Since choosing to try out the “gluten free” fad in order to stay healthy and fit… it has really limited my choices when we eat at a chinese food restaurant. Luckily I am not gluten “intolerant”, and I do not have celiacs disease. I cannot imagine how hard that would be!! It’s mainly a choice and I do have a bit of cheats here and there. One thing I learned is that there is wheat in some soy sauce! I also learned that some chinese restaurants do use flour to thicken some of their sauces! With trying to be “good” on my diet I was pretty choosy about what I would order. I have found a new favorite though!! Mei Fun!! It is similar to chow mein, but it is made with gluten free rice noodles and loaded with yummy vegetables! It’s actually one of the less expensive dishes on the menu as well! WIN! Like anything though, I like to attempt to make it at home to see if I can do it. Always worth trying I say! (By the way… I did attempt egg drop soup for my husband. I’ve been told to stop trying, it’s not good when I make it. HAHAHAHAHA! So… I can NOT make egg drop soup. If anyone has a tried and true recipe without any food dyes, etc. please let me know.)

Ingredients:

1. 3 TB olive oil
2. 1/2 pound medium/jumbo shrimp
3. 3-4 oz. sliced deli ham chopped
4. 1/2 green bell pepper diced
5. 1 tsp minced garlic
6. 1 small zucchini sliced thin and cut up
7. 5-6 baby carrots julienned (you can also use 1-2 large carrots)
8. 8.2 oz. rice noodles (I used these: Vermicelli Rice Noodles), soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to an hour (use kitchen shears to cut the noodles to about a 10-inch length so they don’t bunch up when stir-frying)
9. 1 tsp garlic powder
10. 1   – 2 TB dry white wine
11. 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
12. 1 teaspoon soy sauce (gluten free options available, or try Aminos!!)
13. 2 tsp sesame oil
14. 1/2 cup frozen peas
15. 1 cup frozen french green beans cut to shorter bite size pieces
16. 1/4 sweet yellow onion diced
17. Salt and pepper to taste

****Be sure to start soaking the noodles about an hour before you’re ready to start preparing the rest of the dish.

1. Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F. At the same time, place your noodles in a large bowl of warm water and soak.
2. Place 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp on lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt and pepper. Bake for 12-15 min from frozen.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in your wok until it just starts to smoke. Add the ham and stir-fry for about 20 seconds. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper,  carrots, green beans and zucchini and stir-fry for another minute. The heat should still be high, and you should be stirring constantly. You want enough sizzle to produce that “wok hay” (literally translated to: ‘breath of the wok’) flavor. (this description taken from : Mei Fun Noodles )
4. Add the soaked noodles and give everything a good stir. Toss in the shrimp and stir-fry until the noodles are heated through–about 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the dry white wine, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well. If your noodles begin to stick, the skillet is probably not hot enough. Just use your spatula and make sure to scrape anything off the bottom of the wok so it doesn’t burn!
6. Finish with the frozen peas. I toss them in to JUST barely heat them so they will “pop” when you bite into the baby peas. Serve! If you want a bit of spice, you can add sriracha or some pepper flakes to the top.

This will possibly be replacing my take-out! It was SOOO good!!!

If you find yourself craving some take-out, but want to be a bit careful, give this one  a try! It’s delicious, not greasy, gluten-free and you’ll want it over and over again!

And now, for the song of the day: