Project Food Blog Challenge 7: Homemade Lao-Style Noodles

{Voting for Challenge 7 opens now thru Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 6pm (PST).  Here's the link to vote for Spicy Green Mango by clicking on the heart! Don't forget you can also click on my Project Food Blog widget on the right hand column of this page. Thank you much, superstars!}

 **********

Eeek!  Really Project Food Blog? You want me to do what? Produce a cooking video? What in the H-E-double toothpicks is this all about? So yeah, while I am absolutely thrilled to have received the news that I'd advanced to Challenge 7, the other part of me felt like banging my head against a porcelain pho bowl -- hoping that maybe, I could just sneak off and like magic, I'd come back bursting with the bubbly enthusiasm of Giada de Laurentis or even the cool and collected (but oh so darling) demeanor of my Barefoot Contessa, Ina. 

VIDEO PRODUCTION:

Disclaimer:   I'm a total clutz in the kitchen.  Just read this blog and you'll understand what I mean :)
Video Credit:  Her awesomeness known as Elaine K. --- Hugs to you!! Thank you!





Step #1:  Figure Out Your Menu
Many moons ago in a previous post, I told you I'd have the recipe for my mom's famous Lao Chicken Noodle Soup (Khao Piak) for you down pat and then I realized yikes! I didn't!  When I started cooking, I never measured. Nope. Nada. Measuring cup or spoon? What are those?  As soon as I started blogging, I realized that things needed to change b/c unless I could tell you how I cooked my dishes, it would be of no use to you b/c you couldn't replicate it in your own homes. I know..I think I've grown up a wee bit since I first popped my head into the blogosphere.

So, the real secret to making the Lao version of chicken noodle soup is not in the broth, but in...

The NOODLES!!

Yes, those hand-rolled and sliced oodles of goodness that are just slightly chewy, but gooey, and melt in your mouth type of deliciousness.  Yum!  Made with equal parts tapioca flour, white rice flour and boiling water, this is pretty much as simple as it gets, folks!  No joke! And know what else? Jenn from Jenn Cuisine also tells me that they're WHEAT & GLUTEN-FREE!! Yay!

The REAL trick is to make sure that you incorporate the boiling water into the flour in your Kitchen Aid mixing appliance so that you get the proper consistency for the dough: nice, soft and stretchy to the touch.  This detail is VERY important because what happens when the water IS NOT boiling hot when you add it to the mixture is really a sad case:  you get dough that crumbles at the touch and really, it's like a dried-up form of Play-Doh that even the little kindergarteners refuse to play with at school. 

I think you'll appreciate the fact that even I, Spicy, who's cooked this so many times, can still manage to get it wrong. Cooking is really about experimenting and figuring out what works and what doesn't work and learning from the these little tidbits along the way.  And while my pictures may always appear that I can get it right all the time, the truth of the matter is that .....

I don't always get it right in the kitchen

.... and I've had my fair share of cooking debacles (my hubby can attest to this).  I'm only human and like you, I'm continually learning as I go along.  If this blog has been anything for me, it's really been a way for me to share my best memories and experiences with food and then, on those random occasions, I'd also be happy to shed light on my mishaps along the way. After all, striving for perfection is in it of itself an imperfection...at least it is in my blog, anyways!  So, that's settled, then. Wait..did I just digress? Okay, let's bring it back now.

Step # 2:  Tap into your Social Networks to Assemble your Team

Like any budding foodie director, I had to come up with a team of talented foodie friends whose ears would always perk up at the slightest mention that I'd cook for them in exchange for their kindness.  A few emails later (coupled with a promise to reciprocate the favor and give them first dibs at whatever I concocted), my lovely friend, Elaine, graciously offered to help me produce the video for this challenge.  Thank you, ELAINE!!!

Then, as I looked around my own little mouse hole of a kitchen that was not conducive whatsoever to filming, I realized I needed to enlist the generosity of a certain family whose kitchen I have been swooning over since I first laid eyes on it.  So, with their blessing in hand, the filming commenced and I even had a little visitor join me for the tasting.  Thank you, T-Fam!

Above, ooooh, golden little Chinese dough-nuts that I picked up earlier that morning.  So light, airy and crisp -- just divine when dipped into the savory chicken noodle soup. 

Step # 3: Recruit Adorable Little Critic(s) with Unbiased Appetites (and who provide you with the instantaneous validation you need to continue doing what you love :)

Meet Lil D. He's barely 2 years old, commands an astounding stature of 2 feet above the ground, and boasts an immense appetite for all things yummy! I think he beats my hubby for best critic. When Lil D. gets going, you would be hard pressed to separate him from his spoon. But he's a little heart breaker (and quite a good night kisser, if I might add) and if he had smiled (rather than have been so consumed with his noodle-mania), you would have seen his cute little fangs.

The little booger steals my heart everytime I see him and on this special occasion, I was more than happy to have him sample my creation. I totally felt like I was on Iron Chef with those panel of judges---wouldn't it be cool if those judges were all like Lil D? So easy to please. The verdict on Lao Chicken Noodle Soup? Well, it's Lil D-tested and Spicy Green Mango-approved. He even gave me a few kisses after his second helping to make sure I knew he was quite a happy little boy.



 Lao Chicken Noodle Soup (Khao Piak)
Yields enough noodles to bribe 6-8 people (into doing the dishes or whatever chores you have lying around) and make a happy little baby (feel like you're the best auntie ever)!

Part 1:  Homemade Lao-Style Noodles
Essentially, you need equal parts of each essential ingredient

• 2 cups tapioca starch/flour
• 2 cups white rice flour
• 2 cups boiling hot water
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour (set aside for dusting the dough)
  
  Essential Kitchen Items

• Kitchen Aid Stand mixer
• Cutting board (sprinkled with dusting of tapioca starch)
• Straight-edge knife (if you have one)
• Rolling pin
• Large stock pot
• Sieve

Part 2:  Chicken-Ginger Broth

• 12 cups water
• 4 ginger slices
• 3-4 tbs {good} chicken bullion (paste or dry powder form is okay)
• 3 tbs fish sauce  (adjust to taste)
• 4 bone-in chicken breast halves

HOW-TO:
For the Broth:  Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil, then simmer (45min - 1 hour).  Remove the chicken breast halves and allow to cool.  Strain hot broth through a sieve and transfer your now-clear broth back to the pot and allow broth to continue simmering on low heat.  Once the chicken has cooled, shred the chicken breast meat and set aside.

For the Noodles:  Combine the rice flour and starch in the mixer and then carefully add the boiling water. Using  your hook attachment, mix at the lowest setting for 3-5 minutes or until you see the dough form.  Remove the dough from the mixer and knead for 3-5 minutes by hand on top of a well-floured surface area. 

Divide the dough into little cylindrical logs (each log should measure up to your palm's lengh and about 3 inches wide).  Using your rolling pin, lay the log vertically in front of you and roll the dough into a long flat sheet.  At this point, if you have a pasta maker, you can definitely put it to good use and churn out evenly-sliced noodles.  However, if you do not own a pasta maker like me, follow these next steps: 

Once you have a long sheet of dough, turn it so that the dough is lying horizontally in front of you.  Fold the sheet in half, sprinkle with some extra tapioca flour to prevent the dough from sticking and slice into small, thin noodles. {Have fun with this part because it's handmade noodles after all and it's okay to have uneven slices in your broth}.

Putting it ALL Together:  Turn the heat of the broth to medium high and carefully lower the noodles into the simmering broth.  As the noodles are cooking, sprinkle a teaspoon of some fried garlic to give your soup an amazing aroma.  Cook the noodles for no more than 5 minutes or until they float to the top.  Ladle this savory soup into individuals bowls, spoon some of that shredded chicken breast over the top and garnish with your choice of the following:

• Sliced green onions/cilantro/culantro
• Fresh bean sprouts
• Chili oil sauce
• Fried garlic (yep, more of it!)
• Chinese doughnuts (soooo good!) or a nice slice of your favorite bread

And that's it! Enjoy!