Hit one of our favorite food trucks in the Hudson Valley for some Thai food after a trip to the apple orchard this weekend. In addition to their outstanding dumplings, DH and I split “stewed beef noodle,” which looks like this in their FB pics:
In reality, it was served without jalapenos, which IMO it needed. Still very tasty - the broth was a little heavy on anise but very clean tasting, without the richness of pho. Rice noodles picked up the flavors nicely and bitter gai lan set off the subtle sweetness. Not something I’d go out of my way to order again (especially not at a place with a full menu, where I could get pad kee mao or pad see ew instead!), but nice for a change of pace!
Another attempt at chow fun and pad see ew — aka how to use up fresh ho fun.
Non-stick pan instead of a wok this time, which helped keep the 2 day-old noodles from breaking up and getting gloppy, but still produced good char and flavor.
Another new thing I did was to mix the sauce with noodles and set them aside while I prepped and sautéed the rest of the ingredients. It absorbed into the noodles, and there was a lot less sticking overall because there was less sauce in the pan.
Ants Climbing a Tree /Ma Yi Shang Shu Sichuan Mung bean thread / Glass noodles / Cellophane noodles sauteed with ground pork (turkey)
I looked up a few recipes in search of something that sounded like the dish I’ve eaten a few times. This one seemed to look like a good starting point (the only one I came across with dou-chi / fermented black beans, in addition to the sichuan doubanjiang all the recipes call for). I did adjust the proportions to taste, and add a bit of vinegar (I did see one recipe call for preserved greens, which would also provide a tang) and a touch more sugar to balance the flavor out.
I cooked the ground turkey with all the seasonings, then drained off the sauce, and browned the turkey a bit more before removing it from the pan.
I then cooked the noodles with the saved sauce and adjusted to taste, then added enough of the ground turkey for the portion.
Turns out I inadvertently got the wrong noodles the first time (rice vermicelli), but they still tasted good as they absorbed the sauce well.
Then I got the right noodles (mung bean vermicelli / threads), made more sauce for the noodle portion, and finished with the previously seasoned ground turkey. The second version was what I remembered of the restaurant dish.
Really tasty! Would work well with capellini or linguine too, I think, just needs a bit of chew on a noodle that can absorb the flavors.
I used to add PB to my Sapporo Ichiban ramen 30 years ago. I’d drain the noodles, add half the flavour packet, some crushed chiles and a tbsp or 2 of PB.
I’ve been doing this lately too. I bought some frozen shrimp wonton ramen at Costco that is terribly bland on its own, so I cook it, drain the broth, then add a spoonful of PB, a spoonful of chile crisp and a splash of dark soy. Super tasty!
Seeing these photos gave me a craving, so I went to Hmart to see if I could find fresh ho fun. They didn’t have them, but I did find this new-to-me rice noodle shape:
Has anyone ever used these? The interwebs indicates they are a decent sub for fresh. I was planning to cook them tonight but I actually found fresh ho fun at a different store, so the dried ones will have to wait!
Delicious, but a little heavy on soy sauce flavor (maybe because I doubled the sauce based on reviews). I also used Chinese dark and regular soy, which are maybe a bit more assertive than their Thai counterparts. I’d cut both back a little next time and boost the oyster sauce instead.
Made pad kee mao with the rice flake noodles tonight - they are fantastic! Best sub I’ve found for fresh ho fun by far. Woks of Life recipe with minor subs (some gai lan, scallions and an orange bell pepper instead of baby corn and shallots, doubled the meat and the sauce). If you can find these noodles, I highly recommend them. I soaked them for about 30 mins in hot tap water before using.
