Spicy Mandarin Noodles

Submitted by ChefLee

"I created this for the Dining on a Dollar cooking contest, November 2008. Since the contest was a penny-pinching contest, I did not use meat or very many exotic ingredients. Just basics you might have around the house. I did not waste or throw anything away, all of the juice from the oranges is used as well as the sauce packet from the ramen noodles. The ramen sit in a marinade before they are cooked so this softens the noodles and as they sit, the starch from the noodles thickens the sauce so be sure and let them sit for at least the 45 minutes. Then the noodles cook in their marinade giving them a spicy orange flavor. I hope you like them!"

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Serves: 2

ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, undrained
• 2 teaspoons sambal oelek
• 1 (3 ounce) package oriental-flavor instant ramen noodles, with seasoning packet
• 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 (8 ounce) can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• 2 green onions, chopped (scallions)
• 1⁄2 cup dry roasted salted peanut

directions

1. In a food processor or blender; pour in the oranges with their juice, sambal, vinegar, and the seasoning packet for the ramen noodles. Mix together until the oranges are finely chopped into a sauce.
2. In a large bowl; put the ramen noodles and drained bamboo shoots. Pour the orange mixture over them to cover.
3. Let the noodles soak for 45 minutes to an hour until they absorb lots of the liquid and get soft.
4. Heat the noodles and shoots with the orange marinade in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the sauce bubbles.
5. Top with green onions and peanuts then serve.

Reviews

[Thea]

Wow! This was great! I had the same problem as Bethany in that I wasn't able to make this when I wanted so left them sit for hours! I added a few diced carrots that I needed to use and 1 tsp minced garlic in a pan sprayed with pam. Also some peas. I didn't have peanuts so used cashews instead...WOW again! Oh...didn't use bamboo shoots as we don't care for them. This was really terrific and so easy to make. Will be making this again for sure! Thanks for a great recipe!!

 

[Karen Elizabeth]

So interesting! I should have made twice the amount, because the youngsters were home, with a friend, and everyone wanted to try some! I like the suggestion of adding red bellpepper, or even green, this is a very versatile recipe, I'll be making it again and experimenting, but this time I stuck to the directions for an easy, interesting and tasty dish! Oh, didn't use the bamboo shoots, that was the only change!

 

[BETHANY T.]

I loved this recipe! I didn't have time to cook the dish right away, so the noodles sat in the liquid for most of the day. The ramen soaked up almost all of the sauce. I added a couple of very thinly sliced mushrooms and the scallions to a hot pan with a little olive oil. I stirfried for a minute then added the noodles, a minute later, the peanuts. The flavor was pretty good at first. Then I left it sitting in the pan for an hour or so, came back and tasted it later and WOW!!! So AWESOME! The flavors really came to life! So in the future, I would plan on serving this at room tempurature. I really didn't care for the bamboo shoots in this recipe, next time I will leave them out and use maybe water chestnuts instead. Also, some julienned red bell pepper would be nice in this dish, just to add a little color and to add to the sweetness. Spicy and sweet is my favorite flavcr combo, and this one hits the spot!

 

[Susie D]

I was intrigued by this recipe when I saw the ramen was soaked in a cold marinade. It really did work and imparted a nice color & flavor to both the noodles & shoots. When I was ready to cook I had lots of liquid in the bowl so decided to stir in 1 t cornstarch thinking to turn it into a sauce instead of pouring it down the drain. I ended up with a brightly colored & appealing noodle dish. The sauce thickened nicely. I did stir fry 1/2 of a green pepper, 2 seeded & julienned jalapenos, a half of a carrot to add to the dish, but one really could use anything. This was pretty, very inexpensive, used pantry staples, & easy enough for a very quick lunch. Next time I might use half orange juice instead of all of the liquid in the can for a more pronunced orange flavor. Good luck in the contest!