Crunchy Fried Noodles

 

Very moreish crunchy noodles

Crunchy Noodle salad is one of my family's favourite summertime salads - noodles, wombok, a few chopped chives, slightly salty/sweet salad dressing with added sesame oil and loads of roasted cashews. As we can all eat wheat I usually put in a packet or part of a packet of Chang's fried noodles. Left over noodles in the packet quickly get turned into chocolate spiders, usually by my daughter. 
  
I was hankering for some chocolate spiders (the weather had turned cold again, I wanted some comfort food and I felt peanuts & chocolate would hit the spot) but we were all out of Chang's fried noodles. The choice was mine. Do I go to the shops and buy some noodles? or Do I try and make some gluten free noodles? or Do I go to the shops buy Chang's gluten free ones as well as the wheat based ones and then try and make some gluten free ones? I chose the last option - I really wanted to see how long it would take to make them. 
 
After a couple of trials my daughter and I were very happy with the noodles, they are easy to make (about 10 mins when you have the hang of it) and extremely easy to eat (even before they are turned into chocolate spiders). The following recipe will make approximately 350 g of deliciously crunchy fried noodles.
 
This recipe is suitable for deep fryers or temperature controlled shallow frying. It is easy to make the noodles if you have a 'ricer' or fine potato masher. 
 
This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour. 
 
 
Ingredients
 200 g Bakers' magic gluten free flour (either blend)
 
1/2 tsp Baking powder
 
1.5 tsp Sugar
 
1 tsp Salt
 
125 - 150 g Water
 
30 g Oil
 
Water - the amount of water added will change the texture of the fried noodle, more water will increase the lightness of the fried noodle but also the stickiness of the dough prior to deep frying (making it harder to separate the noodles prior to frying). I would start with 125 g of water if using the lighter coloured Bakers' Magic flour and 140 g of water if using the blend made with the brown flaxseed flour. 
 
 
Method
 
Turn on deep fryer to approximately 180 C. 
 
Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in oil & water. Let dough sit for approximately 5 mins.
 
Put a piece of baking paper, bit bigger than an A4 piece of paper, on your bench. Lightly spray with oil or put a bit of oil on the paper.  
 
Test a little of the dough by pushing some through a 'ricer' (like the one pictured below) or small round hole potato masher. If you can easily separate the noodles then the dough is ready to use. If the dough is a little sticky, add in a little more flour. 
 
 
Optional (but a good idea) Deep fry a couple of the pressed noodles before committing to using all the dough. Deep fry them for approximately 2 min or until the bubbles have subsided. The oil isn't hot enough if the noodle stays on the bottom of the deep fryer. Allow the noodle to cool down before eating it. Frying a couple of noodles first gives you the flexibility to add more flour or water to the dough depending on the crunchiness of the cooked noodle.
 
Put approximately half of the dough into the ricer. Push the dough through the ricer until approximately 5 cm of noodles are hanging down. The noodles in the following photo are approximately 15 cm. 
 
 
 
Spray the hanging noodles with a bit of oil - it helps to stop them sticking together. Even if they have stuck together during deep frying they are easier to separate when they have cooled down. 
 
There are basically two ways of getting the noodles off the ricer. The method you use will depend on how wet your dough is. 
a). Use an oiled knife to cut off the noodles - either drop them straight into the deep fryer or onto the oiled piece of baking paper & then put them into the deep fryer.
b). Gently swing the ricer in a tight circle over the oiled baking paper. If the dough is not too wet the noodles will drop off. 
 
 
Transfer the noodles to the deep fryer. If they are on the baking paper I roll the paper up a little to get the noodles into the centre and then gently slide the noodles into the deep fryer. Be careful of oil splashes when transferring to the deep fryer. 
 
Deep fry until the noodles are no longer bubbling (approx. 1.5 - 2 minutes)
 
 
 
Use a metal scoop to fish out the noodles.
 
Let them cool down on some absorbent paper.
 
Store in an airtight container if not using straight away.
 
Simply enjoy!