Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
1. 200g plain flour (I use the organic flour from Føtex Salling with protein 11%)
2. 1 egg (60ml) + water to 85ml
3. 1 tsp salt (4g) - 2% of flour content.
4. 1/2 tsp olive oil (2ml) - prevents the noodles from fraying during extrusion
5. 2l of boiling water for cooking the noodles
Directions:
1. Attach disc with the biggest hole to the Philips pasta machine.
To mix the ingredients:
2. Run the mixing cycle of 3 mins each for 3-5 times, total 15 mins.
3. Gradually add in the wet ingredients. The mixture will look dry, but do not be tempted to add more liquid.
4. Rest for 1 hour to relax the gluten. Cover with plastic wrap over the feeding of liquid opening.
(These steps above by the pasta machine are roughly equivalent to combing the flour to a hard dough by hand in the noodle making process.)
To knead the dough:
5. Mix and extrude the noodles using the biggest size disc you have (mine is a biscuit disc 8mm in diameter) to knead the dough - this is so that you won't strain your machine at this point.
6. Cut into small inches size and add them back to the pasta maker. This step is to use the machine to knead the dough.
7. Your dough now should not stick to your fingers, doesn't fold easily, but elastic in the sense that when you press it with a finger, the indent gradually return to you halfway. If not, let it rest for 30 mins in the pasta machine covered.
(These steps above by the pasta machine are roughly equivalent to kneading the dough by hand in the noodle making process. Unlike kneading by hand, a second rest is not needed, if you are using a electric pasta machine like Philips, since the force of extrusion is so strong.)
To extrude the noodles:
8. Change the noodle disc to angel hair disc or your desired disc and select the extrude setting. The noodles should come out looking nice, not sticky and not frayed.
To cook the noodles:
9. Bring to boil a pot of water, cook one serving at a time for:
- 30 seconds if you are using angel hair disc. 1mm in diameter noodles in soup.
- 1 min if you are using angel hair disc. 1mm in diameter noodles in sauce.
- 2 mins if you are using udon disc 2.5 x 2.5mm noodles in stir-fry.
- 4.5 mins if you are using udon disc 2.5 x 2.5mm noodles in soup.
- 6-7 mins if you are using udon disc 2.5 x 2.5mm noodles in sauce.
10. If you are unable to eat your noodles immediately, drain and rinse them under running cold water immediately to stop the cooking, and gently wash and rub away the excess starch around the noodles with your hands until the water is clear. You will notice that the noodles has pliability, but not sticky. The noodles firmed up.
Do not soak in the water for too long, as the noodles will turn soggy. To warm up the noodles, add back to the pasta water in the pot with the stove off and dish them out immediately. It will taste chewy, and the noodles will be nice and warm :-)
If you follow these steps with mixing, resting and kneading, your noodles should taste firm, but chewy and springy.
You can eat it on its own with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil, or use it for stir-fry and soup. Here is a stir-fry recipe: https://youtu.be/mc5Gl9ZycmM?si=vTzISFAJD3QkR-PZ
Storage:
Stores up to 5 days in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer.
Additional Information:
These noodles taste superb, smooth and have a lovely texture as super thin noodles and chewy as thicker noodles such as udon. They taste pretty much like Chinese noodles, even though I didn't put any lye water "kansui" - sodium bicarbonate water.
For the liquid ingredients, to increase the nutritional value even further, I sometimes use milk instead of water. You won't find any difference in taste of the noodles after cooking.
For the flour, I sometimes add 100g of wholewheat flour, so that with 200g plain flour and 100g wholewheat flour, it is 33% wholewheat. In this case, the total liquid will be 90ml egg + 40ml water or milk, totally 130ml. In this way, this noodles are packed with nutrients from the wholewheat flour, egg and milk.
We use this noodles to make ramen dish or simply eat it with some soy sauce and sesame oil :-)
Oil
Adding oil makes them easier to be extruded out. I like to use olive oil, because it is very healthy, and you can't taste it in the noodles. However, you can use any other neutral vegetable oil or sesame oil as you prefer.
Lye Water
I have tried to make these noodles several times. The lye water "Kansui" in Chinese alkaline water or baking soda doesn't seem to help to make the noodles more elastic, thus I have omitted it. The chewiness and elasticity of the noodles are mainly dependent on the gluten of the flour being formed. It helps to let the dough rest for an hour. On the contrary, adding lye water or baking soda on the contrary discolor the noodles over time - turning them dark in color, and isn't so nice looking.
Salt
You can make the noodles without adding any salt. However, adding salt to the noodles makes the dough easier to handle, however the quantity of salt is quite critical. It should be 1.5-2% of the flour content, not less, not more, as it makes the noodles brittle. With this percentage, the noodles will not be brittle.
According to Chembiagro, the optimum adding amount of sodium chloride was around 2% [32, 40], where the overall quality of noodles, including texture, brightness, cooking properties and flavor, was enhanced significantly.
I have tested recipes where salt is added to the flour and recipes where it isn't added to the flour. When salt is added to the flour or egg mixture, you can see gluten developed on the rollers. However, it seems to make the noodles more brittle. When no salt is added during the noodle during the production, the end noodles aren't brittle, more chewy, hold its shape and isn't not sticky. Thus, I have omitted salt from the recipe. I only add salt to the noodles at the cooking stage.
Also, add the salt to the dry ingredient i.e. the flour and not the wet ingredients i.e. the egg mixture. This is because I have experienced that adding salt to the egg mixture tends to discolor the noodles, giving it a dull shade, especially after some time, although this would not affect the taste.
If you are not adding salt in your dough, use 1 teaspoon for every litre of water when cooking the noodles.
References:
Philips Vivi Pasta machine mounted with bronze PVD Angel Hair mold from Pastidea.
The pasta maker extruding the noodles.
If need be, lightly sprinkle some flour over the noodles to avoid sticking.
Fresh ramen noodles is done :-)
Bring to boil a pot of water and cook noodles for only 15-30 seconds.
Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process after dishing out.
Drain and it is ready to be eaten with sauces or used in other dishes :-)
If you are using it later, you could oil it with a teaspoon of sesame oil to keep the texture and prevent sticking.
