Asian Noodles: Deliciously Simple Dishes To Twirl, Slurp, And Savor

by Nina Simonds

For great food that is fast, cheap, and healthy, nothing fills the bill like noodles.Nina Simonds, one of America's most popular authorities on Asian cuisine, shows that the most satisfying and delicious noodle dishes are fun and fabulous to make at home. Tired of spaghetti and ravioli? Try soba, somen, ramen, or rice noodles instead. The 75 recipes for fragrant noodle soups, salads, starters, sides and complete suppers will thrill noodle nuts and novices alike. Cool and refreshing Cold Soba Noodles, soul-warming Ginger Sesame Chicken Noodles, and light and airy Lemon Broccoli Noodles are just a few of Nina's intensely flavorful dishes that are good enough to eat every night. Asian Noodles has a trove of useful and well-organized charts and tips on using the recipes, types of noodles, and how to prepare, use, or substitute the noodles--all designed to make any noodle novice an expert in no time.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 1997

Reviews

[Alan Tomkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great staple for the cook's library. Accessible and easy to follow recipes for American fans of Asian food. Great way to expand the home chef's repertoire beyond stir fry dishes. Seriously delicious comfort food awaits you in these pages in the form of side dishes, soups, noodle salads, and main dishes.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

i picked out 33 of the best dishes
out of what i think are about 66 actual recipes

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Vietnamese spring rolls

pork tenderloin - soy sauce - honey
carrots - mint - cilantro
Boston lettuce - shrimp - hoisin sauce
peanut butter - tomato paste - safflower oil
dried red pepper flakes - limes - fish sauce
rice paper wrappers - garlic - rice vermicelli noodles

Cold soba noodles

wasabi - green onion - bonito flakes
soy sauce - mirin
soba noodles - konbu

Garlic soba with broccoli rabe

safflower oil - dark sesame oil - dried red pepper flakes
broccoli rabe - sake
soba noodles - soy sauce - garlic

Chile noodles

safflower oil - dark sesame oil - dried red pepper flakes
ginger - garlic - red onion
zucchini - yellow squash - sake
soba noodles - parsley - Chinese black rice vinegar
[popular]

Ginger-scallion noodles

safflower oil - green onion - ginger
bean sprouts - dark sesame oil
fresh Chinese egg noodles - Chinese-style chicken broth
[popular]

Cilantro noodles

dark sesame oil - safflower oil - leeks
ginger - sake - bean sprouts
soy sauce - Japanese rice vinegar - cilantro
sake lees - rice vermicelli noodles

Wild mushroom noodles

safflower oil - garlic
dried Chinese black mushrooms - shiitake mushrooms - cremini mushrooms
sake - green onion - soba noodles
soy sauce - cilantro

Curried vegetarian noodles

safflower oil - garlic - Madras curry powder
red onion - red peppers - napa cabbage
soy sauce - rice vermicelli noodles - Chinese-style chicken broth

Ginger scallops with thin noodles

soy sauce - sake - ginger
scallops - broccoli - safflower oil
angel hair pasta - red bell peppers

Fresh shrimp rolls

carrots - Thai basil - cilantro
fish sauce - limes - jalapeno chiles
Boston lettuce - shrimp - dried red pepper flakes
rice paper wrappers - rice vermicelli noodles

Curried chicken rolls

spring roll wrappers - safflower oil - leeks
carrots - turnips - sake
dried red pepper flakes - garlic - ginger
cumin - ground coriander - turmeric
chicken breasts - coconut milk - fish sauce - basil

Vietnamese hot-and-sour shrimp soup

safflower oil - shallots - lemongrass
tomatoes - button mushrooms - shrimp
fish sauce - limes - bean sprouts
dried red pepper flakes
green onion - rice vermicelli noodles
[yes tomatoes!]

Tomato noodle soup

safflower oil - tomatoes - green onion
soy sauce - frozen peas
somen noodles - Chinese-style chicken broth
[peas and tomatoes!]

Seafood hot pot

shrimp - scallops - thick fillets [cod or haddock]
dark sesame oil - Chinese wheat flour noodles
safflower oil - garlic - napa cabbage
chicken bones - green onion - soy sauce
Chinese black rice vinegar - Chinese-style chicken broth

Accompaniments: Mongolian sauce

[soy sauce - sake - Chinese black rice vinegar]
[green onion - ginger - garlic]


Cinnamon beef noodles

safflower oil - green onion - garlic
ginger - chile paste - cinnamon stick
anise seeds - soy sauce - beef chuck
spinach - Chinese wheat flour noodles
[popular]


Scallion chicken with soba soup

chicken breasts - soy sauce - sake
ginger - soba noodles - bonito flakes
mirin - green onion - walnuts - konbu
[popular]

Thai beef with mint soup

safflower oil - garlic - wide flat rice noodles
beef sirloin steaks - bean sprouts
mint - Chinese-style beef broth

Mushroom-beef udon soup

beef sirloin steaks - soy sauce - mirin
dark sesame oil - bonito flakes - konbu
dried Chinese black mushrooms - shiitake mushrooms
green onion - spinach - udon noodles

Hanoi beef noodles/Pho

fish sauce - thin flat rice noodles - limes
red chiles - beef sirloin steaks - bean sprouts
green onion - cilantro
Thai basil - Chinese-style beef broth

Wilted spinach and crab salad

safflower oil - green onion - ginger
garlic - sake - soy sauce
Japanese rice vinegar - spinach - crabmeat
cellophane noodles - red bell peppers

Red-hot Sichuan noodles

shrimp - sake - green onion
ginger - fresh Chinese egg noodles - cucumbers
carrots - bean sprouts - safflower oil
dark sesame oil - dried red pepper flakes
garlic - soy sauce - Chinese black rice vinegar

Lemon broccoli noodles

linguine pasta - dark sesame oil - corn oil
garlic - dried red pepper flakes - smoked turkey breast
light soy sauce - lemons
Chinese broccoli - red bell peppers

Vietnamese shrimp with vermicelli

shrimp - ginger - fish sauce
safflower oil - bean sprouts - dry-roasted peanuts
cilantro - Japanese rice vinegar - red chiles
garlic - garlic chives - rice vermicelli noodles

Grilled seafood salad

shrimp - scallops - soy sauce
dark sesame oil - sake - ginger
linguine pasta - safflower oil - green onion
garlic - snow peas - Japanese rice vinegar
cilantro - red bell peppers

Spicy pesto soba

snow peas - soba noodles - red chiles
garlic - basil - mint
dark sesame oil - chicken breasts - green onion
soy sauce - Japanese rice vinegar - mirin

Thai pork with slippery noodles and pineapple

Boston lettuce - pineapple - safflower oil
ground pork - garlic - cilantro roots
red chiles - cellophane noodles - fish sauce
roasted unsalted peanuts - cilantro

Singapore fried rice noodles

shrimp - dark sesame oil - safflower oil
Madras curry powder - leeks
bean sprouts - soy sauce
rice vermicelli noodles - Chinese-style chicken broth

Curried coconut shrimp on rice noodles

rice vermicelli noodles - safflower oil - dried red chiles
lemongrass - ginger - cumin
ground coriander - red onion
coconut milk - fish sauce
shrimp - frozen peas - basil

Thai basil chicken with rice noodles

chicken breast - fish sauce - sake
shallots - safflower oil - red chiles
garlic - red onion - soy sauce
rice vermicelli noodles - Thai basil - red bell peppers

Saucy garlic pork lo mein

pork loin - soy sauce - garlic
safflower oil - ginger - dark sesame oil
dried Chinese black mushrooms - fettuccine pasta
garlic chives - Chinese-style chicken broth

Garlic beef with shiitake mushrooms on golden noodles

beef flank steaks - soy sauce - garlic
safflower oil - shiitake mushrooms - ginger
snow peas - oyster sauce - dark sesame oil
thin noodles - Chinese-style chicken broth

Hearty pork noodles

safflower oil - pork loin - green onion
ginger - sake - soy sauce
bok choy - ramen noodles

Spunky stir-fried ramen

pork loin - soy sauce - safflower oil
onion - dried red pepper flakes - napa cabbage
carrot - sake - Worcestershire sauce
sesame seeds - ramen noodles - ginger

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just picked this up on remainder from my local bookstore. It seems to fill a niche I need filled for cheap, easy-to-prepare street-food with an Asian flavor. Would probably appall a real lover of authentic Asian food, but I have been avoiding Chinese for years now because I find most of it too heavy and greasy, so pseudo-Asian is fine with me.

And this book tells me all the stuff about Asian noodles that I have always found confusing - like which are which (good photographs and descriptions of the products make this clear) and how to prepare - soaking, how long, rinsing, etc - stuff we don't normally do with Italian-type pasta dishes).

A lot of the recipes are vegetarian, and even those with seafood or meat are flexible - you can throw in the few shrimp or not or substitute cubes of tofu. All the recipes are cheap and quick to prepare - mostly chopping and mincing garlic, ginger and a veggie or two. Cooking is super fast.

All the recipes are for 6, so you can half them to feed 2 generously. Or for 1, just reheat the recipe for 2 the next day for psuedo leftover takeout Asian.

I like the Curried Vegetarian Noodles and Wild Mushroom Noodles.

Curried Vegetarian Noodles (for 6)

Ingredients
Mix together:
1 1/2 tb minced garlic
1 tb minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tb madras curry

2 1/2 c thinly sliced red onions
2 cups thinly sliced red bell peppers
4 cups thinly sliced nappa cabbage

For the Chinese sauce mix together:
1/4 chicken broth
3 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
black pepper

1/2 lb thin rice stick noodles (vermicelli) softened in hot water and drained
---------

Heat oil in pan or wok for about 30 secs, add curry mixture and stir fry 10 secs until fragrant. Add red onions and stir fry 1 minute, then add red peppers and stir fry 1 minute, then the nappa cabbage for 2-3 minutes until all are crisp-tender. Add the drained noodles and sauce, toss to mix.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new to me cookbook I found at my local public library. This book has a variety of noodle recipes, from apetizers to soups to salads and suppers, adapted from Asian cuisines. The noodles she uses are both asian and not – skinny vermicelli is called for in several recipes, so cooks in places without large Asian grocery stores can take advantage of her fresh and fast ideas. While it doesn’t have my favorite Thai noodle dish it does have plenty to offer:

* Garlic Soba with Broccoli Rabe
* Chile Noodles
* Ginger-Scallion Noodles
* Spicy Sesame Noodles

…and so many more.

I’ve only made one recipe from the book so far, Vegetarian Curry Noodles, and in a *new* move for me I actually followed the recipe (mostly). This is a veggie version of a dish the book’s author found in Singapore. It’s supposed to have rice noodles, red onions, red bell peppers and napa cabbage in a light curry sauce. I used tapioca noodles and collard greens because I had them on hand, and put a serrano chile in for heat. Heat it definintly gave!

The noodles turned out extremely well. Following the recipe – shockingly! – gave me a perfectly coated dry noodle dish with extra heat, but not so much that B & I couldnt handle it. We paired it with a little side salad and a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck and had a great Sunday dinner. I recommend this title to anyone who wants an introduction to many different noodle traditions with out a high price tag.

[Champaign Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious and fun noodle recipes for the carb lover in your house! Easy and tasty recipes with accessible ingredients - almost all needed ingredients can be found at Am-Ko or The Green Onion grocery stores. Noodle dishes are great for the summer because most can be served hot, warm or cold.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good recipes, but I find myself using the net more than actual cook books lately (saving trees and dollars, and more to choose from)

[Carly Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos! Easy recipes! Yummy servings.