Adventures from the Asian Supermarket

in #cooking6 years ago

I like to cook and recently I've really been getting into soup noodle bowls. There's nothing like a big hearty bowl of hot spiced soup, oodles of lavish noodles and well cooked lumps of tasty meat (more often than not, chicken.)
However comparing what I whip up in my kitchen an hour before I jump in the car and race off to work to a properly prepared bowl of goodness at my local Asian restaurants is like comparing storm water to the world's greatest beer. Or for the many car fans that follow me, comparing a banged out Datsun to a twin turbo Ferrari. On methanol racing fuel.

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Enter my local Asian Supermarket, part of the Harbourtown Complex on the Gold Coast. If I couldn't find anything here to jazz things up, then they probably wouldn't exist.

Now there's a couple of problems with this place and they are a) time and b) money - I could spend a tonne of each in here quite easily. The place is packed with shelves a plenty, exotic ingredients, dried everything and dumplings to die for. And that's just down one aisle. Usually I walk in with half and idea of what I'm looking for and come out with everything else I wasn't.
(The last time I went in for a look I walked out with a can of liquid coffee and some shrimp chilli paste which just about blew a hole through the back of my throat so let's not try to repeat that again..)

So what took my interest this time around?

SOME PROPER NOODLES

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(Although I realise now I've actually bought noodles that are usually served cold..) I've been using pad thai and vermicelli noodles from the local supermarket and while they do the trick, they always make a lot and there ends up very little liquid to noodle and everything else ratio. This should free up some space and there's plenty of them for repeat performances.

SOME FLAVORING

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Up until this point the flavouring for my noodle bowls have been whatever I could find in the cupboard and fridge, not limited to: Soy sauce, crushed garlic, honey, all spice and water. The combination that usually equals = slightly tasty hot water. Nowhere near the bodacious broth I enjoy when eating out, let's see how this one goes. (It's looking pretty good with those prawns!!)

TOM YUM PASTE

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Not for me, I'm not a big fan of the stuff. My wife however absolutely loves it but can never find one outside of a restaurant that gives her the right level of heat (in this case makes her lips tingle). Would this 99 cent bargain sachet do the trick? Time will tell.

AND FINALLY, SOME BALLS

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Yeast balls actually. Not to throw into my noodle dishes (although at this point not much could make them worst) but reserved for my next weekend of brewing.
I've already whipped up a fine batch of yummy India Pale Ale with my small batch kit....

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...so now it's time to brew up some home made sake!

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(Using sticky rice and these balls. I will do a proper step by step guide when I get things up and running.)

Can't wait to get cooking....and...er...brewing!

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