From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
The clue for me to have avoided this recipe, or at least modify it, was the rice noodles. My previous encounter with rice noodles was a gummy diasaster that was supposed to be Pad Thai. Well tonight was Denise vs. The Rice Noodles: Round II...
I followed the recipe, even taking the extra step of quickly boiling the rice noodles after soaking them, Even though that was deemed not necessary by Mark Bittman, should you find yourself pressed for time. It is most unlike me to not take advantage of a recipe shortcut, but I was that nervous about the rice noodles. I wanted to do it right.
Oh my god what a mess! The rice noodles wouldn't detach from the colander they were soaking in, nor from the tongs I was using to try and coax them out of the colander. Once I had them in the pan, they wouldn't separate, so while the recipe says to stir the damn things until they separate, mine just kept clumping. It felt as if I was making cotton candy (or candy floss, as we say in South Africa) at the fairground. The more I stirred, the more the ball on the end of my spoon seemed to expand. I was left with a 15 pound noodle cake, rather than the almost soupy, slurpable dish I had imagined. I considered making little balls of the stuff and throwing them into hot oil since that seemed to be the only thing to salvage it, but who was I kidding? The kitchen was in a sorry enough state at that point.
I can't wait to see if David eats it. Always a good indicator as to just how bad dinner was.
I'm not suggesting this was the fault of the recipe. Every recipe from this book has been a success. I just think that my version should be called "How to Cook Everything EXCEPT Rice Noodles.
Once upon a time in my dark dark days of what I now fondly refer to as Delop (dating every loser on the planet), I had an awful boyfriend (and I use the term "boyfriend" loosely) who had celiac disease (supposedly), and he would go on and on about how he could only eat rice noodles blah blah blah not regular pasta blah blah, but then could somehow justify eating a slice of pizza and drinking a beer when the mood struck. So. No more rice noodles for me. This seals it.
Here's the recipe:
Curried Rice Noodles with Vegetables
- 12 oz thin or thick rice noodles
- 4 tablespoons peanut or other oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 1 cup roughly chopped onion
- 1/2 cup stemmed, peeled if desired, and roughly chopped red or yellow bell pepper
- 1/2 cup trimmed snow peas(or substitute green peas, thawed if previously frozen)
- 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Curry Powder or Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup chicken, beef or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
- salt (if necessary)
- Minced cilantro for garnish
1. Soak noodles for about 15-30 minutes in very hot water to cover; meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the noodles are soft, cook them in the boiling water for about a minute, just until they have lost their raw taste. Drain thoroughly while you prepare other ingredients.
2. Heat half the oil in a wok, or deep, large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. A minute or so later, when the first wisp of smoke appears, add the garlic and ginger and stir for 10 seconds; add the onion and cook over high heat, stirring, until it begins to soften, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the snow peas and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
3. Turn the heat to medium and sprinkle the vegetables with the curry powder; stir until well blended; then add the sugar and stir. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside
4. Using the same skillet, heat the remaining oil over high heat for about a minute; add the noodles and cook, stirring and separating almost constantly, until heated through and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables and the stock and cook, stirring, until well combined. Add the soy or fish sauce, stir and cook for 30 seconds more, and turn off the heat. Taste and add more soy or fish sauce, or some salt, if necessary; garnish, and serve.
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