Noodles get the nod (+ recipes)

Wondering what you can serve up to the family that is tasty, economical and a little different? Use your noodle as the Asians do. Chinese superstition dictates: "Eat noodles for a long and happy life."
Most Asian-style noodles are gluten-free and, when stored in airtight containers, can last for several years. They are excellent in stir-fries, stews, soups and salads with meat, vegetables and seafood.
They can also substitute for pasta in many Italian recipes - bolognese with rice stick noodles is delicious. Add a spoon or two of hoisin sauce to the meat for an infusion of flavour.
Rice noodles - prepared from a rice and water paste - are available in a variety of widths. Rice sticks are 1-2cm wide, flat noodles requiring about one to three minutes of boiling.
Rice vermicelli look like semi-translucent tennis racket strings. The creamy threads are fine, albeit tough. Available from Asian grocery stores and most supermarkets, rice vermicelli can be boiled or fried. To boil, drop into boiling water or soup and cook for about a minute. The strands will quickly soften and become gelatinous and translucent.
When fried, rice vermicelli puffs up and becomes crisp. Cut the dry noodles into 8cm lengths with scissors and cook quickly in batches in deep, hot oil. Lift out with a slotted spoon as soon as they are cooked. Drain on absorbent paper. These noodles can be used as a base on which to serve stir-fried foods or be combined with other ingredients in a stir-fry.
Cellophane or bean starch noodles, prepared from mung bean flour, appear similar to rice vermicelli and can be cooked similarly . Egg noodles - sold dried in a variety of widths - are made from wheat flour, powdered beans or rice. Sometimes egg is added. They are best soaked prior to use. Instant varieties are readily available and provide a staple ingredient to which other ingredients can be added.
Japanese noodles include the fashionable udon noodle, a thick white soft noodle generally added to soups. These are sold fresh, vacuum-packed in plastic pouches. Soba noodles are a light-brown, medium flat noodle prepared from buckwheat flour and have a nutty flavour. Usually served cold in salads, they are equally good hot as an accompaniment to casseroles.
RECIPES
HAPPY CHICKEN WITH NOODLES
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 dash each: sugar, sesame oil
1  tsp cornflour
300-400g skinned and boned chicken breast
120g rice stick noodles
Canola oil for frying
1 small red  capsicum, thinly sliced
2 each: celery stalks, courgettes, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1  tbsp each: black bean sauce, oyster sauce
Combine soy sauce, sherry, sugar, sesame oil and cornflour to make marinade. Thinly slice  chicken and stir into  marinade. Stand for at least 10 minutes.
Cook  noodles in  saucepan of boiling water until just tender.  Drain, then cut into 5cm lengths.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or large frying pan. Stir-fry  vegetables until crisp-tender. Add  garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove to one side.
Heat a little more oil in the wok. Stir-fry  chicken for two to three minutes, until cooked. Add  black bean sauce, then  noodles. Mix well.
Return  veges to wok and stir in oyster sauce.
Serves 2-3.
PORK PAD THAI
The Exotic brand of Pad Thai noodles comes with a packet of seasoning that could be used in place of the sugar, tamarind and fish sauce below.
200g Pad Thai (rice) noodles
2 tbsp rice bran oil
1 large onion, diced
400g lean pork steaks, thinly sliced
2 tsp each: chopped garlic, chilli paste
2 tbsp each: brown sugar, tamarind paste, fish sauce
3 cups thinly sliced spinach
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Boil noodles in water until soft,  about two to three minutes. Drain and mix with a little oil.
Heat half the remaining oil. Stir-fry  onion for one minute. Add  pork and stir-fry for one to two minutes. Remove from  heat.
Stir in  garlic, chilli, sugar, tamarind paste, fish sauce, noodles, spinach and peanuts. Return to  heat. Add eggs, toss briefly and heat through.
Great served garnished with coriander and accompanied by lemon wedges.
Serves 4.
UDON NOODLES WITH ASIAN GREENS & BEEF
300g beef schnitzel
4 cups good beef stock
1 tbsp each: thinly sliced root ginger, soy sauce, mirin
4 portobello mushrooms, sliced
200g packet  cooked udon noodles
4-5 cups thickly sliced Shanghai cabbage and/or bok choy
1 cup bean sprouts
1 red chilli, seeded and thinly sliced
If the schnitzels are a little on the thick side, pound them with a rolling pin until they are almost paper-thin. Then cut into 3-4cm squares.
Place  stock, ginger, soy sauce and mirin in  large saucepan and bring to  boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add  mushrooms and simmer for  three to four minutes.
Place  noodles into boiling water for a few seconds to heat through. Drain and place in four serving bowls.
Add  cabbage and/or bok choy, bean sprouts and chilli to  stock mixture and simmer until  cabbage is just tender. Add  meat and remove from  heat ( stock will provide enough heat to cook  the meat).
Ladle into  bowls and serve. Small bowls of chilli paste, wasabi and soy sauce can be served as dippers. Serves 4.
SINGAPORE VERMICELLI NOODLES
The recipe can be varied to suit your taste or ingredients. The  meat can be  replaced with vegetables. A few drops of sesame oil can be added at the end for flavour.
125g dried rice vermicelli, soaked in water until pliable
16 raw prawns, shelled and deveined
2  tbsp rice bran oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup frozen peas, slightly thawed
1-2 tsp curry powder
Pinch chilli flakes
125g sliced cooked (eg leftover) pork,  chicken or ham, diced
1 tbsp each: fish sauce, lime or lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cook  noodles in boiling water until tender yet firm, about 10 seconds.
Using tongs, transfer  noodles to a bowl. In the same water, cook  prawns until pink, about  one minute. Drain.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok over high heat. Stir-fry  onion until golden. Add  remaining oil, noodles and peas. Sprinkle with the curry powder and chilli. Toss well, ensuring  noodles turn yellow. Add  pork, prawns and fish sauce. Continue to stir-fry until  noodles are heated through, about five minutes. Adjust  seasoning with lime or lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Serve topped with coriander.  Serves 4.
www.JanBilton.co.nz