Thai Flavored Noodles

• 2 clumps of mung bean thread (clear thin noodles), about 60 grams/clump
• very hot (or boiling) water
• around 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• around 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced (garlic powder works in a pinch)
• a little white pepper (enough to sprinkle very lightly over the pan once), more to taste
• about 2 Tbsp good quality light soy sauce (more to taste)

Toppings

• 6 or so dried Chinese black mushrooms (loosely fills one of the black mugs in dry form)
• Hot water
• 2-3 squirts of Premium Dark soy sauce
• 1 glug of Shao Xing rice wine
• about 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• a little bit of spinach, cleaned and dried. Probably 1 cup of the bagged pre-washed salad spinach is good. This is more for color than anything else.

Soften noodles in very hot water. Drain. Try not to let them soak much past the point where they're soft since you're going to pan fry them and they just start to fall apart in the pan if they're too soft.

While the noodles are soaking, rinse the mushrooms, put in a mug and fill almost to the brim with hot tap water water. Nuke, covered with a small plate, for about 90 seconds on high. Drain. (You can drain the mushroom water into the noodles but I'm not clear that adds much.) Let mushrooms cool or rinse with cold water to hasten. Slice mushrooms thin (removing the tough stems). Season with the squirts of Dark soy sauce and rice wine. Let sit.

Heat the plain oil over medium heat (not too high or the garlic will burn). Add the garlic and stir fry until at least half of it is golden. Watch carefully and don't let it get dark or black. Add noodles and pan fry about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is easier in a non-stick pan because the noodles tend to stick. Add the sesame seed oil, white pepper, and soy sauce. Taste and see if the salt and spice levels are to your liking. White pepper is pretty spicy. Dump the noodles in a bowl.

Heat the 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms and stir fry about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and saute until it wilts. Dump mushrooms mixture over noodles and serve.

The seasoned noodles (without the topping) makes an excellent addition to filling for Thai Fresh Spring Rolls. If that's what you're doing, skip the mushroom topping steps. I'm not clear how long the noodles actually need to cook. It seems like the super-lazy and fast version of this is to use pre-minced garlic, boiling water to hydrate the noodles, and not even pan fry them...