wine/mirin was not readily available nearby.  I talked to the guy at a local wines & spirits store - I swear he knows EVERYTHING - and we found a way to use sake and just add sugar to act as rice wine.

It worked, because this recipe was delicious -- and nutritious! 

Ingredients

Sauce: 

2/3 cup sake

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup good soy sauce (get something with reduced sodium if needed)

2 tbsps. hoisin sauce

1 1/2 inches ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. red chili pepper flakes, crushed

3 scallions, chopped

Vegetables & noodles:

Wholesome angel hair pasta or rice noodles

1 green pepper, chopped once width wise and thinly sliced

3 carrots, julienned

1/2 cabbage, chopped

How I did it

In a small saucepan, heat up sake, sugar, and soy sauce on medium flame.  After a couple of minutes, add the ginger, garlic, scallions and red chili pepper flakes.  Stir occasionally, let it come to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Whisk in hoisin sauce.  Let it thicken, about 10-15 minutes.

Heat three tbsps. olive oil over medium-high fire with a pinch of black pepper.  Cook green pepper for 4-5 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep covered, and remove the water from lid of the pan each time the lid is lifted off (keeps them crisp! a tip from Mom).   Add carrots, cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add cabbage, cook for 4-5 minutes (or however long it takes to soften), stirring occasionally.  Add about 3/4 of the sauce, stir, then add noodles and scallions.  Heat for about 2-3 minutes and stir well.  Keep the remainder of the sauce on the side - it will thicken as it cools, and people can add more to their noodles if they want it.

I enjoyed it with a Sake Screwdriver since we had Sake leftover, and my family: great company.  Tell me what you think in the comments below - and also your experience if you tried the recipe!

[Update: I gave the noodles a *light* drizzle of ketchup the next time I ate it...it was so yummy!]