Long Life Noodles (yī miàn, 伊面) or yi mein, symbolize longevity and can at all times be discovered at the banquet desk at Chinese celebrations. Long noodles, lengthy life, right? (We ought to make a t-shirt.) Actually, any sort of lengthy noodle symbolizes longevity, but Yi Mein (also recognized as e-fu noodles––try to no longer get harassed by all these names flying around–yi mein is what I even have recognized them as since I first tasted them as a chubby little kid, and it makes no difference to me!) are a extra festive and normal take at the idea.
Whether it’s a birthday, a brand new baby, a wedding, or a lunar new 12 months banquet, lengthy life noodles are an foremost facet of all these glad events. If you’re fortunate sufficient to have attended a Chinese banquet, you already realize that Long Life Noodles and Banquet Fried Rice are NULL of the final presents served. Most of us are so filled halfway by way of the 10-course feast that these NULL final dishes are the straws that wreck the camel’s back, they normally commonly discover their method into take-out containers. There’s at all times someone––your bizarre uncle or chatty cousin––who wasn’t quick sufficient with their chopsticks or was circulating round the banquet corridor too a lot to have time to eat, and makes a beeline for these takeout bins filled with starchy goodness.
That said, the lengthy life noodles at enormous Chinese banquets can typically be a little soggy and tasteless, which is the issue with cooking them in enormous batches. That’s why it’s all of the extra value it to make them at home. These noodles are deliciously simple––usually served with a few mushrooms and/or Chinese garlic chives.
In addition to symbolizing longevity, consuming noodles also signifies prosperity and nice luck, which is why serving any sort of noodles for Chinese New Year (which is virtually here!) is a nice idea. Yi Mein is typically the noodle of option as a outcome of its distinctive texture and taste, the outcome of utilizing sodium bicarbonate or soda water for the dough. The noodles also are deep-fried earlier than they're dried, which provides them a distinctive and quite spongy texture.
Yi Mein noodles could be discovered on your Asian grocery store, commonly in a red box with directions at the method to practice them. But like each a hit recipe it truly is really *not* discovered at the facet of a box, there are a few foremost suggestions and counsel to know! In this recipe, we’ll present you the method to make these lengthy life noodles so they have the appropriate style and texture for all of your miscellaneous longevity needs. Let’s start!
You’ll need:
3 quarts water for pre-cooking the noodles
1 bundle Yi Mein noodles (12 ounces dry)
⅛ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon hot water
2 teaspoons normal soy sauce
2 teaspoons darkish soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Freshly floor white pepper
3-4 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, divided
3-5 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
8 ounces Chinese chives, cut into 2-inch lengthy pieces, with the pale and darkish inexperienced elements separated
Instructions:
Boil 3 quarts of water in a enormous wok or pot to pre-cook your Yi Mein noodles. Once boiling, upload the noodles.
The directions at the box might say to boil the noodles for 5 minutes, but we suggest no extra than 3 to four minutes to hold them agency and chewy. Overcook them, and also you could stop up with a comfortable texture.
Sample a noodle whereas cooking, and when it tastes nearer to the raw facet of al dente pasta, it’s ready. When the noodles are done, at the moment drain and set aside.
Dissolve the sugar and salt in 1 tablespoon of hot water, and upload the normal soy sauce, darkish soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Stir till combined.
Heat the wok till simply smoking, and unfold 2 tablespoons of oil round the perimeter.
Add the mushrooms and the pale inexperienced elements of the chives, and stir fry for 30 seconds. The mushrooms are like sponges and can take in the oil, so upload one other tablespoon of oil in the event that they seem to be too dry.
Add the noodles (they nonetheless ought to be warm but with out water dripping), and stir fry everything for one other 20 seconds. If they cooled off, simply practice dinner them a little longer till they're warmed, simply because of the fact warming the noodles earlier than including the sauce is important!
Spread the ready sauce combination frivolously over the noodles, and stir-fry everything collectively for 1 minute, or till the soy sauce combination is distributed evenly. Spread one other tablespoon of oil round the perimeter of the wok to steer clear of sticking within the event you really experience you wish it. How a lot oil you use is really a private preference. If the noodles stick together, drizzle a little bit of oil straight over the noodles. You too can upload a dash of hot water if the noodles are too dry, even after including the sauce.
Mix gently so that you don’t wreck up the noodles–remember, you desire to have lengthy noodles to offer longevity and prosperity to whoever’s going to be consuming this dish!
Add within the remainder inexperienced elements of the chives and blend till they turn vibrant inexperienced and the noodles are heated through.
This will take 1-3 minutes, depending on in case your noodles had been chilly or nonetheless warm whenever you began stir frying, and how hot your range and wok can get.
Plate and serve your lengthy life noodles!