# Question about noodles



## teresa (Mar 3, 2008)

Ok , I am still working on a large gift basket of unusual products to me.  Most items are foreign and have no cooking instructions.  I usually make all my own pasta and noodles.  However I have never made any with tapioca starch, cornstarch and water.  That is what a huge package of noodles have as ingredients.  Can anyone give me an idea of how they are to be cooked? soaked or whatever? 
Lai Fun Noodle Quahb Piaj is the name on the package product of Thailand


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

Ramen or pho style dishes are what I would use it for.Start, using a broth (Vege,chx,beef) to simmer the noodle in then adding some sauteed veges (carrots,ginger garlic,lemongrass)  and meat (if desired) top with fresh spring onions and greens (bok choy, napa cabbage). Adding a splash of lemon and soy (ponzu sauce) or siracha will round out the flavor a bit. hope this helps.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Stir friy. Into boiling salted water and cook till tender, then out into a colander, run thru with cold water and let drain.

Make your favourite stir fry veg and meat if you like with sauces, then add the noodles back in at the end for couple of minutes to re-heat and serve straight away.  Be sure to separate the strands so you don't get a great big clump of noodles.

Noodle fritters.     Cook as above, chopping the noodles into shorter strands, then add beaten eggs, cheese (cheddar is good), cream, S&P and cook as per normal fritters in bland oil (you don't want olive oil for this) cook until set and getting crispy.  You can also add other things like grated zucchini, scallion tops, fine diced chillies to the batter mix, and whatever spices tickle your fancy. A nice dipping sauce goes really well with them.


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## teresa (Mar 3, 2008)

Thanks Gunnar,  I had this last night, just the way you suggested.  A good way to use flavorless noodles.


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

Glad you liked it. you can also add seaweed or benito flakes, it's endless really. Experiment, I do.


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## coulis-o (Jan 23, 2010)

i cook noodles in stock with a dash of soy sauce added just before the noodles are cooked. for 1 portion of noodles takes approximately 3/4 pint of stock if using dried packed noodles.

i like to add other ingredients to egg noodles and make chow mein; strips of fried meat, onions, mushrooms, beansprouts, more soy sauce, and maybe a dash of five spice too


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

It doesn't matter what you add to boiled noodles, you can't make them "chow mein" unless you fry them first.

FWIW, it's unlikely any Asian would use lai fun, the noodles in the OP, as soup noodles.  Too thick.  

BDL


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

Really? Not being sure which noodle she was talking about I googled it.  Seems it's in a lot of different soups. Not calling you out or anything BDL ,  just felt it was safe to suggest it for a soup dish. lord knows google and wikipedia aren't 100%.


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## coulis-o (Jan 23, 2010)

boar_d_laze said:


> It doesn't matter what you add to boiled noodles, you can't make them "chow mein" unless you fry them first.


i thought that frying the noodles is what i did when adding the boiled noodles to the wok with the rest of the fried ingredients...


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## gnnairda (Aug 7, 2009)

My mother often soaks vermicilli overnight thin noodles like vermicilli can be soaked overnight then ready to use stiry fry. There is more bite to it compared to boiling it at first after stir frying.

Judging by the pictures on google it looks too soft to be stir fried. Soup or a saucy style would be the way to go .
You almost always have to cook the noodles before stir fry all the dry stiff ones would be boiled of course , I tried to stir fry egg noodles without boiling and lets say it didn't work out to well . 
if you want a thick noodle for stir fry shanghai noodles and flat noodles(gui diao) are ready to use but you just have to microwave it abit to soften them up so its easy to separate.
Shanghai noodles looks similar to lai fun but it is more firm so it can better hold it shape when stir fried.


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## gnnairda (Aug 7, 2009)

gNnairdA said:


> My mother often soaks vermicilli overnight thin noodles like vermicilli can be soaked overnight then ready to use stiry fry. There is more bite to it compared to boiling it at first after stir frying.
> 
> Judging by the pictures on google it looks too soft to be stir fried. Soup or a saucy style would be the way to go .
> You almost always have to cook the noodles before stir fry all the dry stiff ones would be boiled of course , I tried to stir fry egg noodles without boiling and lets say it didn't work out to well .
> ...


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

boar_d_laze said:


> It doesn't matter what you add to boiled noodles, you can't make them "chow mein" unless you fry them first.
> 
> FWIW, it's unlikely any Asian would use lai fun, the noodles in the OP, as soup noodles. Too thick.
> 
> BDL


BDL - Just to help clarify things for the OP and others - what do you have in mind of the style of frying, when you say to fry first? Is it deep frying then drain- or normal wok frying with a tad of oil? Which would you use/prefer? Add other ingredients on top of said fried noodles then including sauces I am guessing....?

The OP is trying to find a correct use for the ingredient, as given as a gift.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

I don't mean to throw too much of a twist into this thread, but are there any major cuisines that do NOT have some sort of noodle in the basic toolbox?

mjb.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Boy I sure made a mess of what I was trying to say when using the word "first."

It would have been less ambiguous to have said, noodles aren't "chow mein" until they're fried. Chow mein translates as "fried noodles," except noodles are actually _mien_ and not _mein_. In every dialect with which I have any familiarty it's pronounced me-yen.

Setting aside language and picking up cooking again... If the noodles are dry, they must be boiled until cooked. If they're fresh, sometimes you can get away without pre-cooking them in water -- but usually not. After boiling, they're drained, then "chowed." Chowing means (pretty much) "stir fried" in a wok. They are cooked, in not too much oil, to a soft, oily unctuosness -- with perhaps the odd crispy bit -- rather than not deep-fried to crunchy.

You can do crunchy chow mein (chow mien, if you prefer), but it's usually done with very thin noodles -- and they're usually cooked as a sort of crisp, pancake mass. Those sorts of noodles are usually topped, rather than having the good stuff cooked along with them like the other chow mein/mien.

BDL


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## teresa (Mar 3, 2008)

Ok  everyone these noodles were 3 times the thickness of spaghettie when cooked.  They took 45 min to cook.  I have never had a noodle like that.  Now that I have had them as  a thick soup, in a stir fry and as a side dish, I have to say I like them the best in soup.  They certainly hold up very well.  They do not break down one bit.  Not even a tiny bit mushy.  However for just tast, my homemade noodles are way better

Thanks everyone for helping.


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