Homemade Noodles Recipe

makes enough noodles for 4 bowls
300 grams bread flour (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon Koon Chun Potassium Carbonate & Sodium Bi-Carbonate (kansui)

When you’re ready to cook it, prepare a large pot of boiling salted water. Each ball will make enough for 2 bowls of ramen, so figure out how much you need. Flour the dough generously and roll it out to the 3 setting on your pasta roller. Cut the dough in half so you have two sheets of dough a little over 1 foot long and flour generously again.

Use the spagetti attachment to cut the pasta into long thin noodles, dusting them with flour as they are cut to keep them from sticking together.

Boil the noodles until they are slightly firmer than the final consistency you want, since they will continue cooking after you remove them from the water. I usually let them boil for about one minute.

Homemade Ramen Noodles Recipe

Put the flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix the water and kansui together, then add the mixture to the flour. The flour should immediately start turning yellow. If it doesn’t, it’s possible your kansui is less concentrated than the one I used, in which case, you will need to experiment to figure out the right amount to add.

Give the mixture a quick stir with a fork or chopsticks to combine everything then attach the bowl to your mixer and run on medium high speed for 10 minutes. It’s a dry dough so it will look like a bunch of gravel at this point. Use your hands to divide it in two and press together into two balls.

Flatten each ball out on a flat surface, and run it through the largest setting of your pasta roller a few times, folding it in half each time. The dough will be ragged the first few runs though but will smooth out. When it starts rolling out smoother, fold it up into a square and wrap with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge overnight.

Science Behind the Noodle

Kansui is a mixture of sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate which form an alkaline solution (pH ~9) when mixed with water. Wheat flour contains a number of compounds called flavones and trans-ferulic acid which are bound to starch and therefore colorless or white. The addition of an alkaline solution to wheat flour changes the pH of the mixture which in turn detaches these flavones (specifically apigenin glycosides) and trans-ferulic acid from starch and allows their natural yellow color to manifest.

Another reason for the addition of kansui is to toughen the protein in wheat flour so that the resulting noodles are firmer, more elastic and springy texture and less sticky when cooked. The addition of Kansui allows the use of lower protein (and therefore less expensive) wheat flour to make noodles with the quality one would expect of noodles made with superior quality flour with higher protein levels.

Homemade Ramen Noodles 7

If you’re wondering what kansui is, it’s the ingredient that makes all the magic happen. The story goes that the unique noodles produced around lake Kan in Inner-Mongolia were attributed to the water from the lake. Modern science has since revealed that the lake is highly alkaline, which is what gives the noodles their unique texture and color. You can now buy factory produced “kansui” (lake kan water) either in powdered or liquid form. I used a brand called Koon Chun which labels their product as Potassium Carbonate & Sodium Bi-Carbonate.

Homemade Ramen Noodles 6

I was worried I hadn’t added enough water, but with a little hand kneading it came togehter into a ball, and let this rest overnight in the fridge. The next day, I cut the dough in half, rolled it out to setting #3 and cut it with the spaghetti attachment as before. This time the noodles didn’t stick together, and I reduced the boiling time to just over a minute. The noodles were extremely firm (almost too firm), but by the time I had the soup and all the toppings on the ramen, they were the perfect texture and stayed that way until the last drop of soup was gone. Success!

Homemade Ramen Noodles 5

Batch #2: After resting in the fridge overnight, I took the other half of the first batch and rolled it out, this time only to setting #3. It was still sticking together, but the noodles had a nice firm texture when cooked.

Batch #3: For this batch, I used 2 cups of bread flour, reduced the water to 1/2 cup and increased the kansui to 1 teaspoon. As soon as I added the water/kansui mixture I knew this batch was going to be better, as the flour immediately turned a bright golden yellow. I let the mixer run for 10 minutes this time and the mixer bowl was full of golden yellow nuggets.

Homemade Ramen Noodles 3

Since noodles get their texture from the proteins in the wheat forming elastic chains of gluten, I decided to use bread flour, which typically contains 12-14% protein (higher than all-purpose flour). I also knew that learning how to hand pull noodles as fine as ramen was a skill that would take far longer to master than I, or many of my readers would have patience for, so I decided to make a dryer dough that could be rolled and cut using a pasta maker.

Homemade Ramen Noodles 2

Part of the problem is that there isn’t much information out there in English on making ramen noodes. Even in Japan, noodle making is a closely guarded secret and you don’t see ramen shops parading around their recipes on the web. From the information I was able to glean, I knew that the noodles are made with wheat flour, and get their yellow color and distinctly firm texture from the addition of kansui. I also knew that they’re traditionally hand pulled, which means the dough has a higher water content than noodles you’d roll and cut.

Homemade Ramen Noodles 4

Batch #1: I made this with 2 cups bread flour, 2/3 C water and 1/2 teaspoon of liquid kansui. Everything went into a mixer with a dough hook until the dough came together. Then I formed it into two squares, wrapped and refrigerated one, and rolled out the other. I rolled it out to setting #5 of on the pasta maker and cut it using the spaghetti attachement, then boiled the noodles for 1 1/2 minutes. This batch had a couple of problems. The dough was a bit tacky, so even after being dusted with flour, the noodles stuck together in pairs of two and had to be hand separated. I’d also rolled it out too thin and by the time the noodles were in the ramen, they were soggy. The dough also lacked the lustrous yellow color I was looking for.

Homemade Ramen Noodles 1

If you’ve been following along for any length of time, you probably know I’ve been working on concocting the perfect bowl of ramen for quite some time. With the soup improving with each batch I made, I was starting to feel like the store-bought noodles were the weak link holding the entire bowl of ramen back. It was time to tackle the noodles, but given the decade of trial-and-error it took to get the soup right, I figured I was in for another dozen years of experimentation before I’d turn out a decent batch of noodles.

My Favourite Maggi Recipe 2

How to cook

Boil the maggi noodles in water in a utensil for about 2 minutes till it gets softened. Drain the water from the noodles and keep it aside. Now put a pan on the stove. Heat the pan in medium flame and put 2 spoons of cooking oil in it. Heat the oil and add the cut onions and green chillies into it. Fry it for sometimes. Add a pinch of salt and turmeric powder into it. Now add the crushed tomato into it and add cumin and corriander powder along with the maggi taste maker. Fry for sometimes and then put the noddles into it. Stir and mix it properly and cook it for about 2 minutes. Your delicious and yummy maggi is now ready.

My Favourite Maggi Recipe 1

Bored of having maggi noodles of the same taste and recipe of 2 minutes maggi. I have a very simple and quite delicious recipe of maggi noodles. So try out this method of cooking maggi and feel the difference in taste. It will hardly take 15- 20 minutes.

Ingredients required

1 Packet Maggi noodles

2 Onions chopped finely

1 green chilly finely chopped

1 tomato crushed

Cooking oil 2 spoons

A pinch of Cumin and corriander powder(optional)

Maggi tastemaker

Salt as per taste and a pinch of turmeric powder

Maggi Cutlets

Method

Boil maggi noodles with a teaspoon of oil but without the masala for 3 minutes. ( I blanched the vegetables also with the noodles, you can avoid blanching vegetables. It will give a crunch to cutlets.)

Mash potatoes and add onions, garlic, green chillies and all the spices along with the Maggi tastemaker masala and mix them thoroughly.

Now add the boiled noodles in the mixture. Do not overdo the mixing otherwise the noodles will get mushy and loose their texture.

Make cutlets of desired shape from the the mixture. Make sure that the cutlets are not very thick otherwise they will take more time in cooking. Spread a drop of oil on your palm while making the cutlets if the mixture is sticking on your plam.

Pan fry with little bit of oil till golden brown.

Serve hot with chutney and tomato ketchup.

Vegetable and Noodle Stir Fry

How to make

Serves:

4

Prep Time:

15 minutes

Cooking Time:

8 minutes

1. Place noodles in a heatproof bowl; cover with boiling water; stand until tender. Drain.
2. In a jug, combine MAGGI Premium Oyster Sauce, MAGGI Original Seasoning, sesame oil, water and cornflour.
3. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan over high heat; add onion, capsicum, mushrooms, broccoli and snow peas; stir fry 3-4 minutes. Add rice vermicelli and combined sauces; cook 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve immediately.

Spicy Chicken and Noodles

How to make

Serves:

4

Prep Time:

10 minutes

Cooking Time:

10 minutes

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over high heat; brown chicken, remove and set aside.
2. Add onion, garlic and capsicum; cook 3 minutes. Add cumin, turmeric, garam marsala, MAGGI Chilli Sauce and water. Bring to the boil; add MAGGI 2 Minute Noodles Chicken Flavour, including flavour sachets.
3. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes or until chicken is heated through; stir in coriander.

Gado Gado with Noodles

How to make

Serves:

6

Prep Time:

20 minutes

Cooking Time:

5 minutes

1. Place broccoli and carrot in a large heatproof bowl; cover with boiling water. Stand 2 minutes; drain, rinse under cold until cool; drain.
2. Repeat with cabbage and snow peas, standing in boiling water for 1 minute only.
3. Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl; cover with boiling water. Stand until just tender; drain.
4. Divide noodles between six serving dishes, top with the vegetables, bean sprouts, boiled eggs and tofu. Drizzle with warm peanut sauce and sprinkle with spring onions.

Hakka Noodles 3

Then add soya sauce, chilli sauce, vinegar, salt needed, pepper powder and stir fry for a second.

Add boiled noodles and toss on high flame for a few seconds. Adjust the sauces according to your taste.

Garnish with spring onion greens, toss and serve noodles piping hot.

Note - If you planning to use beans, cut it into very thin strips and add before adding carrots as beans will take a longer time to get cooked.

Enjoy preparing more Indo Chinese Recipes from Padhuskitchen.

Hakka Noodles 2

Preparation

Boil noodles in plenty of water until 3/4 cooked or al dente. (al dente-cooked just enough to retain a somewhat firm texture). Do not over cook. Drain the water and pour cold water on top of the noodles or immerse it in cold water. Drain the water completely, toss noodles with a tsp of oil and keep it aside. This is done to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Now boiled noodles is ready

Finely chop onion, ginger and garlic.

Cut carrot, capsicum and cabbage into thin strips.

Method

Before going to the method, I will make it clear that the whole cooking process should be done on high flame and continuous tossing is required.

Heat oil in a pan, add finely chopped onion, garlic, ginger and saute on a high flame for a few seconds until onion turns transparent.

Hakka Noodles 1

How to prepare Veg Hakka Noodles

Prep time - under 15 mins
Cook time -under 15 mins
Serves - 2

Ingredients needed

Hakka Noodles -150 grams/1 packed (made of durum wheat)
Oil - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 2 tbsp very finely chopped
Onion - 1 medium sized finely chopped
Ginger - 1 tsp very finely chopped

Vegetables

Carrot - 1 cut it into thin strips (julienne)
Cabbage - 3/4 cup thinly sliced
Spring onion greens - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Capsicum - 1 medium size

Soya sauce -1 tbsp or as needed
Red Chilli sauce - 2 tsp or as needed
Vinegar -1 tsp
Salt and pepper powder to taste

Spicy Thai prawn noodles 2

Method

1. Cook the noodles following the pack instructions, drain and set aside for later. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and pour in the beaten egg. Swirl around the pan to make a thin omelette, cook for 1-2 mins, then flip over and cook the other side for 1 min. Tip out and slice into thin strips.
2. Add the chilli and ginger to the pan, fry for 1-2 mins then tip in the noodles, prawns and egg. Splash in the soy sauce and stir-fry for 1 min more. Throw in the chopped herbs and pour over the lime juice and zest, then sprinkle over the chopped peanuts and serve.