Final Sunday, my pal took me to the Radna Silom road market on Hollywood Boulevard in Thai City, and whereas we have been wanting over the menu, she mentioned, “Oh, we HAVE to get their pad Thai.” I instantly gave her a glance that learn, “Actually?” And she or he responded, “I do know, I do know, why would I carry you right here simply to have pad Thai, however belief me.” Don’t get me fallacious, I like pad Thai, but it surely’s a type of dishes that after you’ve had a dozen variations, you kinda get the purpose — and also you both like it or can cross on it. As somebody who not often cares for noodles however eats rice daily, I normally cross.
However this pad Thai was, certainly, very totally different. There was not one of the ordinary taste wallop of candy peanut; as a substitute, it was bitter and pungent from plenty of lime juice and fish sauce. The noodles have been teeming with fried small shrimp that broke like cracklings with every chunk. And it had loads of chile warmth to get the crown of your scalp sweating with out burning out your tongue. It made me change my tune on noodles (at the very least briefly) and made me take into consideration all the opposite nice dishes I’ve had in years previous that introduced me again to seeing noodles in a brand new mild.
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Genevieve Ko’s Spicy Chili Crisp Noodles are what first come to thoughts. A fast sauce of chili crisp enhanced with Chinese language black vinegar, sesame oil and recent ginger comes collectively in much less time than it takes to boil no matter noodles I’ve in my pantry. Add a bit of cilantro when you have it, and also you’ve received an ideal meal that’s spicy, satisfying and higher than any takeout you may get.
My Sesame Chilly Noodles With Crab and Crunchy Greens takes a bit of extra work, however the payoff is price it. Once more, black vinegar and sesame oil gown up a chili crisp-based sauce, however this one has Chinese language toasted sesame paste added for a creamy texture. The sauce blankets egg noodles that then get topped with plenty of thinly sliced napa cabbage, cucumbers and purple onions and brightened with plenty of recent jumbo lump crab meat.
For an additional genius fast noodle dish, attempt Ko’s Rainbow Curry Rice Noodles, which have solely 5 substances. Coconut milk is infused with purple curry paste and shallots till thick and fragrant, good for coating tender rice noodles and crunchy ribbons of carrot.
Chili crisp exhibits up as soon as once more, however this time dressed up with tomato paste, Vietnamese shrimp paste and Asian chile oil, in Angela Dimayuga’s Spicy Shrimp Paste Noodles. Ramen is the simplest and most suitable option of noodle for the intensely flavorful sauce. However yakisoba or every other wheat- or egg-based noodles will work.
And in the event you’ve received leftover roast pork, ribs or grilled pork chops, make Susan Vu’s Bun Bowls With Sautéed Cabbage, Mushrooms and Spare Ribs. Vu — who turned me on to Radna Silom’s pad Thai — deconstructs Vietnamese spring rolls (chả giò) right here, tossing rice vermicelli noodles with an electrifying nuoc mam made with plenty of lime juice, garlic and fish sauce and utilizing them as a mattress for sautéed mushrooms and cabbage and no matter leftover meat you will have. The bowls are topped with rice paper crackers you can fry up in only a few minutes so as to add crunch to the noodles, that are tender, chewy and imbued with all of the vivid flavors of the meat and veggies on high.
Spicy Chili Crisp Noodles
Savory, spicy and tangy, these Sichuan-style chilly noodles are filled with taste. Make the sauce whereas the noodles prepare dinner, or days forward of time, so the dish comes collectively in only a few minutes.
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Prepare dinner time: 10 minutes.
(Genevieve Ko / Los Angeles Occasions)
Sesame Chilly Noodles With Crab and Crunchy Greens
Chinese language sesame paste, made with roasted and floor sesame seeds, is crucial for this dish. Don’t be tempted to make use of tahini, which is made with untoasted seeds, as a result of the flavour will fall flat. You should use udon, soba or every other dried noodle you favor right here; simply ensure that the dried noodle weight is similar for the proportion of sauce to noodles to work out completely.
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Prepare dinner time: 45 minutes.
(Leslie Develop / For The Occasions; prop styling by Nidia Cueva )
Rainbow Curry Rice Noodles
Candy shallots and carrots mellow the warmth of curry, as do rice noodles. A squeeze of recent lime juice on the finish provides welcome brightness and acidity.
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Prepare dinner time: half-hour.
(Leslie Develop / For The Occasions)
Spicy Shrimp Paste Noodles
Angela Dimayuga takes 4 pantry substances and sizzles them right into a aromatic sauce in minutes. You possibly can hold the sauce available to decorate any noodles anytime or pull this entire dish collectively in lower than 20 minutes.
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Prepare dinner time: quarter-hour.
(Silvia Razgova / For The Occasions)
Bun Bowls With Sautéed Cabbage, Mushrooms and Spare Ribs
For the vegetable-heavy filling, Susan Vu makes use of cabbage and mini king oyster mushrooms, however you should use any produce you will have lingering in your fridge. You should use 2 cups of any leftover cooked pork rather than the spare ribs.
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Prepare dinner time: 40 minutes.
(Lindsay Kreighbaum / For The Occasions; prop styling by Dorothy Hoover)
