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While we like to believe that most folks nowadays can afford any food they like, this could not be further from the truth.
Since the beginning of time, providing nourishment for oneself and ones family has always been and still is an important part and often a struggle of the majority of people around the world, although we usually are ashamed of admitting that it can be hard to feed our-self and our loved ones on a level we would love to maintain at all times, especially the good folks who live on a monthly income. Sometimes, towards the end of the month, it can be a bit difficult to keep the excitement for the next meal going, when the purses get lighter and lighter and the freezer, fridge and cupboards are getting emptier and emptier as the month stretches toward the next payday. Many will just give-up at this point, believing that a meal without meat or seafood is substandard and not worth being happy about. This opinion is of course absolutely misguided, especially since there are many food groups besides meat and seafood which are full of protein and nutrition, which can be prepared to be most attractive and yummy.
However, there are also lots of people out there who really love any type of food, no matter what its consists of, as long as it is great to look at, tasty, filling and nutritious. And sometimes, one just gets tired of the usual stuff and opts for something like the meatless dish featured here (as I did today).
To prepare such a meal is super easy, all you need is love, fantasy and “the spirit”, especially in a time when you can search for anything on the net and get a variety of answers within a split second. For a good example, please click on the “Mamapedia” link below)
To prepare a successful “End Of The Month Dish”, you can use any kind of pasta/noodles/starch, any kind of vegetables, mushrooms or no mushrooms, any type of seasoning (curry, tomato sauce, reduced chicken stock, hoisin, etc), any thing you have available or anything which is economic to purchase, as long as it comes together as a wholesome meal.
And of course, you don’t have to be broke to enjoy a tasty dish like this!
But then, as the end of the month draws closer…………… 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more End Of The Month Tips on Mamapedia
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Click here for Non-Meat/Seafood Protein Sources
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Click here for more Noodles on ChefsOpinion
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P.S.
IF you have a sense of humor, you might want to click here to see how they make ketchup on another planet 🙂
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End Of The Month Noodles
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End Of The Month Noodles
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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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cook rice flakes according to the instructions on this page
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saute 8 oz of reconstituted shiitake mushrooms and 1 large red pepper, cut into triangles, in 3 tblsp of peanut oil for 2 minutes, season with 1 tblsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1 tblsp hoisin sauce, 1 tblsp soy sauce and kosher salt to taste
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add the rice flakes, add 1 tblsp chili oil and 1/2 tsp sugar, remove from heat
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mix well, check / adjust seasoning; to serve, divide into 2 serving plates or bowls, sprinkle with chopped cilantro; serves 2
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drizzle with ketsup manis to taste (optional)
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End Of The Month Noodles
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Rice Noodles
Rice noodles are much more delicate and fragile than their wheat noodle counterparts. This actually makes them so easy to prepare that we hardly think of it as cooking.
Place all your rice noodles in a deep mixing bowl, trying to snap as few of them as possible as you remove them from the package (always a challenge for us). Bring a good amount of water to boil. Pour the boiling water over the rice noodles until they are completely submerged.
Every minute or two, give the noodles a stir to loosen them up. When they are completely limp, give them a taste to see if they’re cooked through. The thread-like vermicelli noodles used in spring rolls will cook through in just a few minutes. The flat rice noodles might take upwards of ten minutes depending on thickness. Pay attention and test the noodles frequently because they’ll become mushy if they overcook.
Once the noodles are tender, drain them and run them under cool water to stop the cooking. Toss them with a bit of sesame oil to keep the noodles from sticking to each other if you’re not going to use them right away.
More Tips:
- If the noodles will be used in a stir-fry dish like Pad Thai, you definitely want to under-cook them a bit. They will absorb more moisture and cook the rest of the way through once in the stir fry. If your noodles are perfectly cooked to start, they will turn to mush in the stir fry. Trust us, we’ve done that more times than we can count!
- If you’re making a soup, you can cook the noodles directly in the broth. Add them just before serving and monitor closely to make sure they don’t over-cook.
- Even with a bit of sesame oil, the noodles still tend to clump up after you drain them. They will loosen again once you mix the noodles into your dish .
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