Slurpy yellow noodles…

I’ve been saying I could eat spaghetti with tomato sauce every day ever since I was a little kid; I still say so; that’s how much I love it.

Italian food has always been my favorite cuisine, with Chinese food coming in a close second. Living in NJ with some of the best places was always a hard toss-up.

Then I grew up. It wasn’t until my 30s I realized there are so many other ethnic cuisines I have grown to love as much as my childhood favorites. 

Why did it take me so long to discover these other cuisines that I love to eat and can make pretty damn good? Have I mastered them? Fuck no, and far from it. There is always room for improvement in everything you do, especially in cooking.

I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood, in a blue-collar city, with blue-collar parents. They were not adventurous when it came to eating. They liked to eat out but stuck to “American” food, Italian and Chinese food. Period.

American food has different dishes and flavors from regions across our country. For example, soul food, Creole, Texas bbq, Southwestern, Californian, Midwestern, Yankee, and East Coast seafood, to name some major ones.

Regional dishes came from where the people lived, what was available corn or wheat, for example, and what vegetables did well in their climate, such as peaches or pumpkins. Those influences created the most delicious food that is still popular today.

The same is true for every other place in the world and its regional cuisines; using what types of vegetables, proteins, and starches were available created the ethnic food we Americans are familiar with today.

Since America is the world’s melting pot, we are now lucky enough to have ethnic cuisine all over our country. Not here in Vermont, the food desert of the county when it comes down to it quite simply. Good thing Albany, NY, is only an hour away.

These different ethnic cuisines were a welcome change for our boring tastebuds growing up during the Betty Crocker era when everyone ate meatloaf, roasted chicken, and casseroles. All delicious, not exciting.

Do I have a new favorite ethnic cuisine? Yes, I have two, Thai and Indian. As I mentioned, with a lot of practice, I do an excellent job with those cuisines for a white girl.

People who want to try an ethnic recipe expect restaurant results in their home kitchens when using American ingredients and cookware; these things matter more than you realize. 

My Chinese cuisine now tastes authentic because my old wok is finally seasoned to the point it needs to be for that restaurant flavor. I also learned a lot by trying over and over again until I was finally happy with the results. This took years btw.

I like to go to the Asian supermarket for my ethnic ingredients such as curry pastes, noodles, spices, and a shit ton of other items. I go once or twice a year and stock up. You can now find many of these items at co-ops and specialty stores but at specialty store prices. 

In Asian cuisine, like Thai food, all the ingredients have a purpose to keep a dish in balance. Ingredients such as fresh lime juice, brown or palm sure, and fish sauce are essential; without them, the dish wouldn’t have that Thai taste profile and umami; they also balance the dish.

I have used the term balancing out a dish often in the blog. When you are cooking, you want your dish to be balanced, or it will taste like something is missing.

Here’s a perfect explanation from a blog called Otao Kitchen. 

“If a flavour balances another flavour, it means it counteracts it to achieve an even, harmonious taste. For example, spice balances sweet and sweet balances spice. It’s why Mexican hot chocolate is finished with a pinch of cayenne pepper, the spice works with the sweet to produce a more dynamic flavour.”

Here is a link to Stir Crazy Cooking School if you would like to learn more about balancing out flavors.

Now onto this blog post’s topic (how I tell stories drives Marty crazy. It comes from my Irish roots.) Here is a dirty little secret. I love yellow curry noodles so much that I always have them on hand. Taste of Thai has small boxes of noodle dishes such as red and yellow curry noodles, spicy Szechuan, pad thai, and peanut noodles for quick lunches. 

I’ve been on a yellow curry noodles kick for the last week. I ate two boxes of Taste of Thai yellow curry, which is still insufficient. I needed to make a pot of my own.

I was out of yellow curry paste, so I picked up a can the other day while making deliveries. I always have the other ingredients on hand.

I made a pot of yellow curry noodles this morning for breakfast. I love making and eating shit like this for breakfast. Marty loves this for lunch but not so much for breakfast.

Marty has been away since last night since he is vending at The Vermont Cheesemakers Festival, which is almost 3 hours away, so it was a perfect time for me to indulge in my yellow noodle obsession. 

There are plenty of recipes for all kinds of yellow curry dishes; however, only a few with just noodles. I took the Thai cooking knowledge that I had learned and made my version. If you go to the Stir Crazy Cooking School link above, they provide a few recipes.

Now I have to admit, mine was so much better than the stuff in the box by a million, but those are perfect for a simple time-crunch lunch. 

Now for the slurping part of the post. I was constantly yelled at for slurping my spaghetti noodles when I was a kid. I would tell my parents it tasted better that way, and my mother would tell me to knock it off, so I did.

My parents were correct when teaching me table manners here in America, where slurping noodles is impolite, uncouth, and rude. It’s that way throughout Europe and many other countries.

In many Asian countries, slurping noodles with chopsticks is appropriate; it’s a way of life for them, and also showing your compliments to the chef or cook. 

And guess what? Studies have proved that slurping your noodles DOES make food taste better by breathing in and using your sense of smell. Ha! I knew that at 6 or 7 years old! How do you like those apples? 

When my yellow curry noodles were ready, I plated them up in a large bowl. I got a pair of chopsticks and an Asian soup spoon to get every bit of that yellow curry sauce at the end.

I began picking up the noodles with my chopsticks and slurped away, making various noises. It turned out to be my best batch yet. I was delighted and content.

I made enough to have more for dinner or every time I walk by the pot. That’s how it goes when I am on a food kick. I can’t do it when Marty is around so much, but I can go noodle crazy today!

Have I eaten anything else? Of course, I have; I made gravy fries with ketchup—another one of my favorite things to eat.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, guys. 😉