Noodles, Rice and Veggie Alternatives

Just a quickie this one. If like me you struggle to perfect your rice or noodles even when you do exactly what the packet says (I know it's not our fault), here are a few tips I picked up from my teacher at Asia Scenic cookery school in Chang Mai.

Also thrown in at the bottom are a few veggie alternatives.

Glass Noodles

Unless you're using these in a soup, sometimes they just seem to all stick together, no matter how hard I try.

To cook, boil some hot water in a pan and then transfer to a heat proof bowl. Leave for a couple of mins to cool slightly and then add in the glass noodles. You should leave them in for around 10 minutes - not enough that they are completely cooked, but still just a little bit hard.

Next, drain them under cold water, and leave to drip drain for a while. If you're adding them to a stir-fry or a soup, they will finish cooking by soaking up the liquid ingredients.

Rice

A steamer is the best option here, but if you've only got a pan to hand, start by adding enough water to cover the rice by about 2 cm and just leave it to do it's job. Avoid stirring until cooked through.

I've been told old rice is better to cook with than new, so if you've got a packet that's bit hanging around the back of the cupboard a bit too long, that's probably the best option.

Sticky Rice

Sticky rice is different to other rice, for example you have different categories like Basmati, Jasmine etc, and thus you can't make sticky rice from the regular stuff.

Sticky rice needs to be soaked for at least 6 hours (better overnight). Drain the water, put into a strainer and drain with clean water. Cook in a steamer for 20 - 30 minutes, then remove to a heat proof dish and cover for up to 30 minutes before dishing up or cooking with.

Check out the Mango and Sticky Rice recipe for something delicieux!

Veggie Alternatives

For stir fries, soy sauce can be substituted for fish sauce, and mushroom sauce can be substituted for oyster sauce.

For soups and curries use 1/2 teaspoon of salt instead.

For meat, use tofu or mushrooms.

NB If you come across yellow tofu, don't be put off, it has merely been dyed with tumeric for aesthetic purposes, and does not taste any different to the usual white stuff.

Hanoi Food Market

I have been around a couple of food markets in Hanoi, but none were as extensive as the one we were taken to during my cooking course courtesy of Old Hanoi restaurant. There was definitely an ‘eclectic’ mix of spices, meats, vegetables and a few things in between…

Chicken plucked and ready to go. Vietnamese eat all parts of the bird, including the head and feet.

Vietnamese and Western bananas – slight size difference!

Pig trotters; a staple of any Vietnamese pregnant woman – apparently they help to produce good quality breast milk.

A bit of beef filleting going on – it is very common to see meat left out in the open air throughout the markets. I asked Anh, our chef, why it wasn’t refridgerated and she told me that every morning it was brought from locals who had dissected the meat earlier that morning, and therefore it didn’t need to be put on ice or refridgerated.

Huge beef loin!

Pig intestines.

Pig hearts and a few livers in the top left corner.

Caged birds, not sure what sort, but I got the impression it wasn't for pets.

A huge selection of different types of rice, beans and lentils.

Massive bucket of snails, not something I'll be dipping into!

Close up.

Selection of fresh fish Catfish – this is the same fish we used for our Steamed Catfish in Lotus Leaf and Tamarind Sauce recipe.

Not sure of name of these fish, however I thought it was a shame they did not have room to swim about, even if they weren’t going to be around much longer!

Chickens to be sold as pets for laying eggs.


So as you can see, the food of Hanoi reaches far and wide, and these were just a few selection shots from our tour. I noticed that duck eggs were as common as chicken eggs, and also bird eggs (quite small) were available easily. If only I had a kitchen and a Vietnamese translator!