Today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year. And to celebrate, Cinda Chavich, CBC’s  food and cooking columnist, is here to talk about one of her favourite Chinese foods – noodles.

(Find her recipe for Spicy Szechuan Noodle Soup below, or listen to her on the radio here)

NOODLES ARE AN EVERYDAY FOOD IN CHINA BUT THEY ARE ALSO AUSPCIOUS FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
Yes, there are several traditional dishes served at a Chinese New Year dinner but one of my favourites is the Long Life Noodles. It’s a dish often made with bean thread or cellophane noodles, cooked with sesame oil and soy and topped with dried Chinese mushrooms, shredded cabbage and bamboo shoots.
Like everything on the table – whether it’s the whole fish for abundance or the mandarine oranges for wealth – noodles symbolize good wishes for the new year, in this case the wish for long life.
Noodles are traditionally eaten for birthdays, and for special banquets like this.
Noodles are served long and whole – never chopped or cut, because that would shorten one’s life. The idea of serving the whole food item is very symbolic, indicating fullness or completeness, in Chinese culture. Which is why it’s perfectly polite to slurp up long noodles from your bowl without ever cutting them.
 
SO LET’S TALK ABOUT CHINESE NOODLES – THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS
Yes, you only have to go to a Chinese noodle shop like Hung’s in Calgary to see the incredible array of noodles that are available.
They basically break down into two broad categories – flour noodles and rice or bean thread noodles.
The flour noodles are the sturdy noodles made with flour and water, and sometimes with eggs. In the northern parts of China, you’ll find straight flour and water noodles, but the Cantonese usually prefer egg noodles. They can be thick like Shanghai noodles or very fine, like wonton noodles. They need to be boiled like pasta for a few minutes and drained before you add them to soups or sauté them in stir fries.
The straight flour noodles are essentially soup noodles, while the thin egg noodles are used for stir fries, pan fried noodles and saucy dishes.
 
WHAT ABOUT RICE OR BEAN THREAD NOODLES?
They are different, too. There are the noodles made with rice flour or bean flour. Rice noodles – sometimes called rice sticks -  are usually sold dry. Rice noodles are white, and just need to be rehydrated to use in soups of stir fries.
Bean thread noodles are also sold dry.
Bean thread or cellophane noodles are clear, made from mung bean powder, and are transparent and gelatinous when cooked. They can be stir fried or used in soups and with saucy dishes.
Rice noodles are commonly used in Thai or Vietnamese dishes like pad thai or bun, but Chinese dishes most often use flour or egg noodles.
 
WHERE CAN YOU GET CHINESE NOODLES?
We’re really lucky in Alberta, we have local Chinese noodle makers who sell fresh noodles, and great Asian groceries like T&T markets that sell both dry and fresh noodles.
You can buy steamed Chinese egg noodles – which are great for soups or pan-fried noodles - in the produce sections of most supermarkets these days. Or go to a Chinese grocer or a shop like Mandarin Noodle that specialize in making fresh noodles every day.
What’s especially fun is to watch a skilled noodle maker pulling long noodles from a piece of flour and water dough. I’ve seen Chinese chefs do this at restaurants in Vancouver and Richmond – and even in Calgary several years ago. It’s quite an art.
Vancouver is really a mecca for noodle lovers – with lots of noodle houses and cafes, like the Legendary Noodle House, where Chinese chefs hand stretch the noodles to order.
But these days you can actually buy fresh or dried Chinese noodles in most Alberta supermarkets.
 
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO COOK CHINESE NOODLES?
It’s really just like cooking any other kind of pasta – just make sure you have a large pot of briskly boiling, salted water on the stove before you add the noodles, and just cook them until they’re al dente, or cooked through but still firm to the bite. Many of these noodles are very thin and delicate, so they don’t need more than a minute or so in boiling water – and the rice or bean thread noodles really only need to be soaked in hot water before you add them to soups or other dishes.
One of my favourite noodles is the wonton noodle which has a nice chewy texture and is easy to work with if you want to brown the noodles or toss them in the wok with a stir fry. Or you can use the pre-cooked steamed noodles you’ll find in many grocery stores.
After your noodles are boiled and tender, drain them, rinse them, and toss them in a big bowl with a little sesame oil to keep them from sticking together. Then you can add them to the wok with some oil to brown, or just add them to soups of stir fries.
 
AND HOW DO YOU SERVE CHINESE NOODLES?
There are so many different recipes that use Chinese noodles, whether you’re making cold Sichuan noodles with spicy peanut sauce or panfried noodles with beef and broccoli.
In China, noodles are often eaten for breakfast so you’ll see them served in big bowls in the morning markets, with a rich broth and all kinds of toppings, like cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and spicy ground pork with chilies and peanuts.
Noodles are really very versatile. You can use them in big bowls of noodle soup, you can toss them with meats and vegetables, or even fry them into crispy noodle cakes to act as a base for saucy stir fries.
The Chinese word for noodles is “mein” so any kind of Lo Mein is a simple dish of noodles tossed with meats and vegetables.
When you’re making a stir-fry to serve with noodles, I think it’s nice to cut all of the ingredients into slivers – so use strips of pork or chicken, shredded cabbage, onion, mushrooms and bamboo shoots, and even long strips of carrot or green onions in the mix.
Noodles are especially good with spicy toppings and sauces because they help temper the spice, so I’d always recommend using some hot garlic chili paste in a noodle dish.
Noodles are great in hot pots or saucy stews to soak up all of the flavours.
But really, anything goes. If you routinely serve your stir-fried meat and vegetable dishes over rice, try serving them over noodles for a nice change.
Or just make a simple chicken broth, flavoured with a little fresh ginger, garlic and soy sauce, and add some cooked Chinese noodles with sliced green onion and shredded carrot, or a little cooked leftover chicken for a fast, easy meal.
 
DID YOU BRING A RECIPE?
Yes, I did. When I was last in China, I got hooked on the bowls of spicy noodles and broth for breakfast and created a recipe when I got home that’s in my last book, The Guy Can’t Cook. It’s really simple – the secret is the ground pork mixture, cooked with onions, garlic, lots of hot Asian chile paste and a little peanut butter. If you make up this mixture, you can just boil your favourite noodles, put them in a bowl with some hot chicken broth, and top them with the ground pork and any chopped vegetables you have on hand. I like shredded cabbage or bok choy, with mushrooms and green onions, but you can also add fresh bean sprouts, shredded carrots, ham or slivered chicken.
In China, they set out all of the toppings on the breakfast buffet and you can build your own bowl of noodles with your favourite toppings. They make it for breakfast but we like it any time of the day.
Traditionally, this soup is made with a rich pork broth. So you can make your own when you have pork bones – but commercial chicken broth works well, too.
And use any kind of noodles you like – the longer the better for a long, happy life!
 
RECIPE:
 
SZECHUAN PORK NOODLE SOUP
At a hotel I visited in Kunming, China, the breakfast of choice was noodles in steamy chicken soup with spicy ground pork– aka Over the Bridge Noodles. Made to order and garnished with everything from salty Yunnan ham and spicy pork in chili oil, to fresh bean sprouts, chopped green onions and slivers of cooked chicken, it’s a build-your-own kind of dish. Black vinegar mixed with soy is a popular condiment in southern China. You’ll find everything you need at an Asian market.
Set all of the toppings out so that diners can garnish their soup as they like. For a vegetarian soup, try making the sauce with ground soy protein instead of pork. A satisfying meal any time of the day.
 
6-8 cups (1.5-2L) hot chicken stock
 
3/4 pound (375 g) thin rice vermicelli or fresh Chinese egg noodles (if rice noodles are dry, soak in hot water for 15 minutes and drain)
 
Toppings:
Fresh bean sprouts
Chopped green onions
shredded cooked chicken
Slivered Yunnan ham or prosciutto
Fresh pea shoots
Black vinegar and soy sauce
 
Spicy Pork in Chili Sauce:
1/2 pound (225g) lean ground pork
2 tablespoons (25 ml) canola oil
1/2 cup (125 ml) minced shallots
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon (15 ml) brown sugar
2 tablespoons  (25 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (25 ml) minced ginger
3-4 tablespoons (45-50 ml) Asian chili paste (or 4 minced red fresh chilies)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) crunchy natural peanut butter or sesame paste
2 teaspoons (10 ml) dark Chinese vinegar or lemon juice
 
In a wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat  and cook the ground pork, shallots and garlic until the meat has turned colour and is starting to brown. Add the sugar, soy sauce, ginger, chili paste and cook together for 3-4 minutes, then stir in the peanut butter and vinegar and remove from heat. If not hot enough, drizzle with some chili oil (alternatively, cook the ground pork with a commercial Sichuan soup paste, found in jars in Asian markets).
Set out all of the toppings in small bowls on the table. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and keep it hot.
Heat a large pot of water to boiling and add the noodles. After about 1 minute, test the noodles to make sure they’re tender, then drain and divide them among four large soup bowls. Fill each bowl 3/4 full with chicken stock. Let your guests choose their own toppings – a spoonful of spicy pork goes on last, to give the soup its unique fiery flavour.  Pass the black vinegar and soy sauce. Serves 4

©Cinda Chavich 2011

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