Best way to use dried rice noodles?
having purchased the rice noodles from my local asian grocer I am having a hard time making them get a great consistency like the ones they make phad thai at my local restaurant. Whats the secret is regards to soaking them? cooking with them etc? cold water? hot water? how long? etc? THANKS!
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6 Comments:
I use hot tap water and let them sit. You can use kettle water and a bowl. I would not boil them in a pot. Trader Joes brand work very nice.
JerzeeTomato at 2:20PM on 11/12/07
What kind are they? Are they the thin vermicelli sort of noodles (they come in big dried clumps that crackle and shatter when you try and break the bundle into manageable pieces...always a messy process)?
If thats the case, I usually just dump them very briefly in boiling water. Don't leave them in there, of course, as they cook very fast. Just poke them around with a utensil until theyre cooked through. Then drain them and pop the pan back on a still-warm burner to let excess water steam off, if you wish.
Usually I just use rice noodles in soup-noodle dishes, so sopping wet boiled rice noodles right out of the pot probably wont be good for making pad thai...
fuuchan at 3:31PM on 11/12/07
When I used to make them in my little restaurant, here's what we did.
Soak noodles in cold water (if you wanted to slowly soften them) or hot water (if you want to use them right away).
Once noodles are bendable, toss into a saute pan with neutral oil (such as canola or safflower), garlic, and the rest of your flavoring agents. I.e. to do red curry, I'd make the curry sauce and splash a ladle of it in the pan, cook the noodles long enough to get the flavor of the curry and soften some more. Then I'd throw a handful of veggies (slivered peppers, carrots, onion and celery), cover the pan, cook a few minutes and "ship it."
Red Curry
2 Tbsp. Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste
2 Cans Chaokoa coconut milk (I think this brand went through some recent transformation it's not Chaokoa anymore but the label looks the same)
3 fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves
3 chiles Japones (little dry red chiles available in bulk)
1 long stalk fresh lemongrass
2 squirts Fish Sauce (nam pla)
Place the curry paste and coconut milk in a saucepan set to simmer. In a coffee/spice grinder, place the kaffir lime leaves and dry chiles. Grind very finely, toss into saucepan. Peel off the outer layer of the lemongrass. (I know common practice is to use only the lower part of the bulb but I've found perfectly tender leaves at the top as long as you peel off the first layer.) On a cutting board, cut the lemongrass into tiny circles, as thinly as you can get them. If you do it this way, you can include the lemongrass in the actual dish and not discard it. I think the lemongrass gives great texture and a burst of lemongrass flavor. (My customers never complained...LOLOL.)
Place the lemongrass circles in the saucepan, squirt in the fish sauce and whisk all ingredients to combine. Simmer about 5 minutes and it's ready to use.
chiff0nade at 4:15PM on 11/12/07
most thai food souds great but is usually a big disappointment.the rice noodle is a flavorless gummy waste.Try deep frying the rice vermicelli in a small batch and put your stir fry over it like the chinese do,its fun to watch it expand.
sharky at 3:50PM on 11/14/07
Try deep frying the rice vermicelli in a small batch and put your stir fry over it like the chinese do,its fun to watch it expand.
This will only work with the rice noodles sold in curly "bundles," not the flat straight ones, right?
chiff0nade at 3:54PM on 11/14/07
sit ih not water. add fish suace, lime juice, chilies mint and cilantro. toss with romaine or like lettuce. top with garlic pork or fried egg. mmmmm. just like vietnam without the happy ending and tiger beer.
chefman at 11:09PM on 11/15/07