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By Hetty McKinnon
For many, instant noodles are inexpensive foods, the emergency pantry detail that intensifies when you run out of money, time or both. But for me, instant noodles also constitute indulgence, emotion and emotion.
The instant noodle ritual is deeply rooted in my veins. Growing up in a Cantonese house, instant noodles were a daily staple: when we got home from school, we would take a pack of my mian box in the most sensitive refrigerator for a quick snack to satisfy our teen hunger until dinnertime. When I was in high school, it was one of the only foods I could cook. When we ate instant noodles as a full meal for lunch, my mom would carry “more elegant” bindings to make the dish more special: I filled them with green vegetables, iceberg lettuce or bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, spam and sesame oil. .
While today’s times dictate that we cook at home, rely on the fundamental food in the pantry, and keep a close eye on our finances, instant noodles have returned as the best frugal food. And abandoning the sodium-rich bag (albeit incredibly delicious) opens up a world of probabilities for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With the help of the refrigerator and pantry, such as leftover vegetables, eggs, kimchi, miso, tahini and peanut butter, instant noodles can soften a full-bodied main course.
Here are my favorite tactics to do this:
Who doesn’t like bloodless noodles with sesame or peanut butter? Instant noodles are the best for this dish, as its wavy texture adheres very well to the sauce. They are also very undeniable: dilute tahini or peanuts with water, load a tooth of chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in combination and place the cooked noodles on it, stirring to coat the noodles with the hazelnut sauce. Add a few slices of cucumber, garnish with green onions and drizzle with chilli oil.
I love how the egg with carbonara sauce sticks to curly noodles. Although carbonara production may seem technical, I make sure I don’t think too much about the steps here. It works more productively with two packs of instant noodles. Whisk in combination 1 egg, a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese or sheep’s cheese and lots of black pepper. Once the noodles are cooked, leave some cooking water, then drain. Gradually, load the hot noodles, in 2-3 lots (so as not to jam the eggs), to the egg combination, stirring as you go. Drizze with a little cooking water and pair well with tweezers. The heat of the noodles cooks the egg, melts the cheese and creates a creamy sauce. Garnish with more cheese and black pepper.
If you still have kimchi in your fridge like me, a bowl of spiced noodle soup is very easy. Heat the vegetable stock, load a few tablespoons of kimchi (liquid and solid) and cook for a few minutes: the kimchi will be combined with the broth, creating a very spicy broth. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with pieces from your pantry, such as leftover tofu (fried or silky) or roasted vegetables, green onions, sesame seeds and more kimchi. A drizzle of sesame oil doesn’t hurt either.
This is a super fun way to create an entire meal in one pan. Rather than pre-cooking the noodles, I soak them in boiling water for 2 minutes and then drain. In a skillet, add a drizzle of oil, along with a few handfuls of veggies, some sliced onion or shallot, and once these soften, the noodles. Fry undisturbed for a couple of minutes, to allow the bottom to crisp up. The last step is to crack an egg or two into noodles, cover and allow the whites to firm up. Season well with salt, pepper, and dollop with some chile crisp or chile oil. While you could use any noodles for this dish, somehow, the wavy texture of instant noodles just creates the perfect contrast of crispiness to softness.
Miso is a suitable source of umami to have in the refrigerator, and here you can use it to make a quick broth. Bring 1 liter of water to the boil, then load 1 to 2 tablespoons of miso until you get a tasty and tasty broth. Add the noodles and when they are almost cooked, load tofu, leafy vegetables, green onion doughs and, if any, garnish with nori leaves.
Two things I have in my fridge are part of a box of coconut milk and a jar of Thai curry paste. If you mix both, you’ll have a quick and simple Thai curry broth for your cooked noodles. Garnish with vegetables, tofu and green onion.
Hetty McKinnon is the author of cookebook, food and author of Peddler Journal. Her latest eBook is Family: New Comforting Vegetarian Food to Nurture Every Day.
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