recipe carousel #31 - noodles

It’s interesting how in the Australian vocabulary noodles always signify an Asian dish whereas pasta signifies an Italian or European style meal.

Well, I've already done pasta, so now it's time for noodles.

I have always adored noodles soups but noodle salads and noodle stir fries are equally delightful. I’m a particularly big fan of rice noodles of any shape or size as well as chasoba and ramen.

Last week I made a delicious chasoba salad with miso dressing and this inspired me to seek out other noodle recipes from the blogosphere. So, here are seven noodle nibbles for your own enjoyment.

Crab Vermicelli w Garlic, Ginger & Coriander is a quick treat for Mae in the Channel Islands (Rice and Noodles). Not everyone is lucky enough to have a hunter close at hand, but Ian’s diving expedition produced a spider crab that turned into this gorgeous noodle meal. While vermicelli were soaking in hot water, Mae wok fried garlic and ginger, then added the crab meat, soy sauce, chillies and spring onions. She then combined these with the noodles and more soy sauce, removed it from the heat and added fresh coriander. Quick, easy and amazingly delicious. Photo courtesy of Mae.

Udon w Edamamme Pesto comes from Santos in Guam (The Scent of Green Bananas). Santos’ fondness for chewy udon noodles was indulged with an inspiring idea from Eric Gower's The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen. Santos used edamame (soy bean), smoked almonds, garlic, olive oil and fresh mint, coriander and flat leafed parsley to make an Asian style pesto. According to Santos, the smoky nuts and fruity olive oil seemed to blend well with the meatiness of the edamame. Photo courtesy of Santos.

Kerabu Bee Hoon holds special memories for Irvine in the USA (Rasa Malaysia). This was a dish her talented Nyonya grandmother would cook for family feasts. Belcan (shrimp paste) is blended with dried prawns, red chillies, lime juice, fish sauce and a sprinkling of sugar to make a sauce. This is then tossed with bee hoon (rice vermicelli) and fresh lemongrass, shallots, prawns, toasted coconut and kaffir leaves, producing a richly coloured, spicy, cold salad. Photo courtesy of Irvine.

Ho'io Fern Shoots w Shitake & Buckwheat Soba is an inventive recipe from Rowena in Italy (Rubber Slippers in Italy). During a visit to her home on Hawaii’s Kauai, Rowena gathered ho’io shoots (pohole) from the forest. Rowena describes the delicate flavour as similar to asparagus. She lightly cooks the fern shoots in boiling water with the soba noodles then sautés shitake mushrooms in sesame oil with minced garlic. The drained noodles and ho’io are added to the stir-fry along with soy sauce, lime juice and salt. The final product is sprinkled with sesame seeds before serving. Photo courtesy of Rowena.

Lemongrass Beef Noodle Salad is a Vietnamese dish cooked by Renz in the USA (Little Bouffe). Renz is not a huge fan of lemongrass, but on this occasion the risk was worth it. Rice vermicelli is dressed with basil, coriander and nuoc cham (lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chilli) before being laid as the bed for slices of cucumber and beef marinated in lemongrass, fish sauce, chilli and soy sauce. Chopped peanuts add some crunchy texture. Photo courtesy of Renz.

Khao Soi Gai is a rich northern Thai soup recreated here by Aun in Singapore (Chubby Hubby). Trailing his food writer wife on assignment around Chiang Mai, this photographer and gastronome had sampled some of the best khao soi the city had to offer. Boiled noodles are topped with sawtooth coriander then smothered with a chicken yellow curry using coconut milk. And just in case you didn’t get your noodle fix, the dish is then garnished with noodles that have been deep fried until crispy. Photo courtesy of Aun.

Sesame Ginger Soba Noodles is a versatile recipe from Archana in the USA (Spicyana). This dish can be made as hot comfort food or served as a cold salad in summer. Using soba noodles, which Archana describes as having a “unique earthy and nutty taste”, the simple dressing consists of minced garlic, grated fresh ginger, chopped scallions, sesame paste, peanut sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chilli paste. You can top this with your own choice of meat, seafood, eggs or vegetables. Photo courtesy of Archana.


Add your own recipe!
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Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes recipe carousel mains noodles vermicelli soba bee hoon udonasian food asian cuisine asian recipes