Sho Nuff Noodles
Am I the meanest? Sho’nuff!
Am I the prettiest? Sho’nuff!
Am I the baddest mofo low down around this town? Sho’nuff!
Well who am I? Sho’nuff!
Who am I? Sho’nuff!
Oh, hi guys. Don’t worry, I’m not crazy or full of myself. The above is a movie quote. I decided to open up this post with the direct inspiration/reference for this recipe. Kudos/gold stars/props to anybody out there that knows it on their own. You and I would probably be best buddies if we knew each other outside of the blogosphere.
In 1985, record label executive and legend Berry Gordy and the folks at Motown produced a martial arts/musical movie called “The Last Dragon”. Although it wasn’t exactly a critical success at the time of it being made, it is now considered to be a cult classic of Black cinema. And rightly so; it’s one of my favorite films,especially when you’re watching with a crowd of friends who can quote the movie with you.
As it turns out, the film is also well-loved by one of my favorite celebrity chefs, Marcus Samuelsson. I follow him on Pinterest/Twitter and one day I saw a recipe pop up in my feed. It wasn’t just the picture that caught my attention, although that was mouth-watering enough to draw me in. It was also the name that he gave the dish that made me immediately want to look into what I would need to make it. Any “Last Dragon” fan worth their salt knows the name of the antagonist of the plot: Sho Nuff. He’s the kung-fu neighborhood bully who is constantly challenging the protagonist, Leroy Green to a winner-take-all fight. He also travels around with an entourage of people, where he constantly makes them say his name like some kind of a pep rally cheer- hence, the quote.
Once I saw the dish, I knew I had to try it out just to see how Chef Marcus would translate the bold and bodacious personality of the character, into food. It’s not the first dish of his that I’ve tried to interpret and like all the others, this one did not disappoint either.
I will admit however, the one “draw-back” to this recipe is that in order to make it, you will probably need to purchase the majority of the sauce ingredients from an Asian market. If you don’t have one of those, then online ordering is gonna have to be the way to go. To be honest, I’d never heard of some of them before seeing this ingredient list– but I will say that when combined all together, they make a sauce that is friggin DELICIOUS.
So yes, it is worth it.
Another awesome thing about this recipe is that it’s versatile enough for those who are watching their carb-intake to still be able to enjoy it. So to adapt this recipe with my own personal spin, I took the liberty of making this dish with both regular lo mein noodles AND Shiritaki noodles. Both turned out fabulously and I’ve included the preparation directions for both in the recie. Also, because I’m also a carnivore you guys know I had to throw some meat in there for the added protein to make this more of a filling meal and less as an appetizer. Also, I threw in some sesame seeds because…why not?
Should you go the extra mile and make this dish? Sho Nuff.
Happy Fiesta Friday #119 and thanks to our co-hosts Ahila @ A Taste of Sri Lankan Cuisine and Diann @ Of Goats and Greens.
Sho Nuff Noodles
Recipe Adapted from Marcus Samuelsson
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp black bean sauce
- 1 tbsp kecap manis
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 1⁄2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 1⁄2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 1⁄2 tsp yuzu kosho
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1⁄4 tsp ground caraway seeds
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 4 oz shredded cabbage
- 1 baby bok choy, cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 bunch scallions, 3⁄4 cut into 2″ pieces
- 8 oz cooked lo mein noodles (OR 8 oz. Shiritaki noodles, drained; see directions below on how to prepare for this recipe)
- 1-1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced (or any other protein you prefer)
- sesame seeds, optional
Directions
Mix black bean sauce, kecap manis, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, cornstarch, rice vinegar, yuzu, ginger, and caraway in a bowl; set sauce aside.
Heat oil in a 12” wok or nonstick skillet over high; add cabbage, bok choy, and 2” scallions and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
Add noodles and chicken cook one minute more. Add reserved sauce cook 2 minutes. Garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.
*If you’re using Shiritaki noodles: place noodles in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for about 65-70 seconds. The noodles will be ready when the scent of the fluid they’re packaged in is gone. If it’s still there after the first minute, you can heat them for another 60 seconds, which should get the smell out. Use a knife to roughly chop until they’re loose and untangled. From here, they can be prepared in the same way as regular lo mein noodles for this recipe.
Your intro made me laugh, sho nuff, never saw the film but now I must. I’m sure it’s on demand. I also really love Marcus Samuelsson and this noodle recipe sounds and looks delicious, I love the mixture of Asian flavors and was intrigued by the caraway seeds. Really wonderful recipe Jess.
It’s a REALLY funny film Suzanne, and it actually was on Netflix for a while so I’d go and check to see if it’s still there if I were you. Thank you, I was happy after I made this dish 😉
Cute intro – I don’t think I’ve ever seen that movie – but I love it when you’re with a group of people who know movies word-for-word or who can quote it! We know quite a few of those 🙂
Thanks for sharing this on Fiesta Friday 🙂 🙂
I’m one of those people who speak the ‘second language’ of movie quotes for RL conversations. Me and my sisters do that all the time lol Thank you Linda 🙂
We do too Jess! Lots of fun 🙂 🙂
Yum! Looks delicious
Thank you- it is 😉
Love the combination of the different sauces in this noodles. Delicious! Thanks for sharing this at the fiesta, Jess! 🙂
I know it;s a lot, but they all do make a killer sauce. Thank you Ahila!
A dish full of flavor and substance. Love all the different ingredients, this has got to be a winner! Happy Fiesta Friday!
You can’t ever go wrong with Chef Samuelsson, that’s for sure. Thank you Loretta 😀
This looks delicious, Jess ! Even though I have no clue what it taste like (I’ve not heard 3 of those ingredients ) I’m sure I would dig in too, if this was right in front of me 😀
Haha that’s ok Freda, I’d never heard of MOST of the ingredients in the sauce. It was a pretty funny experience of shopping for them in the Asian market where most of the labels are written in complete Chinese and I was trying to determine which ingredient was which. Definitely took me a while to figure it out lol Thank you 🙂
Oh yes! the labels .:D And you still managed to get the right things, Incredible you!!
These noodles look delish! I haven’t heard of some of these ingredients so it’s unique to me but it has me drooling just looking at it.
Thank you Julie! I had to literally Google some of them just so I could see a picture of what I needed to be looking for lol But it was worth it 😉
Lovely looking noodles. I can feel the amazing flavours in it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank YOU Sadia, this dish is a really wonderful treat and it’s worth going the extra mile for the ingredients 😉
Sho nuff, never heard of that movie, but I’ll have to look for it. Those noodles look awesome. And I love shiritaki yam noodles. Cool! And thanks for bringing this to Fiesta Friday!
Please do, it’s a great underrated film even 20 + years later, I never get tired of it. I actually prefer Shiritaki noodles to most regular ones too! I can eat quite a bunch without feeling quite as full, which is always a win for me lol Thank you!
Bookmarking and hoping to make it this week!!! Looks amazing! 😀
Thank you Julianna! I think you’ll REALLY like this dish 😉
This sounds incredible! I love shiratiaki noodles, and I think this is a fantastic use for them.
Thank you! Shiritaki noodles are one of the best things ever invented I think. I’ve used them SO many times for noodle dishes and they’re just fantastic.
Oh my goodness; I couldn’t agree more!! 😁🍜💕
This looks really delicious, Jess! There must be a ton of flavor going on with all those ingredients. It’s kind of fun to go to an Asian market and buy things you’ve never heard of before. I did that when I made an Indian dinner for my son. I had to get help a lot from the manager to find things, but it was so worth it. I bet this recipe is worth it, too, based on how good it looks!
It was worth Shari! I could eat that sauce all on it’s own lol
And YES. I thought I was the only one who just liked going to Asian/foreign markets just for the sake of looking around to see all the different ingredients. It makes me want to buy random ingredients off the shelves then Google recipes later to use them up lol Thank you!