[thechat] cooked carrots (was: what is this thing anyway?)

[Erik Mattheis]

On Thursday, February 27, 2003, at 11:14  AM, Madhu Menon wrote:
> Anything about Asian food.

1. How do you make the fish sauce stuff used for dipping
eggrolls/springrolls - ... with (raw) shredded carrots and scallions
and it's sweet and vinegary and fishy?

Regarding clear rice noodles: I understand the correct technique is to
boil water, take it off the heat and let them soak for 20 minutes. I
make my own soup using them two or three times a week and have found
that if I put them in cold water, then microwave them for 4-5 minutes,
they will be good enough for me by the time the rest of my soup is done.

My typical recipe (serves one):

1 or 2 cloves garlic, diced
1 or 2 scallions, sliced
1/2 - 1 cup vegetables, chopped (always mushrooms, plus one or more of
the following: asparagus, broccoli, flowering kale, snow peas)
1 Roma tomato or several cherry tomatoes
MSG
Red Pepper
Black Pepper
1 can chicken or miso broth
olive or sesame oil
rice noodles

• prepare rice noodles as described above
• put  2 qt pan on med-high heat
• dice and slice garlic, scallions and mushrooms
• by this time, pan is hot enough to take the oil - put enough in so it
spreads out over 1/2 - 1/2 of the pan
• add a pinch of MSG and red pepper to oil, stir a few seconds
• add garlic, scallions and mushrooms, stir 30 seconds-1 minute
• add broth, turn heat on high
• dice and slice the rest of the vegetables, occasionally pausing to
stir broth
• by this time, the microwave is beeping - cut rice noodles by slicing
across twice while they're still in the water
• by this time, your broth is boiling, add all vegetables except
tomatoes
• drain noodles, rinse with cool water
• by this time, or shortly thereafter, the soup has returned to a boil.
Take it off the heat when it does
• add tomatoes and noodles and black pepper to taste
• add the tomatoes and rice, clean up kitchen. Now your soup is cool
enough to eat quickly and immediately

Sseven minutes or less have passed, and your back at your computer
working, left with only one dirty bowl and one dirty spoon which you
can clean tomorrow.

Alternately, you can add fishballs with the vegetables, or chicken or
raw fish with the mushrooms, garlic and scallions.
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Erik Mattheis
GoZz Digital
<http://goZz.com/>
Flash and ColdFusion Development
Minneapolis, MN
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