Crispy noodles

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So have you noticed have I’ve started to do YouTube videos on some of my meals? Tonight I do crispy noodles. You can check out the videos I’ve put together on my YouTube channel.

I know they’re pretty amateurish and I’m only doing it because it’s another skill to learn and I like learning things with a geeky nerdy technological aspect to them. I’m not for one moment thinking I’ve become competent with food photography but I feel like I am familiar with editing software like Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. I’m now learning how to use iMovie and Final Cut Pro X.

If you like watching YouTube videos I’d be forever grateful if you subscribed to my channel.

Introduction

I’ve cooked noodles like this a lot of times and while it is not as good as frying (deep or shallow) the noodles for a consistent crispness, this method of cooking is multidimensional. Immediately under the piece of chicken the noodles often remain moist but contain all the flavour from the juices from the chicken. Combined with some cheese, the noodles not covered by the chicken dry out and become crisp and have a nice cheesy taste. Cooking the piece of chicken on a small mound of noodles is potentially problematic in that heat to the chicken is mainly via the sides and the top. Getting adequate heat into the chicken from below takes longer because of the relative insulation provided by the noodles. The last thing you want is inadequately cooked chicken. As much as I like Salmonella and Campylobacter as enteric pathogens, I don’t like having enterocolitis with the associated fever, abdominal colic and diarrhoea. This means you need to cook the chicken and noodles for about an hour to get the internal temperature right to kill vegetative bacterial cells. You don’t want to see red blood and you don’t want red or really pink flesh.

At the same time, you don’t want to overcook the food. Dried chicken is awful and you may as well eat breast (yes I’m a thigh man). The noodles will also begin to burn and take on a nasty taste. I find cooking at 200 °C for 20 minutes and then at 150 °C for 40 minutes to be adequate and safe.

So what do you need?

• Two-minute noodles with the flavour sachet
• Grated cheese (I like Coon cheese)
• Spring onions or chives
• Chilli slices
• Chicken Maryland (or a piece of chicken thigh or what Coles has started calling chicken cutlets)
• Pepper
• Salt
• Chilli flakes
• Avocado
• Olive oil

How do you put it all together?

1. I cook my noodles in a bowl of water that has just boiled in my electric kettle
2. I cook the noodles in the hot water until they are soft
3. Drain the noodles and add some cheese, spring onions and chilli slices and stir through
4. Place a sheet of baking paper into a baking tray
5. On the baking paper add the noodles, cheese, spring onions and chilli slices.
6. Add the piece of Chicken Maryland on top
7. Add some pepper, salt and chilli flakes
8. Put it into an oven at 200 °C for 20 minutes and then 150 °C for 40 minutes

Prepare for a photograph

1. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes
2. Transfer the baking paper from the baking tray and then transfer the Chicken on the noodles onto a plate
3. Add some diced avocado which has been mixed with a little olive oil and spring onions
4. Shoot the photograph (I like using a 90 mm Tamron Macro lens at f/22)
5. Eat the meal
6. Wash the dishes
7. Write the recipe
8. Blog and vlog (verbs)

How does it taste?

Well, the chicken was perfect. The skin was crispy, the cooked muscle was moist and tender and tasty.

The noodles not covered by the chicken was a little overcooked but it was crispy and had a good crunch.

The noodles under the chicken were moist and soft and full of flavour.

I think regular readers know that I love avocado!

Final words

If you like the texture and good mouthfeel, crispy noodles are great.

Give it a go and let me know what you think.

 

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