N.O.O.D.L.E.S.


We're busy people. Between work, school, travel, the dog, housework, and the million of other things that eat away at those shriking minutes in the day, we've barely had the chance to breathe this past year.

Sadly, busy-ness translated into the temporary exit of the culinary Squid. After all, what's a ceph to do if there's no time to cook pork chops, lemon rice, or even fish tacos?

She fries up some noodles, of course.

M and I fall back onto this old favorite on nights when cooking is the last thing that we want to do. We had our first transcendent experience sampling this dish after biking 20 km in the Indonesian heat and winding up in a dusty little town, where a kind lady fed us a heap of savoury, saucy noodles with perfectly fried eggs and fresh, hot sambal. Since that transformative meal (and the dozens of other near-perfect versions of the same that we had through the rest of our trip), packages of Indonesian-style instant noodles have been a pantry staple in our house.


So, as my triumphant return to the blogosphere, I present to you: Pop Mie. In all of its salty, spicy, sweet perfection, with al dente fried noodles, lightly blistered cherry tomatoes, flash-thawed veggies (YUP) and 2 gooey, ginger-garlicky fried eggs. This is a lazy, sloppy, one-bowl meal to keep in your back pocket as delicious free dinner pass, but hey - so many of the best dishes are.


Pop Mie (Indonesian fried noodles)
Serves 2
Active time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
- 2 packages of Asian-style instant noodles (such as IndoMie)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/4 white onion, diced
- 1 tsp crushed ginger
- 2 cups frozen vegetables
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil,  plus more if needed
- 2 tsp chili-garlic sauce (optional)
- green onions, for garnish (optional)
 ***If noodles do not come with spicy oils and sauces, add, to taste:***
-1- 2 tsp hoisin sauce
- 1-2 tsp hot sauce, such as Sriracha
- 1-2 tsp sesame oil + a pinch of garlic powder
- splash of soy sauce

1. Cook noodles as indicated, drain, and set aside.

2. Thaw the vegetables and set aside.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, non-stick frying pan on medium heat, and add the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the onion and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the oils from the noodle package or the sauces and oils listed at the bottom of the ingredients list. Add the tomatoes, turn up the heat, and blister for 2 minutes.

4. Turn the heat down and add the thawed vegetables and noodles. Mix in the noodle flavour packages (read: MSG) and the combine everything well. Fry for 2-4 minutes, to heat all the ingredients through and to give the noodles a bit of crunch.

5. Remove the noodles and vegetables from the heat, and serve into dishes, making sure to scrape any fried noodles off of the pan.

6. Return the pan to the stove and heat up 1/2 tbsp oil on medium heat. Crack 4 eggs into the pan and fry, over-easy.


7. Remove the eggs from the heat and carefully place 2 fried eggs atop each dish of noodles and vegetables. Garnish with green onions and consume alone or with a friend.

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