Friday, October 26, 2007

Cellophane Noodles Stir Fry and I'm a Schmoozer!

I love the bouncy texture of cellophane noodles made from mung bean flour, and their translucent appearance adds to the appeal. And I like the versatility of it's bland taste as it takes in the flavors of the sauce or soup very well. Made this flavorful stir-fry recipe that I adapted from Fine Cooking.

To cook the cellophane noodles, boil a pot of water and remove from heat. Drop in a bundle (about 3-4 oz) of cellophane noodles and let sit for 3-4 mins til it's just softened. Drain and rinse well in running water. Add 1 tbs of vegetable oil, toss and set aside in a colander to continue draining.

In a small bowl mix
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs sesame oil
1 1/2 rice vinegar
1 Tbs brown sugar

1/2 - 3/4 lb flank steak, partially frozen for 20 mins, and sliced thinly across the grain. Season beef with salt and pepper.Heat 2 Tbs of sesame oil in a non-stick skillet over med. heat til hot. Add 1-2 tsp minced garlic and stir fry for 1 min. Careful that you don't burn the garlic. Add sliced flank steak, and stir-fry quickly til it's no longer raw, about 1 min. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add shallots and vegetables to pan and stir-fry for 2-3 mins til vegetables are softened. Add beef and noodles to skillet and mix the ingredients together. Add soy sauce mixture and stir-fry til everything is coated, about 2-3 mins. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Note: This is very good, especially if you want to turn up the heat and add some thinly sliced thai bird's eye chilli.... Wooohoooo! There also another cellophane noodle recipe here.

I also want to thank Padma's Kitchen for sending this award my way, although I don't know if I am that good at schmoozer, especially if you ask my family as they think I'm a tyrant. But I will gladly accept it and keep it. Just kidding! I'll share, of course. To be fair to all the bloggers that are linked here, I will be passing this award to the following friendly bloggers whose names were the first 6 picked out by four little helpful hands:

Retno Prihadana
Beau Lotus/East Meets West
Cris/From our home to yours
Little Corner of Mine
Farmgirl
Kelly Mahoney

The reason there were six picks was because the kids had to have 3 picks each. And they continued picking til all the names on the sticks were gone, so that just proved that you are ALL schmoozers! YAY! Hooray! Happy Day!

19 comments:

KellytheCulinarian said...

How tasty! I love that type of noodles.

Little Corner of Mine said...

I love this noodle too, still have one packet at home. And thanks for passing me this award! :*

SteamyKitchen said...

I looooove cellophane noodles. The kids just discovered that they fling reallly far across the table.

Anonymous said...

Looks good and congratulations you Schmoozer! :)

Dwiana P said...

This type of noodles is one of my fav. look like you cook them so tasty. wow I might love to have some:)

wonda said...

We have three types of transparent noodles here. Glass noodles (tang hoon), Shirataki, and another one (forgot its name). So this cellophane noodle is the same as glass noodle, right?

wonda said...

Ah yes, I remember now. The other type of transparent noodle in Japan is Kuzukiri.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Kelly,
Yes, it was tasty and fun too!

Hey C,
Was thinking of you when I made this, and you're most welcome, gf!

Hi SteamyKitchen,
Haha! You cuties are a little older than mine, and I'm sure I'll see the day when they react the same way! :o

Hi Judy,
LOL! Thanks! **MUAH!**

Hi Dwiana,
Thanks! And do have some! :)

Hi Alice,
Wow-Wow-Wee! So many nijongo-names! Nice! I think some are made from potatoe starch (like a Korean one), and others from a vine, but cellaphane noodles generally refers to the the tung hoon over here that's made from mung bean flour. No worries, as most of them can be made with this or soup dishes. Yep, a.k.a. glass noodles.

Anonymous said...

Ms Schmoozer, I like cellophane noodles!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Tigerfish,
Hey fellow schmoozer! Me too!

Big Boys Oven said...

I got two big pack of this noodle, one from china and one from korea.... I must work them for dinner tomorrow!;)

Anonymous said...

Looks yummy! Congrats on the award! :)

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Big Boys Oven,
Sounds like you're going to have a cellophane noodle party! LOL!

Hi Blurmommy,
Thanks and thanks! :)

Beau Lotus 涟 said...

How come I'm never so lucky in a lucky draw???

I need help with the definition of schmoozer, though.

And love cellophane noodles too, though one really needs lots of it to fill one up, n'est-ce pas?

Cris said...

This is so sweet of you! Thanks so much and congratulations on yours!

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Beau Lotus,
LOL! Maybe you should have my kids pick your numbers! Schmoozing is a good thing, I guess. And cellophane noodles are definitely a light fare. :)

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Cris,
You're welcome! And Thanks!

daphne said...

I love this noodles! this is great! especially with sesame oil and seed.. yummm

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi Daphne,
Yes, sesame oil and sesame seed adds such frangrance to the dish.