As mentioned, a couple weeks ago I made my way to Blue Dragon with Rae & Becca. The three of us were sitting there trying to dissect each ingredient in our delicious noodle bowls. I hadn't cooked an Asian meal in a reallllly long time so I decided that I'd give it a whirl the following Friday night. We knew we tasted chives, garlic, definitely some chili oil, vinegar, and ginger. I picked up what I already didn't own and also some pine nuts and a red curry paste. Figured it wouldn't hurt...

I told Rob... "I have no idea how this is going to come out... be warned"... he assured me he was confident (so nice). Anyway, so I chopped up a couple cloves of garlic, the chives, pea pods, and grated ginger.

In a separate pan - I quickly toasted the pine nuts to bring out the flavor. Then, I started sauteing all of the ingredients:

- Couple cloves of garlic
- Chopped chives
- Crushed red pepper
- Tsp of chili paste
- Grated ginger
- Rice vinegar (I just kept adding it and letting it burn off)
- Pea pods
- Walnut oil

Then, I boiled the shrimp separately (next time I'll just toss them right in this pan).

I boiled the pasta in salted water (I used papardelle noodles because I had them in my cabinet - an Asian noodle would make more sense, but, these were delish).

Separately, I made the deviled eggs as snack. You can find my simple recipe for them here.

Finally, I tossed it all together and served it. I must admit that I kind of nailed it. The flavors were so powerful and tasty. I love experimenting in the kitchen and this was one of my most favorite experiments in a long time. A long time ago, I learned that tasting the food while you cook is essential for any meal you put together. I don't think there is much better advice. You don't need recipes... do what works for you!

Question of the day! What have you made recently that surprised you?

Hope you're all having a great week! xo