Sweet and Spicy Scallion Noodles

I lead a double life.  In a strange twist of fate, my boyfriend despises Asian food.  Oh well.  Big deal.  Plenty of other cuisines to chose from.  To each his own, right?  Wrong.  I love Asian food.  Sushi, pad Thai, pho, anything that comes out of a wok... bring it on!  Most nights, I come home from work and make something garlicky and Italian that we both enjoy.  Ingredients like soy sauce and sriracha are completely foreign to my usual culinary repertoire.  But when the Asian-food-hater's away... mwahahaha!  I go to the store to buy things like toasted sesame oil, hoisin sauce, and fresh ginger.  Then I come home and I make noodles.  And I eat them with chopsticks.  Oh Asian-inspired food-bliss! 

The other night, the Asian-food-hater was getting wings when the craving for noodles happened to strike.  I wasn't feeling peanut noodles, nor did I feel like picking up my favorite spicy Thai basil chow fuun, so I decided to improvise.  And what I came up with was a sweet, savory, slightly spicy, scallion-studded masterpiece.  Authentic?  Probably not.  (In fact, I even used ground ginger because I didn't have any fresh.)  Delicious?  You betcha.  And oh-so-easy to whip up.  I added some shrimp that I tossed in a tablespoon or so of the sauce and sauteed in some sesame oil.  Because one should have some protein with one's enormous bowl of noodles... I suppose.  I suppose you could also add some julienned veggies like carrots and cucumbers or bean sprouts, if you're into that sort of thing :) 

Sweet and Spicy Scallion Noodles

(I'm not going to speculate on the number of servings here.  No judgment.)

2 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP sesame oil

2 tsp. ground ginger
1 TBSP sriracha

2 TBSP soy sauce

2 TBSP rice wine vinegar

2 TBSP honey

3 scallions, light and dark green parts finely chopped (save a handful for sprinkling on top)

8 oz. noodles of your choosing (I used some curly ramen noodles)

Protein of your choosing (optional)

Veggies of your choosing (optional)

Whisk together the first 7 ingredients until a thick sauce forms (I used an immersion blender - worked like a charm).  Boil a large pot of water and cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package (ramen noodles only take about 3 minutes).  Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl.  Toss the hot pasta with the sauce and the scallions.  Add protein and veggies, as desired. 

Asian Noodle Craving - satisfied!