Chap Chae

Today it was sunny and reached 68 degrees. The couple of inches of snow which were on the ground early this morning were almost melted by afternoon. And a soft breeze, to boot-- what a day. Except to open the door to let Spooky out (and in, and out, and in,…) I hadn’t been outdoors since my doctor’s appointment at the end of January. I’m now walking, in my own way, and I was not going to be cooped up indoors. I slid a boot onto my good foot, tied a plastic bag over my aircast, and lurched outside. I hung laundry on the line, walked to the barn and back with Spooky, and generally soaked up the promise of spring. It was glorious. March. The month that the clocks are set ahead to give us another hour of daylight, the month that spring “officially” begins, the month of an early Easter this year. Any snowstorms this month will be relatively short-lived because the earth is tilting closer toward the sun and the atmosphere is warming more every day. I (heart) March!

Of course, this evening my poor broken foot is swollen and propped up on a pillow. I guess I spent too much time on it today, being unaccustomed to walking much at all for the last few weeks. But it was worth it. Oh yes, it was! :)

For dinner Jack requested some type of a stir-fry. I had a sudden yearn for rice noodles, so I made a Korean dish called Chap Chae. It is traditionally made with ground pork, or even beef, but since we eat neither of those I used ground turkey. I also add more of a variety of vegetables that I have found in other recipes, and the result is a really delicious combination of ground meat, veggies, and chopped rice noodles in a fragrant, peppery sauce. It comes together very quickly once the noodles, vegetables, and sauce are prepared.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chap Chae

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

--------- ---------- ---------------------------------------

8 ounces wide rice noodles

1 tablespoon canola oil

8 ounces ground turkey

1 small onion -- diced

2 medium carrots -- very thinly julienned

2 large garlic cloves -- minced

1 small bell pepper -- thinly sliced

8 large white mushrooms -- thinly sliced

6 ounces fresh spinach -- roughly sliced; or whole baby spinach leaves

1/3 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

In a pot of boiling water, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain; pour into a large bowl of cold water. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients (chicken broth through black pepper). Set aside but keep the spoon in the bowl to stir this mixture before adding to the wok.

Drain the noodles, shake the colander a bit to remove excess water, then dump onto a large cutting board.

Using a large knife cut the pile of noodles three or four times lengthwise, then crosswise once or twice. Replace in colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Heat a wok over a high flame, then drizzle in the canola oil. Add ground turkey, stirring and chopping to break it up into small bits, and cook until it starts to brown. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic and stir for a minute. Add the bell pepper, stir for 2 minutes, and then the mushrooms for a minute. Add the spinach and stir for two minutes. If the mixture begins to stick, you can either drizzle a little more oil around the perimeter or just keep stirring.

Give the sauce ingredients a good stir incorporate the cornstarch (which will have settled to the bottom). Add to the wok, stir to mix well and, when the mixture begins to thicken, add the noodles. Stir and cook for a minute to warm the noodles through. Toss in the sesame seeds.

Serve.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per serving: 240 Calories (kcal); 13g Total Fat (2g saturated fat); (48% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 45mg Cholesterol; 465mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 12 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates