Spaetzle

There are many ways of making Geman spaetzle noodles. The only way to make edible spaetzle according to John is by using his method which entails beating a batter to develop the gluten. The resultant noodles have a bite similar to al dente pasta. Here is a never blogged before method of making spaetzle which requires no special kitchen gadget.

1/3 c flour (approximately), for batter
1/4 c water
1/4 c flour, for dusting



Beat 1/3 c flour and 1/4 c water until the batter becomes stringy. Allow 5-10 minutes beating with a wooden spoon. When ready, the batter easily pulls into ribbons as pictured. Rest 30 minutes.



Place the remaining flour on a chopping board. Pour the batter over the flour.



Using a spatula, lift and slightly roll the batter lengthwise while patting in the flour.



Continue working with the spatula until all the flour is incorporated. The finished dough is soft and stretchy.



Dust a knife with flour. Cut the dough crosswise into 1 cm thick strips.



Immediately after cutting, throw the noodle strips into rapidly boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain. Serve with sausage and sauerkraut.

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Noodles

Buckwheat Noodles

80 g buckwheat
20 g plain flour (or potato starch for gluten free)
2 T (40 mL) boiling water

Mix everything to form a dough. Roll and cut with pasta machine. Cook in boiling water for 3-5 minutes.



Two Minute Noodles

1/4 t bicarbonate soda
1/4 c boiling water
1/4 c water
250 g plain flour (2 c)
1.5 t salt
1/2 t oil

Dissolve bicarbonate soda in boiling water. Add remaining water. Put rest of ingredients in a food processor. Pour in the water. Process until the dough starts clumping. Pour onto the bench and press together to form a dough. Rest 10 minutes if time allow, otherwise, roll and cut with pasta machine. Cook in boiling water for 2 minutes.


Wonton Style Noodles

1/4 t bicarbonate soda
1/2 c boiling water
2 T plain flour for roux
250 g plain flour for dough (2 c)
1/4 t salt
1/2 t oil

Dissolve bicarbonate soda in boiling water. Immediately add 2 T of flour to partially cook to a roux. Cool slightly. Add 2 T more flour and beat until stringy. Add remaining ingredients to make a dough. Knead until smooth. Rest for 30 minutes. Roll in pasta machine until very smooth and stretchy. Air dry 10 minutes before cutting. Cook in boiling water for 3 minutes.


Wheat Noodles

1/2 t baking powder
250 g atta flour (or 50% wholemeal, 50% plain)
1.5 t salt
170 mL warm water

Mix dry ingredients. Put about half the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add the water. Blend until stringy, around 2 minutes. Add rest of flour. Blend to a soft dough. Rest 30 minutes. Dust liberally. Roll and cut with pasta machine.

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Siamese Laksa

A spicy coconut flavoured broth eaten with noodles, also known as laksa lemak, Nyonya laksa or Thai laksa. Traditionally flavoured with laksa leaves (Vietnamese mint). As with curries, the flavour is carried in the oil. Below is the general technique for developing the aroma of the spices. This recipe makes use of dried spices.

Spice paste:
1 T Kashmiri chilli powder (or to taste)
2 t coriander seed, roasted and milled
2 t turmeric powder
1 t galangal powder
2 t ginger powder
1 t dried shrimp paste, belachan (optional), roasted
4 T water

Sauce:
1 onion, around 1 c when finely chopped
1 garlic, around 1 t when finely chopped
4 T oil, plus more as needed
2 T spice paste
4 kaffir lime leaves (or lemon zest)
1 lemongrass stalk (or lemon zest), bruised
2 pieces tamarind skin (or lemon juice)
2 candlenuts (or Brazil nuts or macadamia), milled (optional, for thickening sauce)
1.5 L water (or stock from poaching the meat below)
1/2 c coconut cream
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
laksa leaves (Vietnamese mint), optional

Noodles:
250 g rice stick noodles, soaked in hot water for 7 minutes
1 c bean sprouts, blanched
1 c oriental vegetable like choy sam, blanched
1 c poached/steamed fish, prawn and/or chicken
1 sprig coriander
1 red chilli, sliced
lemon or lime slices for serving

1. Make the spice paste by mixing dried spices with water. Let stand for 15 minutes.

2. Next make the sauce. Gently saute the onion with oil until softened, then add the garlic and continue to saute until the garlic turns golden. Adjust oil as needed.

3. Add the spice paste and gently fry until the mix darkens slightly and the oil separates.

4. Add lime leaves, lemongrass, tamarind, candlenuts and water. Simmer 30 minutes, until oil floats to the top.

5. Add coconut cream, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.

6. Add laksa leaves.

7. Assemble the noodles, vegetables and meat in serving bowls

8. Pour over the sauce, garnish with coriander, chilli slices and lemon slices. Serve immediately.

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Cubic Rice Noodles

Cubic noodles brought awe to Australian TV watching households after Masterchef Poh Ling Yeow thrilled judges with her intriguing black cubic noodles made using squid ink. Masterchef Poh served her winning dish with fried snapper, preserved mustard greens and caviar in a white stock.

Penang cubic noodles, known as char kuih kark (with many variations of spelling depending on Chinese dialect group), act as a poor man's version of the daikon rice cakes served in dim sum restaurants: hawkers stalls make the noodles without daikon.

Here is a recipe to make your own cubic noodles, for use in your noodle or pasta dishes:

Ingredients:

150 g (1 cup) rice flour
20 g (1-2 tablespoons) black glutinous rice, tapioca starch, wheat starch, or cornstarch
1 tablespoon oil (preferable flavoured)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder, optional
150 mL lukewarm water
350 mL boiling water


Method:

Blend the flour, starch, oil and seasoning with lukewarm water into a smooth paste.

While stirring add the boiling water to par-cook the batter to help prevent the flour settling during cooking. If the batter has not thickened enough to leave thick trails, either gently heat on a stove or microwave on high in 10 sec bursts until the consistency is achieved.

Pour the batter into a wet ceramic lasagne dish measuring 20 cm by 30 cm. The batter is enough for a 1-cm thick noodle sheet.

Steam for 30-45 minutes until set. On cooking, the batter darkens and the surface feels firm. To cook by microwave, cover the dish with plastic wrap. Set power to 30% (medium low) and cook for 20-30 minutes.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes to stiffen before using. Cut into 1 cm cubes. For frying, chill the noodles, preferably overnight.


... pan fried black and white cubic rice noodles with omelette, shitake, coriander and chilli

Notes:

The starch improves the texture by adding softness and/or chewiness. Rice on its own gives a somewhat starchy mouth feel. Adjust the ratio of rice to starch to suit your personal preference.

Some recipes call for kan sui (lye water) to add a springy texture, or borax to prevent stickiness, add gloss and improve flexibility. Others suggest 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon baking soda per cup of flour as a substitute for kan sui and borax.

The flour to water weight ratio is 1:3, or volume ratio 1:2 (1 cup flour to 2 cups water).

Simple recipe for sheet and cubic rice noodles 40% rice flour, 40% cornstarch, 20% tapioca starch, 300-350% FWB warm water. Make a slurry and steam.

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Homemade XO Chilli Sauce For Instant Noodles

The number of restaurant patrons who come here searching for 2-minute noodles leave disappointed, that is up until now. It is a long standing believe that no high class electronic restaurant serves such a dish. After visiting Rockpool, over the internet, Noodle Cook discovers that 3 hat chef, Neil Perry enjoys XO chilli sauce with egg noodles and lobster. The XO chilli sauce in question is the one used by fine-dining Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong.

What's so special about this XO chilli sauce? It is made with exotic dried scallops, a very expensive delicacy. It takes around 3 hours to prepare: according to Chef Neil Perry's recipe, the dried scallops need 2 hours soaking, 10 minutes steaming followed by 45 minutes cooking in seasoned oil.



To cook 2-minute noodles in 3 hours means lunch is really an early dinner! Since Noodle Cook is the 2-minute expert, here is the cheat recipe. You won't see the golden scallop strands in the sauce, but lunch will be on in an hour!

Ingredients:
3 dried scallops, milled in spice grinder
5 garlic cloves
2 dried chillies, deseeded, crushed
1 tablespoon Kashmiri chilli powder
50 g ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
150 mL Camellia Tea oil

Method:
1. Emulsify all the ingredients with a stick blender
2. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour

When cooked, the sauce turns dark brownish red while the solids develop transparency. The oil which floats to the top during cooking looks an attractive orange-red. The garlic cooks to a mush and the ginger loses the raw bite. The sauce is made less pungent by omitting dried shrimps, a typical ingredient in XO sauces.



To cook instant noodles, boil noodles in water for 2 minutes. Drain and discard the water. If eating the noodles with soup, make some stock. A simple stock using dried baby anchovies and carrots works well. DO NOT use the MSG loaded seasoning that comes with many brands of instant noodles. Instead enjoy the intense natural "umami" that dried scallops impart by adding a dollop of homemade XO chilli sauce from the recipe above.

Oh, where is the lobster? Um, with a bit of imagination, those fish balls could well be made from lobster .....

So there you are, instant noodles transformed to fine dining standards with XO chilli sauce (and lobster). Bon appetit!

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