Farmers markets are a dangerous place for me. There are just too many new things to try – so I’ve taken to limiting myself to only one or two new things per trip. A trip to the Buford Highway Farmers Market had me picking up lots of green things and a craving for noodles. And what better to try than Black Rice Noodles. You have to look around for them – they’re not that common here. Black Rice Noodles are, of course, made with black rice. They have an earthy flavor – similar, but much more subtle than buckwheat (to me at least).
Black rice noodles with grilled beef
Sometimes the best meals come from just throwing things together.
A quick run through the freezer produced a puck of glace de poulet, a remnant from a day of making stock (documented elsewhere on this blog). Thawed and reconstituted with hot water, the broth was then used to cook spinach, mushrooms and thinly sliced onion. Meanwhile, paper-thin slices of London broil were briefly marinated in sesame oil, dark soy and lime juice. The noodles are cooked in boiling water for 3 minutes, then shocked with a rinse of cold water. After quickly grilling the beef, the broth and vegetables were poured over the noodles, the beef added and then the whole dish was garnished with a chiffonade of basil, green onions and a squeeze of lime.
I’m not usually a fan of making a meal of soup and noodles only, but this was a raging success, and I think it’s because of the black rice noodles that I’m still full, hours later.
So is there any particular ethnicity to this dish? Well, no – I just made it up as I went along. I think the point here is that when you’re following a recipe, regardless of the origin, it’s important to not just follow, but try to understand the techniques inherent in the dish as well as the interaction and staging of the ingredients. This is what ultimately makes it easy to explore new ingredients that you may not have any reference to (Google does not answer all questions…).
do you mind if i ask for the recipe?
Not at all, but what recipe there is is pretty much documented in that third paragraph. This was literally thrown together – no rules, no measurements – the picture of the mise en place at the bottom shows all of the raw ingredients. The idea is don’t sweat the details – if you have something try it. Good ingredients always make good food!
Do you know where I can buy those?
Yes, I do. Pretty much any of the larger Asian markets will have them. I think I picked these noodles up at 99 Ranch market on Buford Highway, but I have seen them at Buford Highway Farmers Market and I believe at Atlanta Farmers Market as well. I haven’t checked, but I would imagine Assi Market would carry them as well. Not too sure about Super H or Hong Kong Market, but might be worth a look.