HOME MADE Soto Ayam
After a shitty day at work, I was ecstatic to come home to one of my most favorite noodle dishes ever!! Anthony’s mother made Soto Ayam…mmmMMmm. It’s always such a special treat and is so delicious. Soto Ayam is an Indonesian chicken noodle soup that’s usually made with vermicelli rice noodles….but it’s so much better with bean thread (or cellophane) noodles. The reason why I love-love Soto Ayam so much is because it’s served with so many goodies. Soto Ayam is most often served with shredded chicken (but not tonight), hard boiled eggs (quail eggs are better!) slices of fried potatoes, fried shrimp chips and lots of veggies. The soup has an intense and savory flavor with a hint of sour because of the tomatoes, think of chicken soup on crack. Shredded cabbage and bean sprouts add texture and crunch. The fresh flavor of the basil and cilantro rounds out the dish. The fried potatoes and egg make this a hearty and substantial meal. A squeeze of fresh lemon is a must to add extra zing to the soup.
These are the bean thread noodles in it’s raw and cooked form. Oriental King seems to be the most popular brand in my neck of the woods. The wonderful thing about this noodle is that it absorbs the soup or sauce it’s in…at a rapid rate…so you have to eat fast! which shouldn’t be a problem…for me anyway. I also really enjoy the slippery, smooth texture, the chewiness, and the airiness of the noodles. Bean thread noodles are very easy to make: soak the noodles in hot water and give them a quick boil. The noodles are quite delicate, so be careful to not over cook or you’ll end up with a starchy pot of water.
Leave no noodle behind….I went from empty to full in 10 minutes.
#009 HIKARI-MISO Harusame (Bean-Starch Vermicelli) Soup – Osuimono Style Flavor
When I saw these noodles at the Japanese market, I was very excited to see instant silver noodles! I was drawn to them by the picture of the lemon and thought that this might have a nice citrus taste. Boy, was I surprised when I opened the package. The serving sizes are so teeny weeny. I guess this will be a snack. There are 5 individually wrapped vermicelli noodles and seasoning packets. The cooking instructions are quite simple, place noodles and seasoning into bowl, pour hot water and you’re done! I covered my bowl with cling wrap and waited for a few minutes. Since this was such a tiny serving, I thought it was appropriate to use the teeniest chopsticks I had. Cute.
There are lots of goodies in the seasoning packet – there’s dried seaweed, scallions, sesame seeds, fish cake and shitake mushrooms. Oh my goodness, I took my first bite and there were so many flavors dancing in my mouth! I tasted fish, probably bonito as it’s a popular ingredient in Japanese broths and seaweed – and the sesame seeds give it a nice toasty flavor and the best part is the citrus! Turns out there are pieces of yuzu zest in the seasoning packet. BONUS! So what I thought was a lemon on the package is really a yuzu. It adds a fresh, clean taste. Yum Yum Yum. Now I’m ready for lunch.
Next snack time, I will make 2 servings.
*Product of Japan
Cellophane noodles, instant noodles | Comments (2)