Six of Asia's Most In Demand Noodle Dishes
Asia has so much to offer with noodle dishes. From the delicious Malaysian street food Mee Goreng to the hearty Thai Pad Thai, the colourful Japanese Kitsune Udon to the spicy Korean Kimchi Ramen, and China's unique Dandan Noodles to the incredible Vietnamese Pho. Who's your pick as King of the noodle game?
Mee Goreng I Malaysia
With its origins tracing back to the Indian-Muslim community in Maritime Southeast Asia (1), Mee Goreng is one of Malaysia's most authentic and popular street foods. There are such a variety of Mee Goreng depending on where you are at in Malaysia. From the slightly saucy ones to the hot and spicy ones, Mee Goreng is one of those dish that you got to try when visiting Malaysia. This fried noodle plate is super easy to make. It uses yellow noodles topped with your choice of protein, boiled potato, bean sprouts (learn how to grow your own here), and drizzled in kicap manis (sweet soy sauce) - all together making for a tasty, tangy, savoury dish. This dish can be made at home since most supermarkets and local farm shops will stock ingredients suited to make it. Experience a taste of Malaysia from the comfort of your own kitchen by following our own Mee Goreng Mamak recipe today!
Pad Thai I Thailand
Formerly known as Gway Teow Pad Thai (with Gway Teow being the Chinese words for 'rice noodles' due to its creation by Chinese traders in the 1700s) (2), authentic Thai dish Pad Thai is a hugely popular street food. If you've been to Bangkok or any Thai cities for holiday, you'll definitely have tried this world-famous dish before. The plate is no stranger to appearing on restaurant menus in its homeland due to its nutty yumminess! Pad Thai is simple to cook-up - stir-fried flat rice noodles mixed with shrimp and chicken, eggs and fried tofu, dosed in a sweet and tangy sauce. Toppings sprinkled on the plate are fresh chives, onions, and chilli powder - all making the dish a mildly sweet, savoury and tangy, hearty favourite! The dish is so easy you can have it ready to serve in 30 minutes by following our Pad Thai recipe.
Pho I Vietnam
Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup dish, incredible and unique in taste. Its ingredients are thin rice noodles, sirloin steak, onions, ginger, and spices - giving exotic flavours. The clear savoury soup (or broth) is usually cooked for hours with bones and other aromatics like ginger, garlic, and onions. Before serving, the light broth is strained and poured onto the noodles and thinly sliced beef. The heat from the broth will then cook the beef resulting to a medium-rare slices of meat. The dish is then paired with herbs like Vietnamese basil, coriander, and mint along with fresh bean sprouts and chilli slices. For a bit of extra spice, sriracha is normally squirted and mixed with the noodles. Honestly, Pho is hands down the heartiest noodle dishes out there.
Dandan Noodles I China
Dandan Noodles is a very complex dish to make, so is best served to perfection by the culinary skill and experience of restaurant chefs - but do not feel put off, the plate can be made at-home with the right ingredients! This Chinese dish has a very unique flavour. The dish is a combination of spicy Sichuan noodles, pork, and fiery chilli sauce. So expect a lot of heat! This hot dish is complex in its step-by-step creation. Whilst most noodle plates are easily tossed together with ingredients, Dandan Noodles are created by mixing sesame sauce with broad bean chilli paste and chilli oil, throwing in the noodles, adding toppings (green onions and pork), and then tossing it all up together to even the flavour of the sauce. The coolest part about this dish is the slightly numbing effect you get from the Sichuan peppercorn. Delicious indeed!
Kimchi Ramen I Korea
Korean Kimchi Ramen is a quick-to-make spicy dish. It is made with mushrooms, kimchi, hot pepper paste (also known as gochujang), and poached eggs. Sometimes, young foodies will even add mozzarella cheese on it! The soup is spicy and a little tart from the fermented napa cabbage (kimchi). The noodles are "bouncy" in texture and this dish is perfect with some soju on the side. Korean cuisine has really taken off over the past few years and the appeal of the Korean take on a Japanese ramen dish - Kimchi Ramen, is gaining popularity within the UK. Make it a Korean cuisine extravaganza by serving the dish alongside Kimchi dumplings and Korean fried chicken (which you can easily make with our Nyonya Sweet Chilli Paste). Check out our Spicy Korean Chicken recipe here!
Kitsune Udon I Japan
Kitsune Udon is colourful in appearance and mouth-wateringly appealing in taste. It is a hearty dish - a concoction of udon noodles, aburaage (a deep-fried tofu pouch made from soy beans), dashi soup (soup stock comprised of fusions of umami-rich foods (3), an array of yummy veggies, drizzled with Japanese sweet soy sauce. The dish blends together well a variety of flavours to make this a delicious introduction to Japanese cuisine! Make sure to accompany with sushi and tempura for the ideal Japanese dinner. Also, don't forget to add narutomaki - which is the iconic fish cake with a red swirl in the middle.
1 https://www.tasteatlas.com/mee-goreng-mamak
2 https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/pad-thai-history-thailand/
3 https://www.thespruceeats.com/dashi-japanese-soup-stock-2031456#what-is-dashi