Don’t get mad at me, but this is a throw everything in and mix it recipe.
For all intents and purposes, the following directions make 1 bowl of noodles.
Ingredients
- A single serving of dried thin rice noodles according to the package (I did the ol’ fashioned spaghetti serving of a fistful of pasta)
- Equal parts of:
- Soy sauce
- Toasted sesame oil
- Even smaller parts of:
- Hoisin sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Optional add-ins for added flavor and nutrients:
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Sauteed spinach
- Frozen carrots and peas
- Soft boiled egg
- Kimchi
Directions
1.) Fill a small pot with water and heat to boiling (do you have a pot you use for personal-size ramen noodles? use that.)
2.) Place the noodles into the boiling water, stir a little bit so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan, boil for the time indicated on the package.
——2a.) If using an egg, toss the egg into the pasta pot at the same time and set a timer for 6 minutes to achieve a soft-boiled egg (cooked white part with a jammy yolk to enrich the sauce).
——2b.) If including sauteed vegetables or the frozen veggies, use a small frying pan on a separate burner set to medium heat to cook your favorite veggies for a couple minutes in hot oil. Toss occasionally so nothing burns in the pan.
3.) While noodles are boiling, make the noodle sauce in the bowl you’re going to put everything in. Let’s say 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce and toasted seseame oil, and 1 Tablespoon of Hoisin sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Take a fork or small whisk and mix until the sauce looks good enough.
4.) When noodles are done, use a pasta fork/strainer to take the noodles out of the pan and into the sauce bowl. Let the egg continue boiling in the pot however long it needs.
5.) When the vegetables are done, use tongs to move the vegetables from the pan into the sauce bowl.
——5a.) If including other ingredients like kimchi, add those into the bowl now as well.
6.) Take a fork or pair of chopsticks to mix the noodles and add-ins so the sauce is incorporated into all of it.
7.) When egg is finished boiling, carefully remove it and run the egg under cold water until it’s cool enough to handle and remove the shell. Place it into the bowl and use your chopsticks, fork, or a knife to cut it open and dramatically watch the jammy yolk inside drip over the noodles. Then I just cut up the egg and mix it in with everything else. (If you ended up with a hard-boiled egg, that’s okay!)
8.) Eat and enjoy.
I feel the need to apologize for calling this asian-inspired, but NGL it really is a noodle dish that doesn’t have a specific Asian country of origin. This is my favorite dish to make on a cold day when I want something warm in my belly but is also fairly quick to make. I’ve had this for breakfast and i’ve had it for lunch. I really just throw it together and eyeball a lot of the ingredients as I prepare it.
On days when I want a meal with a serving of rice but strangely don’t have any leftover in the fridge, rice noodles come to the rescue. The last brand I used was A Taste of Thai. I keep rice noodles in my pantry for Pad Thai nights but in a recent chore to clear my pantry of old ingredients, I found an opened package of these noodles, saw that these can be boiled in 3 to 4 minutes, and decided these were going in my belly. For quick cooking, find the noodles labeled “thin,” or at least they look like the Angel Hair kind compared to regular spaghetti.
If my directions seem unclear or you have any questions, shoot me a message! The next time I make this I’ll take a picture and add it. I was hungry, okay?
