I recently discovered rice noodles and have been having great fun with them. I wanted to share what is becoming a standard meal for me - nutritious because it’s made with fresh vegetables and balanced because it contains a starch, vegetables and a protein.
Rice noodles a la maison du loupe et tortue
3 oz rice noodles - the very thin (“vermicelli”) kind.
1/2 c sliced mushrooms
2 or 3 scallions, chopped - use everything but the very bottom of the bulb
1 c bean sprouts - mung bean sprouts, these are awesome
3 oz cooked meat (chicken, beef, pork, turkey, ham) - chopped or shredded
Olive oil
Soy or Hoisin Sauce
Sesame oil
Ginger
Garlic
Boiling water
Dry rice noodles
Place the rice noodles in a heat-proof bowl. These noodles come in a 17 oz package (in my market), just wrapped in cellophane and they look as though a looooooooooooong stretch of noodles has just been folded back and forth. Just break off one or two of the folded sections. Twist in your hands (as though you were wringing out a washcloth) to break in half and place in your serving bowl. This stuff does “shed” a little because it is fairly brittle but if you’re careful you can keep the mess to a minimum and it’s easy to sweep up anyway :) Set the noodles aside for now.
Turn on your water (to bring it to the boil).
Bean sprouts, green onions, mushrooms and turkey
In a second bowl, combine your meat and vegetables. The stuff pictured above is simply what I have on hand. You can - and should - use anything that strikes your fancy :)
Hoisin sauce and Sesame oil
Okay, add a tablespoon or so (again, use whatever amount makes you happy) of soy sauce or a couple tablespoons of Hoisin sauce, a few splashes of sesame oil and about a tablespoon of olive oil to your vegetable/meat mixture. Add garlic and ginger (fresh if you have it, powdered if you don’t) to taste. Finally, grind the pepper mill over it a few times. Put it in the microwave, cover with a paper towel and nuke it for two minutes. Stir things around and nuke for another minute.
Cooking the noodles
When the water boils, pour it over the noodles. Cover the bowl gently, that is you don’t want an air-tight seal here :). The bowl I used has a lid as it was part of a storage set originally and I just lay that over the top. Let sit for a couple of minutes - this doesn’t take much time. Then drain the noodles and return to your bowl.
Pour your vegetables and their accumulated broth over the noodles.
Ready to serve
And there you go :) Including vegetable prep, it takes only about 10 minutes. I make no bones about the lack of any authenticity at all regarding this recipe :) It’s just something that works for me, that’s inexpensive, easy and slightly exotic and I wanted to share.
Enjoy!
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Oh yum, that sounds so delicious and light and so nearly not cooking that I’m gonna have to try it.
That reminds me to thank you again for sharing your omlette making with us. I can SO make tasty and pretty omlettes now.
Both these recipes will help during the too hot to really cook season.
Aarlene - Glad you’re enjoying the recipes. And I’m really happy that the omelets worked for you because I worried that I hadn’t explained the process clearly enough :)
I was just wondering what to make myself for dinner when I saw this on your blog - I love rice noodles and always have them in the pantry. Yum - now I can’t wait for dinner!
Colette - I’m jusr discovering the yumminess of rice noodles and I expect they’re going to become a standard part of my kitchen stock from now on :)
Yum! Try throwing some mirin in there with the sauce ingredients - you’ll thank me :-)
Kathy - Mirin? Hmmm, let’s see here…ahh! Rice wine! Definitely worth a try. THanks for the suggestion :)
