Rice Noodles with Orange

I have had a few bad experiences with rice noodles recently. I have tried using them in soup and they have been a soggy mush that falls apart within cooee of any fork. Sunday nights E makes scrambled eggs, Sylvia has her usual plain vegies and I make my own dinner. Tonight I decided to try rice noodles in a stirfry again and it was far more successful.

I made the stirfry while E sat with Sylvia in the highchair. She is restless at meal time these days. She loves to transfer her meal from bowl to bowl and throw it on the floor. If we persist some of it ends up in her mouth. Songs help to keep her from wanting to propel herself out of the highchair after her food. Her favourite song today was Miss Polly had a Dolly. She lets me know she wants me to sing it by cradling an imaginary dolly in her arms. Makes a change from Wheels on the Bus and Row Row Row Your Boat. But it makes it harder to follow a recipe or remember a recipe.

I can’t cook rice noodles in soup to save myself but they seem to work well for me in a stirfry so I thought it was worth recording what I did. I had a blood orange that I had cut in half and then didn't need while baking cake yesterday. So instead of just repeating my Fried Ginger Rice Noodles, I found an orange sauce for the stirfy. It was intended for soba noodles. Maybe one day I will be able to try it with soba noodles (which are every bit as much a challenge for me as rice noodles).

The rice noodles absorb flavours and dry out in that sticky slurpy way that I love. I could do with more vegies, especially the broccoli that has sauce clinging to the florets. It makes an excellent meal for a lazy Sunday that has been spent singing songs, reading stories and pushing Sylvia on the swings beside the railway line until she is distracted by a passing train.

I am sending this lasagne to Ruth of Once Upon a Feast who is hosting tthis week's, Presto Pasta Night (#183). I highly recommend you head over to check out all the pasta for some noodly inspiration!

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Champion Crackers and Footy Food
This time two years ago: Pudla – for when your team lets you down!

Orange-flavoured Rice Noodles
Adapted from my Fried Ginger Rice Noodles and Martha Stewart’s Orange Dipping Sauce
serves 2

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp dark-roasted sesame oil
• ½ onion, sliced into half moons
• 1-2 carrots, cut into fine matchsticks
• ½ packet dried flat rice noodles (180g)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
• ½ green capsicum, slice in matchsticks
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• Sylvia’ s leftover veg and chickpeas*
• 2-3 button mushrooms, sliced
• juice of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• ¼ tsp chilli paste
• handful of spinach, shredded
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

*If you don’t have a fussy toddler to leave you leftover veg I would use a mixture of tofu and lightly steamed broccoli and peas. The tofu could be marinated in the orange juice,, mirin, tamari, rice vinegar and chilli.

Best to mix together orange juice, mirin, tamari, rice vinegar and chilli paste at the start but I didn’t. If I had tofu I would to give it a little time to marinate in these flavours.

Heat a frying pan or wok on a medium heat and add the oils. Fry the onion, carrot and garlic for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are almost soft. (Or if you are singing Miss Polly Had a Dolly over and over you may find yourself taking up to 20 minutes on a low heat!)

Meanwhile soak noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes until only just soft or as directed on the packet.

Add the ginger, garlic, capsicum and zucchini and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, and leftover veg (or tofu/broccoli/peas). Stir one minute and then add drained noodles and orange juice mixture. Stir for a few minutes over med high heat til liquid has been absorbed.

I served mine with baby spinach and peanuts. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for the next day.

On the stereo:
Ruby: Killjoys