Handmade Coconut Noodles
I’ve never decorated for the holidays. I suppose living in a constant state of transition has something to do with it – after moving our stuff from our second-to-last apartment to our last apartment bit-by-bit in Peter’s station wagon, I vowed I would pare down our stuff as much as possible.
Then I saw how friends living in similarly transitory states got into the holiday spirit by decorating. Why not?
Of course, being as cheap as I am, I bought decorations AFTER Christmas. I didn’t want to wait until next year to put them up, so …
(That’s our resident Fu dog, Mahler, on the right. Wearing a jaunty tweed hat, of course.)
(This ornament was a gift from Peter’s brother Dave. Thanks, DAVE.)
What, doesn’t everyone set up Christmas decorations AFTER Christmas?
Before we left Illinois for the holidays, I felt inspired to make my own noodles using one of the specialty flours I bought from Beachy’s. Peter came across a recipe for coconut noodles in his gigantic set of cooking books (a.k.a. Modernist Cuisine, the heaviest gift we’ve gotten in a long time) that I knew I had to try.
Rolling out the noodles (alternatively, you could hand-cut your noodles Peking University-style):
We ended up having to change the proportions of liquid to flour quite a bit to make the recipe work (see below).
Peter whipped up a sweet chili sauce to complement the coconut flavor of the noodles, then topped the noodles with chicken and peas. Alternatively, you can try a peanut sauce over the noodles for a delicious flavor combination.
The coconut flavor was perfect: not too strong, but flavorful enough to taste. I’m looking forward to making these noodles again with the rest of my coconut flour.
Handmade Coconut Noodles
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 1 minute
Keywords: entree vegetarian coconut flour
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 5 egg yolks, blended
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/8 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 Tablespoon wheat gluten
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Combine flour, water, egg, oil, gluten, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, Mix with dough hook attachment for 8 minutes (alternatively, you can knead by hand for 8 minutes). The dough should be smooth and elastic.
Place dough in zip-top bag or wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Divide dough into four pieces and press flat. Roll dough through a pasta roller into 2mm-thick sheets. Lay on floured cutting board or tray. Refrigerate pasta sheets for 30-45 minutes (optional). They will dry slightly.
Cut sheets into spaghetti-like noodles, either with a pasta cutter or by hand. Dust noodles with flour to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt if desired. Boil noodles for 30-60 seconds, depending on the thickness of the noodle and desired firmness. Drain pasta, toss with sauce, and serve immediately.
Q: What are your favorite type of noodles?
P.S. A preview of Wednesday’s post:
