~ Stir-fried Longevity Noodles with Cabbage & Carrot Strips with Pan-fried Fish Cake ~
A stir-fried noodles dish can be made complicated or a quick simple version. Some like it plain, many likes it with “wok hei” which is the flavour and aroma as a result of high heat cooking. I like It simple and can be conveniently prepared yet healthy to consume, making it a sustainable cooking recipe for the family. Hence, this stir-fried Longevity Noodles (a Cantonese type of wheat flour egg noodles) recipe comes handy. The same method can be replicated to cook many other types of preferred noodles and ingredients without having to worry of whether the vegetables and meat are over or under-cooked.
There is a saying that I commonly hear from people around me, “Healthy food are not tasty, tasty food are not healthy.” Stir-fried food is a typical example that perfectly describe this saying. As stir-fying with the “wok hei” is done with high heat or high temperature, it may not be encouraging for those whom are particularly with healthier cooking and eating habits. When higher temperature is used in cooking, it may result in nutrients loss in food cooked and certain ingredients may turn carcinogenic too. Temperature is for sure one of the most important factor in food cooking.
Are you wondering by not on what flavours and aroma do you get if no “wok hei” in stir-frying noodles? It is the ingredients original flavours that you get. Therefore, the freshness of ingredients is crucial in making a good stir-fry noodles dish. With a cooking temperature just a degree below 100°C, vegetables taste naturally sweeter, noodles taste “eggier” and little seasoning is required. Every bite is packed with optimum nutrients in food itself. As a result of the genuine flavours from the ingredients, lower sugar and salt intake is possible, making it a healthier meal overall. Imagine being able to eat this way all the time.
Can we have both healthy eating and “wok hei” co-existing? Perhaps a master chef could achieve that over some years of experience? Is this a matter of health vs “wok hei”? An individual’s choice for sure.
A. PAN-FRYING FISHCAKES
Pan-fried Fish Cakes Recipe (Serves 2 adults and a pre-schooler) :
- 2 pieces Chinese Homemade Fish Paste, approximately 200 grams, 1 1/2cm thick (OR ready made, off the shelves fishcakes, your choice)
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil (if off the shelves fishcakes are used, no cooking oil required as they are usually readily deep-fried and greasy)
AMC Healthy Cooking Method :
- Preheat AMC 20cm 2.0 litre Hot Pan unit with Navigenio heat level “3” to 50°C or “Meat Window”. Use Audiotherm as an indicator by turning it on, place on lid knob/Visiotherm, indicating 50°C or “Meat Window”.
- When Audiotherm beeps indicating readiness for pan-frying, remove and turn off Audiotherm. Adjust heat level to “2” as necessary. Add fishcake patties into the Pan unit. Cover Pan unit with lid.
- Activate Audiotherm, place on lid knob/Visiotherm, at 50°C or “Meat Window” for “Turning Point” or 90°C indication. When Audiotherm beeps the second time at 90°C indicating “Turning Point”, remove lid and turn the fish cake patties to pan-fry the other side. Cover Pan unit with lid again. Activate Audiotherm at 50°C or “Meat Window” again for “Turning Point” indication. When Audiotherm beeps at 90°C, turn off both Navigenio & Audiotherm.
- Dish out the pan-fried fishcakes into the AMC 20cm Serving Dish. Slice/cut thinly and serve with the longevity noodles when ready.
Preheat a 20cm Hotpan with Navigenio heat level 3 upto 50°C.
Homemade fish paste placed on the Hotpan after a layer of oil added.
Cover with lid and continue to cook on Navigenio with lower heat 2 upto the “Turning Point” or 90°C.
Flip fishcake to pan-fry on the other side.
Cover hotpan with lid again and cook upto 90°C on the flipped side.
Pan-fried homemade fishcakes ready to be served.
B. STIR-FRYING LONGEVITY NOODLES
Stir-fried Longevity Noodles with Cabbage & Carrot Strips Recipe (Serves 2 adults and a pre-schooler) :
- 3 bundles Longevity Noodles, 300 grams
- 5 litre Water (to blanch noodles)
- 5 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon of Cooking Oil
- 1 pack 100 grams Carrot (chop off both ends & cut 1 inch long)
- 1 quarter Organic Cabbage, approximately 400 grams (slice into 1cm wide strips)
- 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- 50ml Water (to dissolve oyster sauce)
- 2 tablespoons Deep-fried Shallots (for recipe, read here)
AMC Healthy Cooking Method :
- Bring 1.5 litre water to boil in an AMC 24cm 5.0 litre Pot unit. Use Audiotherm as an indicator by turning it on, place/hook onto lid knob/Visiotherm, indicating 50°C or “Meat Window”. Place noodles into the Softiera Insert basket and dip into the boiled water, cover lid and cook for 4 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic to an AMC 24cm 3.5 litre Shallow Pot unit. Preheat Pot unit with Navigenio heat level “3” up to 50°C or “Meat Window”. Use Audiotherm as an indicator by turning it on, place/hook onto lid knob/Visiotherm, indicating 50°C or “Meat Window”.
- When Audiotherm beeps indicating readiness for stir-frying, remove and turn off Audiotherm. Add oil into Pot unit. Gently stir garlic to brown and add all dripping wet vegetables and the blanched and drained noodles into the Pot Unit. Add oyster sauce dissolved with water. Cover wok unit with lid.
- Turn on Navigenio to automatic mode, “A”. Turn on Audiotherm, place on lid knob, indicating 80°C or “Carrot Window” and set “P” or 20 seconds to cook.
- When Audiotherm beeps, turn off both Navigenio & Audiotherm, gently stir and serve hot with sliced fish cakes pan-fried earlier.
Tips :
- Turning Point or 90°C is a general guide for indication of the readiness for pan-frying items in pan to be flipped over to pan-fry on the other side. Most, if not all the time, works!
- For stir-frying with fragrant ingredients like garlic, onion and ginger, add them into Pan/Pot unit before turning on any heat source. Then, add oil and the other ingredients when Pan/Pot unit is preheated up to “Meat Window” or 50°C. This way, a gentle browning effect takes place at a milder temperature which may optimise antioxidant chemical better. There will be much less smoke and oil splatter as compared to adding them after the oil too, easing the aftermath cleaning up.
Bring 1.5 litre of water to boil in an AMC 5.0 litre Pot unit.
Place Softiera Dish with Longevity noodles into the Pot with boiling water.
Set to cook the noodles for 4 minutes on “A”, automatic mode. Heat level will be controlled automatically at the temperature range of 80°C to 98°C.
Lift up the Softiera Insert unit when cooked.
Pour away all water left in the Pot unit and place the Noodles in Softiera Insert back into the Pot unit to keep them warm.
Stir-frying begins with heating up of the minced garlic.
Cover Pot unit with minced garlic in it and preheat the Pot unit on heat level “3” up to 50°C.
When minced garlic were heated up to 50C, remove lid and add oil over the garlic.
Gently stir-fry the garlic for about 2-3 minutes and they will brown nicely.
Add carrot strips and gently stir-fry.
Add cabbage strips to the Pot unit.
Pour oyster sauce diluted in water onto the cabbages in the Pot unit.
Add the Longevity noodles cooked earlier into the Pot unit.
Look how amazing a 24cm Shallow Pot unit can be. It can fit all vegetables and a pack of Longevity noodles!
Cook automatically with “P Programme” (20 seconds) from “Carrot Window” (80°C point).
Stir well and garnish with deep-fried shallots. Serve hot with sliced pan-fried fish cakes.