A pack of rice noodles will set you back by about $1-$5 depending on where you buy it. But lets see what can be done with the same pack of noodles.
1) Pho
All nutrition values are per serve.
2) Char Kuey Teow (courtesy of Malaysia food.net)
To Prepare Rice Noodles :
1) Pho
Quick beef pho
| 13INGREDIENTS | 4SERVINGS |
- Ingredients
- Nutrition
2L (8 cups) salt-reduced beef stock- 2 thick slices ginger
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 3 star anise
- 2 cinnamon quills, lightly bruised
- 2 tbs caster sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) fish sauce
- 375g flat rice noodles
- 400g beef eye fillet, very thinly sliced
- 1 cup (80g) bean sprouts
- 1 long red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup each of basil, mint and coriander leaves, to serve
| Energy 2373kJ | Fat saturated 3.00g |
| Fat Total 7.90g | Carbohydrate sugars - |
| Carbohydrate Total 77.60g | Dietary Fibre 3.90g |
| Protein 42.60g | Cholesterol 58.00mg |
| Sodium 3992mg |
2) Char Kuey Teow (courtesy of Malaysia food.net)
To Prepare Rice Noodles :
- If using 'fresh' flat rice noodles: Gently separate the noodles. If they are too stuck together, do not force them apart. Soak the noodles in warm water for 1 to 2 mins, and using your fingers, gently separate the noodles. Be careful not to soak them too long - noodles should be 'al dente' or they will break up too much when stir frying. Drain thoroughly
- If using packaged 'dried' flat rice noodles: To
reconstitute, pour hot boiling water, enough to cover the dried noodles. Soak
till just al dente. Use a chopstick or tongs to give it a stir to separate the
noodles in the hot water. Drain the hot water from the noodles. Immediately
place noodles under a cold tap and allow cold running water to 'cool off' the
noodles. Drain well. It's vital for the noodles to be just 'al dente' - not soft
so that it does not break up too much when stir-frying
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To stir fry Char Kway Teow :
- In a small bowl, mix the thick, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce with 2 tbsp water This is your flavoring soy sauce mixture
- Heat wok on high, add lard cubes, stir-fry and allow lard to melt to mostly oil
- Remove lard oil into a small bowl
- Heat wok, preferably a cast iron wok to smoking hot, add 4 tbsp of the lard oil [or peanut oil], stir-fry garlic a few seconds, add lap cheong [Chinese sausage] [optional] and stir-fry the lap cheong for about a min
- Toss in fresh shrimp and squid, stir-fry till just turned opaque - do not overcook
- Add noodles, sprinkle 3 to 4 tbsp of the soy sauce mixture all over the noodles, and salt and white pepper to taste
- Gently stir-fry for 3-5 mins
- Make a circular empty space in the middle of the wok, using your ladle to push the noodles up and all around the outer edges of the wok
- Add 1-2 tsp lard or peanut oil, break 2 or 3 eggs [your preference], add a pinch of salt to the eggs
- Roughly scramble the eggs, when it's done, push the eggs aside, add the fresh cockles, stir-fry a few seconds, then fold the noodles over and add 3 tbsp of the pan-roasted chili paste [or more according to your taste]
- Stir-fry gently, allow noodles to get slightly charred in the hot wok, 5-8 mins
- Finally add chives and bean sprouts, fold the noodles over, give it one good last stir-fry to mix well with the noodles
- Turn off heat, dish onto individual serving plates, add a dash of white pepper and serve hot immediately
For an authentic 'Char-red' Kway Teow i.e. for that 'charred taste', you have to maintain a very hot wok, preferably an cast-iron wok. Also, it is best to divide the ingredients and stir-fry the noodles in smaller or individual servings.
3) Thai stir fry (recipe courtesy of the perfect pantry)
Rice noodle salad with shrimp and scallions
An easily improvised salad for any time of year. In summer, I add fresh mint and Thai basil from my garden. Keep some nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) in your fridge, and this salad will come together in minutes. Serves 2; can be doubled.Ingredients
1/2 lb banh pho noodles1 tsp vegetable or peanut oil
8 large (31-40 size) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 head thinly shredded iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup shredded cucumber (I like the European seedless cucumbers, shredded on the largest holes of a box grater)
Handful of mint leaves and/or Thai basil, if you have it
A few strips of shredded carrot, if you have it
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
Nuoc cham, 3 Tbsp or more, to taste
2 tsp chopped dry roasted, unsalted peanuts
Directions
Fill a bowl with hot tap water. Soak the noodles for 15 minutes, until flexible. Drain. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the noodles, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Set aside.In a small frying pan (not nonstick), heat 1 tsp oil over high heat until almost smoking. Sauté the shrimp for 1 minute on each side, until shrimp are curled, no longer translucent, and have a bit of brown color. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Assemble the salad: To a serving bowl or platter, add -- in this order -- lettuce, cucumber, mint leaves (if using), carrot (if using), scallions, and the cooked noodles. Top with shrimp. Pour on the nuoc cham and toss, then sprinkle chopped peanuts on top.
