Pan-Fried Rice Noodle Master Recipe
In the Vietnamese repertoire, this is called Phở Xào Dòn. I wrote this recipe with the stir-fried topping built in so you have a sense of timing.
Ingredients
- 200 to 225 g | 7 to 8 oz dried wide flat rice noodles
- 3 to 4 tablespoon neutral oil
- Fine sea salt
- Stir-fry topping of your choice (see suggestions in main post)
- ¾ teaspoon agave syrup, honey, or sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ tablespoon water
Instructions
- Cook the noodles: Bring a medium-large pot of water to a boil over high heat, add the noodles, then cook them at a bubbly pace until done but slightly firm, about 7 minutes. Drain, flush with cold water, and drain again. Transfer to a baking sheet. Toss with ¼ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoon oil. Then spread the noodles out to dry and cool completely, about 15 minutes, before continuing. Or, cool, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days; return to room temperature before seasoning and panfrying.
- Prep the topping ingredients. Keep them by the stove so you can easily stir-fry them after panfrying the noodles.
- Coat the noodles just before panfrying: In a medium bowl, stir together the salt, sugar, cornstarch, and water; add the noodles and toss to coat. To panfry the noodles, use a medium nonstick skillet and heat to medium or medium-high. Add about 2 tablespoon oil to film the bottom of the skillet. Add the noodles, spreading them into a large pancake. Let gently sizzle for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden or golden brown on the underside (check the rim or lift to peek) and stuck together as a nest of sorts.
- Confidently slide and shake the skillet then jerk it to flip the noodle pancake. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of oil around the perimeter, then continue frying the noodles adjusting the heat as needed, until crisp chewy and pale gold, 3 to 4 minutes. When done, slide the skillet into the oven to keep warm.
- Stir-fry the topping as instructed in its recipe. When done, take the pancake off heat. Slide the noodles onto the serving platter, with the crisper and more handsome side up. Cut with kitchen scissors into 4 or 6 wedges. (Or cut the noodles on a cutting board before positioning it on the stir-fry.) Top your stir-fry goodness and run to the table to eat it all up.
