FRIDAY FOOD THING
(circa 2005)
When I went Asian market a-shopping several weeks ago, I picked up something new (for me) that turned out to be pretty darned good: Twin Marquis brand, “LO MEIN NOODLE” (red, white, and green package), which — in this case — must be kept refrigerated (or frozen). There are thousands of other brands out there in varying configurations, so Twin Marquis isn’t the only game in town.
LO MEIN NOODLES are high-quality wheat-based noodles, sometimes coming full or partially cooked (like the Twin Marquis brand). They are also extremely long, meaning, had LO MEIN NOODLES been used instead of spaghetti noodles in the 1955 Walt Disney “Lady and the Tramp“ movie, Lady and her dashing tramp would still be waiting for their puckered sucking lips to touch.
Seeing as how I am still on my lifelong quest for the perfect quickie dumpling, I saved a mess of frozen LO MEIN NOODLE to try in my next pot of boiled chicken. Sixteen ounces of LO MEIN NOODLE bliss cost a mere $1.19, but only if you can hop in a Way Back machine and purchase them in 2005.
Okay. Never mind the boiled chicken for now.
Upon proof-reading today’s article (and since I don’t have a chicken handy at the moment), I’ve managed to have worked myself into a kind of salivatory, word-driven froth. What the heck. Tonight, I think I’m going to throw the remainder of my LO MEIN NOODLES into a pot of boiling Asian chicken broth (made from Asian chickens, maybe?) and see what develops. Maybe add some cubed ham, a sprig of parsley, some chopped onion, a glop of Wasabi paste (hot green horseradish paste), and incorporating a fork-whipped raw egg into the simmering concoction for good measure, stirring in one direction only. (Hey, I don’t make this stuff up — that’s how you’re supposed to stir in an egg at the very end of the cooking process.)
“TIM’S HAM LO MEIN CHICKEN WHATEVER EGG DROP NOODLE SOUP” has a nice ring to it.
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Tim says: there are many, many lo mein noodle recipes out there. Every one of them looks good to me.
Your comment got me to thinking back a bit historically.
This lo mien FFT first appeared in the RDJ newsletter in 2005, many years before my blog; it’s been years since I made the original lo mien noodle purchase.
Nowadays, a LOT of different varieties — both fresh (refrigerated), and dry (non-refrigerated) — are available online as well as in the Asian/To-fu/Won-Ton foods sections of many grocery stores. Lo mien noodles are made from wheat and egg, more like spaghetti rather than an egg noodle.
Like you, after searching on “lo mien noodle” and a slew of other phrases myself, I gotta agree pickings are slim and confusion is great. Lo mien noodles are hard to find. I had to laugh when an “Asian-Grocery-Store” search came back with a book title entitled: “The Asian Grocery Store Demystified“.
If they exist in your area, a true Asian Grocery or Asian Market is your best bet. You betcha. Otherwise, it’s gonna be tough.
And, of course, as always, your standard Amazon.
Hope this helps.
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Hmmm, was hoping to find a place that might carry these lomein noodles that you like. I tried one variety so far and my husband didn’t think the noodles themselves were quite right. Bought a second brand, but have not tried them out yet. Other recommendations of lomein noodles, or a way to obtain the ones you referenced? Their webpage seemed difficult to navigate to see it they are sold locally, etc.
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hmm… so that’s what I’ve been doing wrong. I stir sort of haphazardly, in both directions….
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Everything sounds good except the whipped egg white.
We have a lot of Asian-Indian markets here in Kansas City–Great for getting spices mixes,sauces and a plethora of tasty and interesting food items.
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The fork-scrambled egg is, of course, the “egg drop” part. Some folks like it. Some don’t. Unfortunately, I have to drive a couple hours to find an Asian market. They are, to me, what a candy shop used to be to kids. lol. I guess nowadays that would be “what a video game store is to kids”.
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