Comments on: Dinner With My Family #31: Mixed Garden Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:20:15 +0000

@kk – In college, I would use Ramen noodles and some frozen veggies/shrimp to make myself “gourmet” Ramen. I made some for my foodie Uncle, and he thought it wasn’t half bad! very easy.

How long do rice noodles need to cook? I’ve always wanted to try them and have been petrified I’d mess them up.

By: kk

kk — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 18:13:19 +0000

I make something similiar but use El cheapo Ramen noodles in place of the rice noodles. The kids love it.

By: marta

marta — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:17:12 +0000

@Kim: you can do those calculations yourself, there are plenty of websites with such tools.

As for rice noodles, they are basically all carbs, with some protein. Somewhat fewer calories than spaghetti, if you care about that.

By: Michele

Michele — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 22:55:23 +0000

I do a true stir fry (only a tiny bit of oil, veggies sliced thin, cooked very quickly over very high heat) with garden produce and add some (not too much- we are focusing on the deliciousness of our garden!) cooked Israeli pearl couscous and some cooked beans instead of noodles. I also add a tiny bit of veggie stock at the end to make it more ‘saucy’. Yum!

By: Kim

Kim — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 22:26:08 +0000

I’d like Trent to calculate the fat, carbs, protein and calories in the recipes that he posts. I’m not familiar with rice noodles. Are they very nutritious?

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 16:38:06 +0000

I’d saute the onions in a bit of olive oil (with a dash of sugar to hasten browning) in a cast iron pan first. The caramelizing of the onions gives a lot more flavor than just boiling / steaming them in the sauce. it doesn’t take much extra time but gives lots of extra flavor. A bit of hoison soauce wouldn’t hurt this a bit! More vegetables from the garden and less store bought noodles would decrease the cost even further.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:50:06 +0000

I would probably double (maybe even triple) the vegetable content in these, but other than that it looks delicious and I would eat it in a heartbeat.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 13:33:31 +0000

I’ve been commenting for years and didn’t include a link or anything inappropriate… why am I stuck in moderation again?

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:39:33 +0000

We make our stir fries (or stir steams) with a lot more veggies relative to the noodles or rice.

#6 Gretchen – I think Trent precuts/preps ahead of time so they can throw dinner together more quickly in the evening, since he’s at home during the day.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:17:52 +0000

Is there a particular reason you precut the veggies in each recipe?

By: Jules

Jules — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:40:24 +0000

I buy those sauce packets whenever they go on sale and hoard them. Not perfectly healthy, but if it lets me use up odd bits of veg from the last few days without my boyfriend griping…

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:08:24 +0000

Are those peanuts I see? Yum. Cashews and almonds are also good (but more expensive).

My go-to easy stir-fry sauce is Chinese black bean paste. It’s got sort of the same flavor as soy sauce, but it’s less watery and has more concentrated flavor. I especially like to make a stir fry of tofu, garlic scapes, and black bean paste, with some fresh tomatoes added right at the end. I could eat that all day (and sometimes I do).

I agree with Another Katie, though – it’s not really a stir *fry* without any oil.

By: Another Katie

Another Katie — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:35:38 +0000

Using water instead of oil makes this not stir fry. It is a stir steam or boil.

By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:35:35 +0000

I generally throw one type of nut or seed (like sesame or sunflower seeds) into a recipe like this as well.

An easy sauce is soy sauce mixed 1:1 with toasted sesame oil. If you like it spicy, you can add crushed red chile pepper.

By: Carole

Carole — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:15:15 +0000

I have never prepared stir fry with water instead of oil, but it sounds good and I’ll have to try it.