Quick & Easy Chinese (39 page)
Read Quick & Easy Chinese Online
Authors: Nancie McDermott
This little noodle dish makes a great lunch or snack, using the seasonings and condiments you have on hand for everyday Chinese cooking. Many supermarkets carry squarish dried wheat noodles that are curly and golden, often labeled
chukka soba
and made in Japan. You could use any cooked pasta here; the sauce will be enough for 8 to 10 ounces dried noodles, or 3 cups cooked. Add a dollop of chili-garlic sauce or hot pepper sauce if you want a little spicy kick.
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
8 ounces dried curly Asian-style noodles such as chuka soba, or angel hair pasta
½ cup chopped ham, roast chicken, or cooked shrimp (optional)
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
SERVES
2
TO
4
In a medium bowl, combine the sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir to mix everything well and dissolve the sugar.
Cook the noodles in a medium saucepan of wildly boiling water until they are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain well and transfer to the bowl of sauce.
Place the ham on top, if using, along with the green onion. Toss quickly to mix and season the noodles evenly, using tongs, chopsticks, or a fork and spoon. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve hot or warm.
Known as “two-sides brown” in Cantonese, and as “noodle pillows” by the brilliant author and teacher Barbara Tropp, this fried noodle cake provides texture and color as the base for a saucy stir-fried dish. A favorite in dim sum parlors, the pancake calls for an abundance of oil to help it color and crisp up. In this recipe, I use a moderate amount of oil for a pleasing version that comes out as a flat pancake in a skillet and a plumper pillow in a wok. Ideally, the insides stay soft while the outer surfaces provide a crusty contrast in texture and hue. Plan ahead so that your cooked egg noodles have an hour or more to cool and dry out after you boil them and before you fry them into a crispy pancake.
8 ounces thin Chinese-style fresh egg noodles or very thin fresh pasta
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
SERVES
4
NOTE
If you’re making this as the foundation for a stir-fried dish, set out everything you will need for both dishes near the stove before you begin to cook. Then prepare the noodle pancake first and make the stir-fry right after that, so that you can turn the stir-fry dish out onto the noodles and serve at once. You could make the noodle pancake, set it on a heatproof serving plate, and place it in a 250°F oven for up to half an hour before you plan to serve it. If you want individual noodle cakes, you could make them quickly in a small hot skillet, shaping and cooking each one and then transferring them to a serving plate in a 250°F oven to keep warm. For more golden brown color, crispness, and firm shape, add more oil to the pan
.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat and add a generous pinch of salt. Add the noodles and stir to separate them.
Cook the noodles until just tender but still firm, 2 to 4 minutes, stirring now and then. Quickly drain, rinse with cool water, and then drain well. You will have about 3 cups cooked noodles.
Spread the noodles out in a thin layer on a baking sheet or a tray. Let them dry out for at least one hour.
When you are ready to fry the noodles, place a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add 3 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat the pan evenly and well, sides as well as bottom.
When a bit of noodle sizzles at once, arrange the noodles in the hot pan, spreading them out into an even layer. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, pressing down with a spatula to form a flat, even pancake. When it is golden brown and crisp on the bottom, carefully turn it over to expose the other side to the hot pan.
Add another 2 tablespoons oil, pouring it in around the edges of the pan, and let the pancake cook for 4 to 6 minutes more. When the second side is a crispy golden brown, carefully transfer the pancake to a serving plate and serve hot or warm. (Sliding it carefully onto the serving plate works well.)