Crustacean

crus·ta·cean   
[kruh-stey-shuhn]
–noun
Any chiefly aquatic arthropod of the class Crustacea, typically having the body covered with a hard shell or crust, including the lobsters, shrimps, crabs, barnacles, and wood lice.

That is a crustacean. But I'm not talking about the sea creature. I'm talking about the restaurant. I first heard about Crustacean a few years ago from my mom. I heard about it again just a few months ago on the Food Network show Best Thing I Ever Ate. Duff from Ace of Cakes was talking about the garlic noodles at Crustacean in Beverly Hills. They looked delicious. Garlic and noodles, two of my favorite things in the entire world. I heard about Crustaean yet again a few weeks ago when I found out one of JC's friends works at the restaurant.

JC and I are taking a trip to San Francisco in May for the Nutrition and Health Conference sponsored by the College of Medicine and the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. I went to the conference last year when it was in Atlanta. Hands down my favorite conference of the entire year. I am so excited to go in May, especially because it is in San Francisco. Health, integrative medicine, nutrition, San Francisco...who could ask for a better conference?

Back to Crustacean. I was talking to my mom about how excited I am go try these "famous garlic noodles." She said she had a recipe from my uncle on how to make these noodles and emailed it to me. It is so incredibly simple. I need to preface this with I have never tried these garlic nodes, but if they are anything like this recipe, they must be amazing.

The only thing that really makes these noodles somewhat asian is the addition of oyster sauce. Everything else is pretty generic. I did use my special Chinese chicken soup base. I have no idea what this stuff is called, but my grandma fondly refers to it as simply "chicken in an apron". You can get these chicken granules at any Asian grocery store, I like 17th street market just because it is close by. I don't know what they put into these little yellow granules of yum, but they definitely know what they are doing. This soup base is so versatile. I use it for soups, pastas, and anything you need a little chicken broth for. Pick up a jar of this, you won't regret it.

Also, I used linguine pasta because I didn't have any sort of asian noodle on hand. I'm sure these would taste spectacular with a hand-pulled noddle from China Magic Noodle House. The type of noodle can really make or break a dish. Just like if your pasta is served too al dente or overcooked, the dish is totally ruined. With this dish, a great noodle paired with a delicious sauce is pure bliss.

So here is the famous An family garlic noodle recipe. I am excited to try the real thing soon. If you have tried them, let me know how the recipe compares. They don't look like much in the picture, but I promise, these won't dissappoint.

Garlic Noodles
adapted from Rasa Malaysia

• 1 lb fresh noodles (or pasta)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic (pounded)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder (I use "chicken in an apron")
• 2 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 5 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

Heat up a pot of water and let it boil. Boil the noodles in the hot water until they are done, drain the water, and set aside to cool down the noodles.

In a pan, saute the garlic with the olive oil in medium heat. The purpose is to infuse the olive oil with garlicky flavor. Discard the garlic and then add in 4 tablespoons of butter and turn the heat to low. Add in the chicken bouillon powder, garlic powder, oyster sauce and blend well.

Pour the garlic mixture over the noodles and toss them together to blend well. Add in the grated parmesan cheese, toss well, and serve immediately.