There are so many kinds of noodles! Wheat noodles (pasta), rice stick noodles, glass noodles, soba, ramen, Udon, egg noodles, etc. They are all delicious and can be made into all kinds of dishes like soups, stir fries, salads, rolls… But there is another kind of noodle that I have discovered that is now my new go-to when I want something comforting and fresh: potato noodles.
Italians make gnocchi, Chinese and Koreans make potato noodles. Both use potatoes as a base but these potato noodles don’t use flour. So it is a great gluten-free alternative to pasta! After some experimenting I came up with 2 recipes: a quick one that only uses potato starch and makes pretty looking noodles, with a nice bite and a rustic one that yields larger softer noodles that literally melt in your mouth.
Quick potato noodles
This recipe only uses 3 ingredients: potato starch, water and a little oil to make the dough. The ratio is 1 cup of potato starch, 1/2 cup of boiling water and 1 tbsp oil. It doesn’t require much kneading, just enough to remove all lumps. I call it quick noodles, because once you roll the ball into a thin layer, all you have to do, it make thin long strips. You can make them thin or wide, thick or flat. You are in control!
I made mine like fettucini. Carefully lift each noodle with a long knife and quickly boil them (less than a minute is all you need).
Remove as soon as the noodles are floating, and cool down by placing them in an ice bowl. Heat up with your favorite sauce.
It makes beautiful professionally looking noodles that are a little transparent and have a slight rubbery texture. Boil then quickly until they float up to the surface. They will need to cook for a minute or two with your favorite sauce to soften them. These noodle hold up really well in soups and stews. The rustic noodles, on the other hand, not so much!
Note: I like to make extra noodles ahead of time (up to the point that they are boiled and cooled down) and refrigerate them for a few days. They will have become a little firm to the touch but don’t worry, they will soften beautifully as soon as you heat them up with a little oil or sauce. I haven’t tried to freeze them because we eat them as soon as I make them but they should be fine.
Rustic potato noodles
I call them rustic because these noodles are hand-rolled instead of sliced and as a result look totally handmade.ย They require boiling a few peeled potatoes (yellow or Russet), mashing them real well with some potato starch (don’t leave any lumps), and rolling small pieces into little snakes. 2 medium size potatoes will make enough noodles for one person.
The noodles are thick and very soft, so they require gentle handling and tools like a spatula and a slotted spoon to get them into the boiling water, the ice bath and the frying pan. The result is a soft, thick melts in your mouth noodles and is my definition of comfort food, especially when served with a lightly spicy Gochujang sauce. It needs nothing else!
If you are not into spicy sauce,ย go for pesto, peanut sauce, curry, you name it, they all shine with these noodles.
Bon appetit!
Rustic Potato Noodles with Gochujang Sauce
Equipment
- Slotted spoon
Ingredients
potato pasta
- 2 medium to large golden or Russet potatoes
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- pinch of salt
Gochujang sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp gochujang sauce
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil heated
- 1-2 spring onion stalks
Instructions
Prepare the Gochujang sauce
- Mix the gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, and minced garlic cloves.
- In a small pan, heat up the 1/4 cup of oil.
Prepare the noodles
- Peel and boil the potatoes (gold or Russet) until cooked. Drain and set aside to cool down.
- In a large bowl, mash the potatoes and add 1/2 cup of potato starch a little at a time until you get a ball.
- Boil water for the noodles.
- Create a cold bath by placing some ice cubes into a bowl of water.
- Sprinkle some potato starch on a working surface. Tear a few pieces and roll them into thick noodles.
- Drop a few noodles at a time in the boiling water and quickly lift them with a slotted spoon as soon as they float up and place into the ice bowl.
- Don't let them cook too long because they are very soft and could easily fall apart.
- Repeat with the remaining noodles.
- Heat up a frying pan, pour the sauce in it and gently slide the noodles in the pan. Swish around the noodles and add the hot oil.
- Top with the chopped spring onion. Serve immediately.
