I like the idea of making my own noodles, though I don’t always have the time to do so. Here’s one which is pretty easy to make, especially if you happen to own a noodle mould (I picked mine up on Ebay for under $20 years ago), or a potato ricer (which I used to use for making cendol, though I can’t for the life of me find it in my pantry lately).
There’s really no standardised way of naming noodle types, especially once you leave the comfort of your cultural echo chamber (in my case, once I left Malaysia) and realise that what you grew up calling lo shi fun or laksa noodles back in the old country is variously called rice spaghetti, tapioca noodles or khao piak sen, etc. etc. here in Australia. Hence why I’ve played it safe (at the expense of good SEO, probably) and just called it rice and tapioca noodles.
Laksa Noodles in Kelantan
I know there are different iterations with some types being more chewy and translucent, and others that are thicker or shorter etc. etc. but the basic idea is the same – it’s noodles made from a combination of rice flour and tapioca flour.
In this Live Asian Kitchen recording, I used a 1:1 ratio of rice flour and tapioca flour; for a more chewy noodle, you may try a 1:1.5 ratio.
Homemade Rice & Tapioca Noodles
h/t – Table for Two…Or More
INGREDIENTS:
160gm rice flour
160gm tapioca starch
250ml boiling water
3L water for cooking
Utensil – noodle mould or potato ricer with largest hole setting, or colander with large round holes plus curved scraper
METHOD:
- Bring to boil about 3L of water in a pot.
- Combine rice flour and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl, then pour 250ml boiling water over the flour mixture while stirring with a pair of chopsticks.
- Continue to mix the flour until it comes off the sides of the bowl, then knead by hand until it turns into a smooth dough.
- Tear off a portion of dough and squeeze it through the mould (or whatever you choose to use) to produce the noodles. Alternatively, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough, then cut into thin strips.
- Cook in boiling water until the noodles are translucent (this should only take like 30 seconds), then remove with a sieve and transfer into a bowl of cold water.
- Remove from cold water and drain, and if not using immediately, coat generously with oil to prevent sticking, before you store it in the fridge. You’ll need to blanch the oiled, chilled noodles again before use.
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