RECIPE JOURNAL
WHETHER BULKING OUT A BROTH OR TAKING A DESSERT TO THE NEXT LEVEL, NOODLES ARE A VITAL INGREDIENT IN COUNTLESS GLOBAL CUISINES.
Noodles play a key role in many culinary cultures. Synonymous with East and Southeast Asian classics such a chow mein, ramen and pad thai, they appear in everything from German knöpfle — egg dough pieces often layered with fried onions and cheese — to sweet treats like seviyan, a dessert eaten during Eid. Thought to have originated in China before making their way around the world, they’ve been a staple food across the globe for centuries. The most commonly eaten types today include those made from egg, rice, wheat, buck wheat and starches derived from the likes of mung beans.
Thanks to their myriad shapes, textures and flavours — be they long and fine, short and thick, chew y or slipper y — noodles can be enjoyed in countless ways. They elevate broths and soups, can be easily tossed into salads and act as the ideal vehicle for clingy sauces.
In China’s Guangdong Province, steamed sheets of rice noodle are wrapped around shrimp to make the Cantonese dim sum classic hā chéung. In Myanmar, the fragrant catfish and rice noodle soup known as mohinga is a breakfast staple that’s often considered the national dish. And among Jewish communities around the globe, lokshen (Ashkenazi Jewish egg noodles) are incorporated into kugel, a sweet casserole often served on holidays and the Sabbath.
When cooking noodles at home, it’s important to choose the right ones for the job: glass noodles (transparent strands made from starch and water) are well suited to soups and hotpots, for example, while thick egg noodles love a sticky sauce. If using dried noodles, it’s important to follow packet instructions: some need to be soaked in water, then rinsed and cooled to prevent them from sticking together or turning to mush. Such steps might require a little extra time and effort, but the end result will be worth it — after all, t here’s a good reason noodles have been around for centuries.
Black bean sauce noodles by Su Scott
Jjaja ngmyeon is a moreish Korean- Chinese dish comprising thick wheat noodles and a glossy black sauce made from salty chunja ng, sweet vegetables and rich pork. You should be able to get hold of chunja ng — ablack bean paste made from fermented soybeans — at Asian grocer y stores or online. It has a slightly sour, bit ter flavour when raw, so it ’s important that you fry it off in oil first before combining it with the rest of the sauce ingredients.
SERVES: 2 GENEROUSLY
TAKES: 30 MINS
INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp chunjang (Korean black bean paste)
2 spring oni
