Recipes

[DiAnne]

RespectLife - Sorry I did not notice your question. I think black vinegar smells very much like Worcestershire sauce so that may be a good substitute.

I have no suggestions on the dark soy sauce. I think WenGirl 42 suggestions are great to try. Sometimes you can find dark soy sauce in small bottles.

Let me know if you like the recipe. It is always nice to have feedback. I have a good eggplant recipe with Hoisin if you open that!

[RespectLife]

Thanks DiAnne! Worcestershire is a really great suggestion too! That I always have. My Wegmans is very small and has limited availability sometimes on 'International' items. If I can find the dark soy...maybe I will get it anyways.

Funny...yesty I was saying I wanted to switch to Asian flavors...the Wegmans mag came...Asian edition! LOL Haven't read it yet...but they usually have some good recipes.

Sooner or later I better open that Hoisin sauce! I think I got it for a recipe posted by Carol1229 or Lilbitmisty...now the recipe is in a giant notebook and I can't find it! I know I have it though! LOL

BTW-They did have those polentas...easy to find. Didn't get it yet, I didn't have my recipe and couldn't remember what else was in it! But now I know...that one is a go!

[RespectLife]

Hi everyone! I did make this over the weekend and thought I would report back! First, thanks DiAnne....I have had a lot of fun w/ this recipe. And thanks Wengirl also for your most helpful suggestions.

I had no idea what to expect for flavors and we really liked it! DH said it is a keeper! He loves sweet flavors! I love the slight crunch of the bamboo shoots. It was almost like a nutty, sweet taste. I finally got to open that Chinese 5 Spice I got from Penzey's.

I did use the Worcestershire instead of the black vinegar which was not available at my smaller Wegmans.

Darn it all...also not found was the dark soy. So I googled it as WenGirl suggested. Best suggestion was: Molasses, dark brown sugar, water and reg. soy. I didn't have molasses, so I had to use Sorghum instead and slipped in a bit more brown sugar to help w/ the slightly sour taste to Sorghum.

I really wanted to sub the Hoisin Sauce as Wengirl listed but DH totally whines about any heat and I was skiddish since I haven't tasted Hoisin yet. I think I did pretty good w/ the flavors! Guessing, since I have not tasted dark soy. But it was yummy!

I only had 1/2 ground pork and Dang it again....my wegman's doesn't sell ground pork. So I subbed ground turkey for the other 1/2 lb. Don't think I lost anything.

Well yeah for Wegman's, they DID have all kinds of rice noodles! I didn't know what type to try. I went for the flat, linguine type ones. Had a bit of trouble w/ them sticking together. You'd think an Italian would have no problem but somehow I did! They kinda sucked up all my juice. I think next time I would try thinner noodles or maybe even those really curly ones! I may make a double batch of the liquid too so my leftovers would have some.

Thanks for listening! I did have a lot of fun w/ this recipe and can't wait to make it again!

[RocketMom]

Thanks! These recipes sound great and I have some ground pork arriving on Thursday in my PeaPod order. Normally use it for my Pork Bolognese sauce, but ordered extra to have on hand and now I know what some of it is going to be used in, this! Have to hunt down the dark soy and Chinese Black Vinegar, but think the big Woodman's just north of the border by Penzey's will have it. Two for one, I have to go to the bank up there in the next day or two so will get to hit Penzey's and Woodman's! Thanks again.

[Sabatini2]

Thanks, DiAnne! I love pasta dishes, and am always up for a new one. When my kids were little, they loved Asian flavored pasta dishes too, so it would've been nice to have had this one of yours to make for them.

Back when my kids were growing up, they loved a pasta dish made w/ beef broth, oyster sauce & soy sauce, w/ a dash of sugar & sesame oil.

I smiled when I saw Katkitty's Ants Climbing a Tree recipe. My kids were NOT fond of that dish, & still talk about it to this day. It was pretty bad, & even the dog wouldn't eat it. It was probably the fault of the recipe: the one really bad recipe from my Holy Grail at the time: The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. I'm sure kat's recipe is delish, & I might give it a try. I DO love cellophane noodles!

TY again.

[RocketMom]

Thought I would add that while searching for my cider vinegar this weekend (finally found it in the pantry!) I Googled substitutes just in case before I found it and Chinese Black Vinegar came up as a substitute for the cider vinegar, so thought this might be a good substitute in reverse to use cider vinegar in place of the Chinese Black Vinegar. I had just bought a bottle for this recipe and that was much easier to find than the dark soy, which took some searching on the grocery store shelves! This recipe is on my list for dinner this week!

[DiAnne]

On 2/4/2014 RocketMom said:

Thought I would add that while searching for my cider vinegar this weekend (finally found it in the pantry!) I Googled substitutes just in case before I found it and Chinese Black Vinegar came up as a substitute for the cider vinegar, so thought this might be a good substitute in reverse to use cider vinegar in place of the Chinese Black Vinegar. I had just bought a bottle for this recipe and that was much easier to find than the dark soy, which took some searching on the grocery store shelves! This recipe is on my list for dinner this week!

It is a little different - hope you enjoy it!

[RocketMom]

The verdict is in and my family enjoyed this dish, it is a keeper! Thanks again.

[DiAnne]

I glad they liked it and thanks for letting me know!