Sunday 24 April 2016

Rice vermicelli

No matter what others on the interwebs may say, this is the way to obtain rice vermicelli (the 0.5 mm thick ones)  that are nice and cooked but not soggy:

  • boil enough water to completely submerge the noodles;
  • put the noodles in a large pot;
  • wait a couple of minutes (because we don't want really boiling water) and add the water to the noodles;
  • use chopsticks to move around the noodles and loosen them;
  • once the noodles are flexible but retain some bite, they are cooked -  3 to 4 minutes;
  • drain the noodles using a sieve and thoroughly (and I mean thoroughly!) rinse them under cold running water in the sink;
  • put the noodles in your salad spinner and get to work: spin and throw the water away - do that until no water (or almost no water) gets spun;
  • put a saucer upside down in a bowl so that if any water collects at the bottom, it won't touch the  noodles;
  • add the noddles to the bowl and let them air dry a bit;
  • voilĂ !
I  used them for bun cha and for fresh spring rolls, but there are many other possible uses for this canvas.