Chinese Style Noodles with Ground Lamb and Bok Choy

Ingredients

• 4 - 6 ounces wide pasta, such a tagliatelle or fettuccine, cooked according to package directions, drained and set-aside or rice noodles prepared according to directions (can do this part while you are doing the other part, then your pasta will stay hot)
• 3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine, or saki. (I used saki as that is what I had)
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (I can’t see any reason ever to use full salted soy sauce, low-sodium has plenty)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (I keep mine in the refrigerator so it stays fresh, as this, and other nut oils, turn rancid easily)
• 1/2 pound ground lamb
• 4 cloves (about 2 teaspoons) minced garlic, divided
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (found in almost every supermarket now, or your specialty Asian store)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 6 baby bok choy, trimmed, large outer leaves removed, small tender inside core cut into halves, rinsed well (you can use larger bok choy, if you need to, separate all the leaves, remove the tender top leaves from the stems and then slice the stems into 1 – 2 inch pieces)
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or other vegetable oil, but I always use grapeseed)
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 4 green onions, sliced about 1/2 inch thick, part of the tops reserved for garnish

Method

Step 1

Combine the rice wine, sesame oil, and soy sauce into a measuring cup. Put the lamb into a bowl, add 1/2 of the rice wine mixture and 1/2 of the minced garlic. Mix well.

Step 2

Add the water, chili garlic sauce and cornstarch to the remaining rice wine mixture, mix well and set aside.

Step 3

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat; add 1 tablespoon of the oil, when hot, add the lamb and cook for about 3 minutes, breaking the meat up into large pieces as you cook it (the meat pieces should be about 1/2 inch big).

Step 4

Reduce the heat to medium; add the remaining tablespoon of oil along with the remaining garlic, the ginger and the green onion (except for the part that you are reserving for garnish); stir-fry for a few minutes, then add the bok choy. Cook until the bok choy is just cooked through, but still has a little bit of crunch in the stem; about 3 minutes. (If you had to use larger bok choy, add the stem pieces first, stir fry until tender then add the tops.) Add the noodles to the pan, along with the reserved rice wine mixture; stir-fry until the noodles are hot and coated with sauce.

Step 5

Serve in wide warmed bowls (remember to always warm you plates so the food stays hot longer); sprinkle the reserved green onion tops over.