Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• 1/2 cup tamarind (liquid concentrate)
• 1/2 cup palm sugar or sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed, peeled, and minced
• 1/3 cup extra-small to small dried shrimp (about 1/2-inch-long tails); or 36 small headless tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 pressed extra-firm tofu cake, thinly sliced crosswise
• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups Basic Asian Stock (chicken, Page 2)
• 8 to 10 ounces narrow or medium dried rice sticks, soaked in water until pliable
• 3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 2-1/2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 3/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
• 2 limes, each sliced into 6 wedges

Directions
1 In a bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, tamarind and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set the sauce aside.

2 Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Stir-fry the garlic until fragrant and just golden, about 1 minute. Add the dried shrimp, if using, and tofu and stir-fry until the tofu is lightly crisped, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

3 In the same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat. Add the eggs, breaking the yolks by stirring lightly a couple of times. (Both white and yellow parts should be visible). Cook into an omelet (it should not be runny). Transfer to a plate, let cool, julienne, and set aside.

4 At this time, divide all of the ingredients into 6 equal portions.

5 If using fresh shrimp, bring a small to medium pot of water to a boil over high heat and blanch the tiger shrimp until opaque, about 1 minute. Shock them under cold running water and drain. Set the poached shrimp aside.

6 In the large skillet, cook each portion as follows: heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Add the chicken stock, sauce and rice noodles. Cook until the noodles absorb the liquid fully. Add the tofu mixture and toss to distribute evenly. Transfer the noodles to a plate and garnish with omelet, scallions, bean sprouts, peanuts, and 2 lime wedges. Repeat the process 5 more times. Garnish with poached shrimp, if using.

Makes 6 servings.

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BUY THIS BOOK
Excerpted from Noodles Every Day by Corinne Trang Copyright © 2011 by Corinne Trang. Photo Copyright © 2011 by Maura McEvoy. Excerpted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced without permision in writing from the publisher.Basic Asian stock are easy to make. Unlike many classic French stocks, they do not require the cook to roast the meaty bones in the oven prior to making the stock. Instead, all Asian stocks are made with fresh meaty bones, which are first boiled 2 to 3 times in order to get rid of bone or blood particles, most of which rise and collect in the foam at the top. Choose meaty bones such as pork ribs for pork stock, beef short ribs or oxtail for beef stock, or chicken carcasses, necks and wings for chicken stock. A whole chicken can also be used, but I find it wasteful and prefer to use prime poultry meat for stir-frying with noodles and other dishes.

Be sure to cut off any fat or skin prior to adding the meat to the stockpot. I always use fish sauce as a basic seasoning, but you can use salt if you prefer. To enhance the flavour of the stock, ginger, scallion, and daikon (or any white turnip) are added to the pot. Basic stocks are used as a base for fragrant soups and sauces. Freeze the stock in two sizes: 1-cup or 1-pint containers for use in making sauces, and 1-quart containers for use as soup stock.

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds of raw meaty chicken, pork or beef bones
• 1 pound daikon, peeled and cut into 2-inch-thick rounds, or whole white round turnips
• 4 ounces ginger, sliced and lightly crushed
• 8 scallions, trimmed and lightly crushed
• 1 teaspoon white or black peppercorns
• Fish sauce or kosher salt

Directions
1 Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil and cook the meaty bones for 10 minutes to get rid of bone and blood participles. (This step can be omitted when making chicken stock with whole bones, but it is especially useful when using chopped-up bones, and rinse the pot.)

2 In the same large stockpot, combine the boiled bones with 5 quarts of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the daikon, ginger, scallions, and peppercorns. Season lightly with fish sauce or salt. Simmer, partially covered, for 4 to 5 hours, or until you have about 3 quarts of liquid left, occasionally skimming off any foam on the surface. Strain and discard the solids. Then skim off the fat.

Makes about 3 quarts.

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BUY THIS BOOK
Excerpted from Noodles Every Day by Corinne Trang Copyright © 2011 by Corinne Trang. Photo Copyright © 2011 by Maura McEvoy. Excerpted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced without permission in writing from the publisher.