What Makes a Dish Perfect for Lockdown?
As of this writing, we've been on lockdown due to the Covid19 pandemic for about 6 weeks. So I've had a lot of time to think about what is the "perfect lockdown recipe". I came up with 5 qualities that a dish must have:
- Ingredients must be easy to find and last a long time (at least a month in your fridge).
- Quick and easy—for many of us who are trying to juggle working from home with kids, we need quick and easy more than ever!
- The recipe must be flexible—you can substitute a lot of ingredients and it'll still turn out fine.
- Inexpensive. Times are tough for so many people right now, so it must be easy on the budget.
- Delicious, of course! Perhaps most important of all, it needs to taste good to help uplift the mood!
This dish, glass noodle stir-fry, ticks all of these boxes. It's a classic Thai dish that's super common, just about every family makes some sort of a glass noodle stir-fry, and kids love it as well!
The Perfect Lockdown Ingredient
Glass noodles are pretty much the perfect lockdown ingredient, most notably because it essentially never goes bad. It'll keep in your pantry for at least five years, although it's such a versatile ingredient that I don't see why it would ever last that long!
It really is one of the most versatile ingredients—it can be used in anything, you name it; stir-fry, soup, salad, spring roll filling - it's also the most important ingredient in our hot pot! It has a neutral flavour so it will go with whatever sauce you give it.
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Glass noodles are super quick to cook; just a 7 minute soak in tap water and straight into the wok, or only 2-3 minutes in boiling water. It can also be soaked in advanced, drained, and kept in the fridge for a few days in a well-sealed container.
Some Tips for Cooking During Lockdown
- Don't overlook cabbage as a vegetable to stock up on. It lasts up to 3 months in your fridge if you keep it in a bag! Super versatile: try making green papaya salad with shredded cabbage and carrots instead of green papaya, or this popular side dish Garlicky Cabbage & Fish Sauce Stir-Fry!
- Carrots also last a long time, but be sure to keep them in a plastic bag to prevent them from wilting too quickly.
- Drained diced tomatoes make a great sub for fresh tomatoes in stir-fries.
- Use only the green part of green onion, then put the white + root in a glass with an inch of water. Put this by the window sill and change out the water every few days, within a week you'll have a whole new green onion!
- Ground meats go a long way in stir-fry. You will need less than if you were to use sliced pieces of meat.
For another lockdown-friendly recipe, check out how to make mie goreng. It uses egg noodles, but the same vegetables you use here will work there too!
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All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!
The Perfect Lockdown Recipe: Glass Noodle Stir-Fry!
- Yield: Serves 3-4
Description
Reheating tip: Glass noodles do keep quite well BUT, you need to know one thing: they harden up in the fridge, and in order for them to be soft again, they have to be heated back up until VERY hot. So don't heat it just until warm enough to eat; you want to get it steaming hot as if you cooked them in the pan again, and the noodles should look soft and clear.
Ingredients
- 80g glass noodles (2 small packs of Pine Brand)
- 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¼ large onion, cut into strips
- ½ tsp ground white or black pepper
- 150g ground pork or dark meat poultry, or sub another protein of your choice
- ½ cup carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced on a bias (about half a carrot)
- 1½ cups cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces (or sub other veggies you’ve got in the fridge)
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained well
- 2 eggs (you can also add 3 for extra protein)
- Optional garnish: Green onions or cilantro
Sauce
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ Tbsp Golden Mountain sauce (or sub Maggi Seasoning or more soy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- ~¼-½ cup water
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Instructions
- Soak glass noodles in room temperature water for 7-10 minutes until soft and pliable. Pour the water off, then cut the noodles in halfs or thirds with scissors to shorten them.
- To make the sauce, in a small bowl, mix together oyster sauce, soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce and sugar. Keep the water separate but have it ready on the side when you're cooking.
- Add oil to a wok or a large saute pan (preferably non-stick) and heat it on medium heat.
- Add garlic, onions, pepper and cook until the garlic starts to turn golden.
- Add the meat, turn the heat up to medium high and cook just until about 80% done.
- Add the cabbage and carrot, about 2 teaspoon of the sauce, and cook for a minute to wilt the veggies.
- Add the noodles, then pour the rest of the sauce on top of the noodles. Rinse the sauce bowl with about 3 tablespoon of the water and pour it in. Toss everything until the noodles have absorbed all the sauce and are fully cooked.
- Once the noodles have absorbed all the sauce, give it a taste to see if the noodles are done to your liking. If you want them softer, add another splash of water and toss them until they're dry again
- Push the noodles to one side and add a little extra oil to the empty space. Add the eggs to the space, then move the pan so the eggs are centered on the burner and the noodles are a bit off heat. Let the eggs set a bit, then scramble them slightly just to get a marbling of the whites and yolks. Once the eggs are about half way cooked, put the noodles on top of the eggs and let it sit without stirring for another 30 seconds to cook the eggs, then flip and tossing everything together.
- Add tomatoes and toss just to heat through for 10-15 seconds.
- Plate, top with green onions or cilantro, and serve immediately!
Pi Pla says
i like spicy Thai food but i alway recomend this dish for my non-spicy friends and they always love the selection.
Donald Carr says
I made this!!! It has now become my favorite foot!!!
Thank you. Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
Don
Don Carr says
I am making it for dinner tonight.
Cecily says
Tasty! I used ground pork and cabbage & carrots from cole slaw mix. Yum!
Sejal says
Turned out great with just the ingredients i had on hand. Will definitely make this again.
Robin says
Delicious and easy without a million ingredients.
Linda Gibson says
I don't eat meat is it ok to leave it out? Can I include prawns and if so when? Thanks
Pailin Chongchitnant says
You can leave it out, no problem. If using prawns, sear them first until fully cooked. Remove them, then add them back in at the end.
Patsy says
Can I omit the tomatoes?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Absolutely! You can change the mix of veggies to whatever you like!
Julianna says
Easy and delicious!
Wim says
Made it a few times already, the MIP takes some time, but the result is really worth it.
It is just really, really good.
Adam The HTK Intern says
Yay! 🙂
Tom Silvia says
Love
What I’m learning with the master
Nichole says
Love this! Made it tonight and doubled the recipe. I forgot to pick up ground meat so I just left it our, used five eggs for the double recipe, and used sweet potato starch glass noodles because that's what the store had. Will definitely be making this again!
Francisco Verjan jr says
If I'm using fresh tomatoes do I still add them at the end?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Yes, you do.
Sue says
A fairly quick recipe that, as my husband said, "Grows on you". The combination of ingredients, especially the canned tomato, is not obvious, but all together it sure is tasty, and seems pretty healthy
Terri says
Great recipe, have made it many times! So easy and delicious!
Did you ever find out what the Korean wok brand name is for your 'Secret Santa' wok? I am looking for a good, NON-STICK wok to supplement my other 2 woks.If you know, is it available to buy for online in North America? Thank you.
Joael says
Pad Woon Sen! Thanks for the recipe. I make it at home but I'm always looking for a new recipe.
Cyn says
Could I use sweet potato noodles?
Beau says
This quickly became a regular thing for me to make.
Tim says
This is the recipe that convinced me to finally try cooking glass noodles. For some reason, I had always thought they looked slimy. Was I wrong!! They have a great mouth feel, not slimy or mushy at all. This dish has great taste, and is versatile - I can see ways to adjust ingredients with what I have on hand. I hit the local Asian market on Saturday and stocked up on glass noodles so I can make this again anytime I want.
Ella says
Love this one 🙂