So, how do I make noodles?
June 24, 2015 8:00 AM Subscribe
I've been stumped by noodles for a long time. I would really like to be able to look in my fridge, see I have extra veggies and some noodles and whip up a delicious, saucey, noodle dish... I love peanut butter, scallions, soy sauce, curries etc. But I have no idea how to put it all together, can you help? Extra points if you know how to work with Konjak noodles as we have 4 packs in the fridge!
I make this Asian Peanut Noodles recipe pretty often from Skinny Taste, but with whatever veggies I have.
posted by slipthought at 8:21 AM on June 24, 2015
posted by slipthought at 8:21 AM on June 24, 2015
We remake variations on this Blue Apron cold ramen recipe routinely, with whatever's in the fridge (and I like a little broth so I make some with Better Than Bouillon, though if you had dashi powder that would work as well).
I also put a little peanut sauce over the whole thing, in a complete perversion of ramen sensibilities. (Fancier tasty Thai-style peanut sauce or quick peanut sauce. Or a bottle from the store.)
There are plenty of instructions online for prepping konjac noodles; I prefer a quick boil or even pan fry to get the odd scent off them, but you have to remember to do that ahead if you want cold noodles.
I like to use a spiralizer to make cucumber noodles when I make these noodle dishes, though matchsticks work too.
For more inspiration, see Serious Eats's ramen hacks.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:35 AM on June 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I also put a little peanut sauce over the whole thing, in a complete perversion of ramen sensibilities. (Fancier tasty Thai-style peanut sauce or quick peanut sauce. Or a bottle from the store.)
There are plenty of instructions online for prepping konjac noodles; I prefer a quick boil or even pan fry to get the odd scent off them, but you have to remember to do that ahead if you want cold noodles.
I like to use a spiralizer to make cucumber noodles when I make these noodle dishes, though matchsticks work too.
For more inspiration, see Serious Eats's ramen hacks.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:35 AM on June 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
This recipe for Asian Chicken Noodle Salad with Ginger-Peanut Dressing kind of made things click for me, for some reason. I've been leaving out the peanuts and adding additional vegetables (edamame, broccoli). I've also been adding sri racha to the dressing.
posted by jaguar at 8:39 AM on June 24, 2015
posted by jaguar at 8:39 AM on June 24, 2015
Thanks so far! Out of curiosity, can you just warm up cold noodle salads if you prefer warm noodle dishes?
posted by catspajammies at 8:48 AM on June 24, 2015
posted by catspajammies at 8:48 AM on June 24, 2015
Thanks so far! Out of curiosity, can you just warm up cold noodle salads if you prefer warm noodle dishes?
You can. But if you're doing that, you might want to omit things that generally don't heat well (lettuce or cucumber, for example), or add those after heating it up as a final garnish so they stay crunchy and don't get slimy and gross.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:05 AM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can. But if you're doing that, you might want to omit things that generally don't heat well (lettuce or cucumber, for example), or add those after heating it up as a final garnish so they stay crunchy and don't get slimy and gross.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:05 AM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Like mandolin conspiracy says, just consider your ingredients, though most will be fine. Cucumbers are actually fine hot (there's a recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking that braises them for like 90 minutes, and they are a staple in many noodle dishes, but they are odd the first time you have them hot), and I will often use kale/spinach/chard in a hot bowl where I wouldn't in a cold bowl because they're too drippy. Ditto soft-boiled eggs, I only want hard-boiled in a cold bowl but soft or poached in a hot one.
I'm just all about cold noodles right now because it gets so stupid hot in my kitchen in the afternoons.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:12 AM on June 24, 2015
I'm just all about cold noodles right now because it gets so stupid hot in my kitchen in the afternoons.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:12 AM on June 24, 2015
I will now share the recipe I invented for "Spring Roll Noodle Salad," which uses the ingredients of vietnamese spring rolls to make a noodle salad.
Noodle salad:
cooked rice noodles
shredded cucumber
shredded carrot
chopped green onion/scallions
optional other veggies: lettuce, bell pepper, whatever you want
chopped basil
chopped mint
chopped cilantro - use generous amounts of herbs
Protein:
fried tofu or cooked shrimp or chicken
Sauce:
peanut butter
hoisin sauce
sriracha
peanut oil
rice vinegar
chopped/crushed peanuts
1. Mix salad ingredients together in a big bowl. Add protein.
2. Mix sauce ingredients very thoroughly in a separate bowl. I recommend natural peanut butter rather than hydrogenated. Make more sauce than you think you need. The ingredient ratios are to taste, but it's basically equal parts peanut butter and hoisin with a generous squirt of sriracha, then you thin it with the oil and vinegar. You can add water if it's still too thick.
3. Dress the salad generously with the sauce. Can serve at room temperature or cold.
posted by mai at 9:50 AM on June 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
Noodle salad:
cooked rice noodles
shredded cucumber
shredded carrot
chopped green onion/scallions
optional other veggies: lettuce, bell pepper, whatever you want
chopped basil
chopped mint
chopped cilantro - use generous amounts of herbs
Protein:
fried tofu or cooked shrimp or chicken
Sauce:
peanut butter
hoisin sauce
sriracha
peanut oil
rice vinegar
chopped/crushed peanuts
1. Mix salad ingredients together in a big bowl. Add protein.
2. Mix sauce ingredients very thoroughly in a separate bowl. I recommend natural peanut butter rather than hydrogenated. Make more sauce than you think you need. The ingredient ratios are to taste, but it's basically equal parts peanut butter and hoisin with a generous squirt of sriracha, then you thin it with the oil and vinegar. You can add water if it's still too thick.
3. Dress the salad generously with the sauce. Can serve at room temperature or cold.
posted by mai at 9:50 AM on June 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
Two recipes that I love:
http://pinchofyum.com/black-pepper-stir-fried-noodles
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9558-takeout-style-sesame-noodles
Do you like tofu? Do you know how to cook it? If you don't, you can make it tasty in just a regular frying pan (extra firm tofu): drain the tofu, get a cloth towel and squeeze it hard to get all the liquid out. It's OK if there's still some in there, I'm always lazy. Cut the tofu into cubes or strips, whatever you want. Put maybe 2 tbsp oil in the pan. I like canola oil but sesame, olive, etc works too. Heat the pan (I do about 4.5 / 6 on my stove setting). Put the tofu in and let it cook about 5 min. You can press down on it with a spatula if you want, to squish some more water out, but you don't even have to. Flip them after 5 minutes and do 5 on the other side. Keep flipping them as needed until they're browned and crispy. It's pretty forgiving. Towards the end I often put in some chopped garlic and a little bit of whatever sauce I made, to let it all coat together.
It's really easy once you get used to it, and you can start the tofu cooking and then chop veggies etc.
My wife's favorite dish ever, practically, is when I cut tofu into triangles, and dredge it with a mix of cornstarch and Montreal steak seasoning. Then I pan fry it with broccoli, and noodles.
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:18 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
http://pinchofyum.com/black-pepper-stir-fried-noodles
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9558-takeout-style-sesame-noodles
Do you like tofu? Do you know how to cook it? If you don't, you can make it tasty in just a regular frying pan (extra firm tofu): drain the tofu, get a cloth towel and squeeze it hard to get all the liquid out. It's OK if there's still some in there, I'm always lazy. Cut the tofu into cubes or strips, whatever you want. Put maybe 2 tbsp oil in the pan. I like canola oil but sesame, olive, etc works too. Heat the pan (I do about 4.5 / 6 on my stove setting). Put the tofu in and let it cook about 5 min. You can press down on it with a spatula if you want, to squish some more water out, but you don't even have to. Flip them after 5 minutes and do 5 on the other side. Keep flipping them as needed until they're browned and crispy. It's pretty forgiving. Towards the end I often put in some chopped garlic and a little bit of whatever sauce I made, to let it all coat together.
It's really easy once you get used to it, and you can start the tofu cooking and then chop veggies etc.
My wife's favorite dish ever, practically, is when I cut tofu into triangles, and dredge it with a mix of cornstarch and Montreal steak seasoning. Then I pan fry it with broccoli, and noodles.
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:18 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also in my experience : the sauce is usually very forgiving on trying new things. Just taste as you go.
My sauce " recipe" is usually:
garlic (fresh if I have it, but powdered works when I'm lazy)
sometimes ginger
soy sauce
sriracha
lemon juice or vinegar (rice vinegar is nice if you have it, but even white works)
peanut butter, sometimes
a tiny bit of honey, sugar, maple syrup, something sweet...
and then whatever else grabs you. I've added orange juice before, black pepper, coconut milk, cinnamon...
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:27 PM on June 24, 2015
My sauce " recipe" is usually:
garlic (fresh if I have it, but powdered works when I'm lazy)
sometimes ginger
soy sauce
sriracha
lemon juice or vinegar (rice vinegar is nice if you have it, but even white works)
peanut butter, sometimes
a tiny bit of honey, sugar, maple syrup, something sweet...
and then whatever else grabs you. I've added orange juice before, black pepper, coconut milk, cinnamon...
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:27 PM on June 24, 2015
Konjac noodles really benefit from being very thoroughly rinsed and then microwaved or sauteed for a minute or two. They can have a funky smell/flavor right out of the bag, but it disappears with rinsing and some high heat.
posted by quince at 1:20 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by quince at 1:20 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fuchsia Dunlop's Emergency Midnight Noodles!!! We make these whenever we need an instant dinner and/or haven't gotten around to grocery shopping. All you do is boil the Chinese dried wheat spaghetti-like noodles, splash them with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and chili oil, and top with a fried egg. You can add veggies too if you want. Easy and SOOO good.
posted by ellebeejay at 5:40 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ellebeejay at 5:40 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thing that's not obvious till you try it is that thin rice stick noodles hardly need any cooking and don't need to be pre-boiled. So you can stir-fry up whatever mixture of veg, meat and flavourings you like, chuck in a nest of rice noodles, and pop the lid on the wok for a couple of minutes. The steam and residual liquid in the food are enough. Then take the lid off and mix everything together. If you can get good organic eggs, stir-fry in a couple of lightly beaten eggs and a shot of soy sauce, top it off with a handful of chopped scallion or peanut bits, and voilà. I'm getting hungry.
posted by zadcat at 9:26 PM on June 24, 2015
posted by zadcat at 9:26 PM on June 24, 2015
Response by poster: Thank you everyone! These all sound great! We will be giving them all a try! I could never figure out how to throw a few things together in the kitchen, and these simple recipes and tips were just what I needed!
posted by pairofshades at 1:37 AM on June 26, 2015
posted by pairofshades at 1:37 AM on June 26, 2015
Better late than never...I won't tell you a recipe, but a secret: saute anything in an oil, probably butter or olive oil. It can be chunky veg (bell peppers, broccoli, whatever...should probably include onion) or non-chunky (frozen butternut squash is my personal favorite). You can also put meat or tofu in there.
After you've sauteed the stuff for awhile, add a cup of chicken broth and then something milky (coconut milk, half and half, whatever). After all that gets to the state where you want it, add a thickening agent (a tablespoon of corn starch or, my preference, flour mixed with a half cup of water). Let it simmer a few more minutes to thicken.
Along the way, add whatever spices you want. This could be anything from grated cheese to red curry, depending on your ultimate goal.
Pour the whole thing over noodles (or rice). You got yourself a savory, delicious sauce.
posted by nosila at 2:08 PM on July 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
After you've sauteed the stuff for awhile, add a cup of chicken broth and then something milky (coconut milk, half and half, whatever). After all that gets to the state where you want it, add a thickening agent (a tablespoon of corn starch or, my preference, flour mixed with a half cup of water). Let it simmer a few more minutes to thicken.
Along the way, add whatever spices you want. This could be anything from grated cheese to red curry, depending on your ultimate goal.
Pour the whole thing over noodles (or rice). You got yourself a savory, delicious sauce.
posted by nosila at 2:08 PM on July 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Corresponding recipe: “Sichuan Shirataki Sesame Noodle Salad With Cucumber, Sichuan Peppercorn, Chili Oil, and Peanuts (Vegan)”
posted by Maecenas at 8:06 AM on June 24, 2015 [6 favorites]