Felt sick today and didn't do any grocery shopping. Just used what I had at home... this is what I came up with!

Serves 2 with no leftovers!

-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
-about 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root.
-handfull of baby carrots, sliced in 4 lenghtwise.
-1 bunch of scallions, sliced fine and separated in 2 piles (white parts and green parts)
-1 can baby corn
-1 pkg frozen baby scallops
-1 bunch of bean sprouts
-fresh corriander roots, chopped fine.
-4 or 5 dried shitake mushrooms, sliced thin and soaked in warm water.
-Fresh corriander leaves
-1 tbsp light soya sauce (I used ginger soya sauce)
-splash of roasted sesame oil
-1 tsp olive oil
-black pepper
-goat cheddar for topping

-fresh egg noodles, size of spagettini (the ones I had were home made by my mom, but you can also use store bought dried egg noodles, or soba noodles would also be good). Use enough noodles for 2, usually about an inch and a half in diameter.

In a large pot of water, add some salt and olive oil, bring to a boil.

Meanwhile in a large frying pan on high heat, add you sesame and olive oil. Let heat and add garlic, ginger, the white parts of the onions, corriander root, and baby carrots. Saute for 2-3 minutes, drain mushrooms and conserve the water, set it aside. Add frozen scallops directly from package (this will make some water in the pan which you want for sauce). Add the soya sauce, and saute for another 5 minutes. Add black pepper.

By this time your water should be boiling so add your pasta, and cook according to package directions.

Add the baby corns to the pan, saute enough to heat through but stay crispy. At the last minute, add the bean sprouts and saute for about 45 seconds just to lightly heat them through. If there is not enough water in the pan for sauce, you can add the conserved mushroom water by spoonfulls to your own liking.

Drain the pasta, and set it in the bottom of the dish. Place the scallop mixture on top and garnish with fresh corriander leaves, the green parts of the scallions, and some shavings of the goat cheddar.

Enjoy!
*** this meal is Jeff approved! ***

The people of Suzhou are such connoisseurs of fish and shellfish due to the beautiful (and abundently fruitful) Tai Lake that many here can discern just from the soup or sauce that the fish has been cooked with/in whether the fish was alive or had been dead previous to preparation! Frozen fish and shellfish here is an insult. Note: This "lou yu" was EXTREMELY fresh - it almost still looks alive on the platter! While I'm not a high connoisseur, I can tell you that the meat was so tender that there's no way the fish had been frozen. I also highly doubt that the fish had been dead for more than an hour before preparation - judging by the juicy eye I popped in my mouth and the wonderful flesh. The fish had NO fishy or muddy taste - extremely clean. It also had very little pin bones to meddle with. The scallion-ginger soy sauce added just the right complimentary flavor - not overpowering. PERFECT.