Using Your Asian Noodle
It’s wise to serve stronger noodles like nutty buckwheat soba with lighter sauces that let the noodles stand out, while more neutral-tasting rice sticks and bean threads work best with assertive sauces: curry, peanut, chile-garlic. And don’t forget to layer flavors. This applies especially to noodle soups made with classic Asian broths. These broths live or die on their umami strength, and starting with a good dashi foundation to which you add more umami from soy sauce and perhaps a prepared noodle soup base is a sure strategy for success.
“With the help of the right sauce or base, chefs and product developers can adapt Asian noodles to any palate. If you have a bold product and use it as a base, you can make it sweet, you can make it hot,” say Carpenter. “The challenge is to get the right balance every time, which is tough if the sauces are made from scratch.” By using the easy one-two punch of domestically available Asian noodles and manufactured sauces, she notes, nationwide chains can easily menu dishes like Cantonese chow fun, stir-fried lo mein and Singapore-style rice noodles without worrying about product availability or quality.
As Stotter says, the availability of prepared sauces and other kitchen helpers really expands the opportunities for “using your Asian noodle,” so to speak. Today, he says, “access to produce, proteins, noodles, sauces, ingredients—it’s all easier. Technology has advanced to where you can do more and get more through your suppliers. The world has become a much smaller place for culinary experimentation.”
Andrew Hunter is a foodservice and industrial chef for Kikkoman Sales USA, Inc., and president of Culinary Craft, Los Angeles. He has more than 20 years of experience in culinary development and product innovation. He serves on the Center for Culinary Development’s Chef’s Council and is a member of the Research Chefs Association, International Association of Culinary Professionals, and the National Restaurant Association. Kimberly J. Decker, a California-based technical writer, also contributed to this article.
Asia’s Rising Culinary Star
According to Chicago-based Mintel’s 2009 “Ethnic Foods” report, Asian foods grew 37% in food, drug and mass-merchandiser channels from 2004 through 2009, and the category is projected to grow 27% through 2014.
