Monday, April 11, 2011

Mystery Noodle Experiment: Operation Crepenoodlespaetzlecini

This bizarre and quite possibly useless video recipe is what happens when I don't have the good sense to not film what I'm cooking. What started as some innocent experiments with semolina dumplings, somehow turned into a surreal crepes-pasta-spaetzle-noodle-chowmein hybrid.

As I cooked and edited this freak of nature, I kept going back and forth between thinking this was a giant waste of time, to actually thinking we may be on to something. I think the basic idea of using a denser semolina crepe as noodles is worth exploring further, but not until I hear what you all think.

By the way, some of you may be wondering why I didn’t mention what it tasted like during the video. I have no idea. It was pretty good – kind of like fried macaroni, only a bit softer and richer. I think I was just so confused by the whole exercise, it never occurred to me. Anyway, I hope some of you do some experimenting of your own, and together we can take this to the next level…or not. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt, and maybe sugar
1/2 cup semolina flour
2 teaspoon olive oil (not shown in video, but add it in)

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whatever you'll call them, I'll give that a try, these look fantastic.

Drew said...

How about, get a big glob of guacamole, shove a couple olive eyeballs in the front and give it some celery feet, candy-corn teeth and cinnamon stick arms, and sprinkle this stuff on it like HAIR?? Then you can be even more confused when it comes to life at 3am and starts slowly opening your bedroom door, oooo... confuuuuusing. It could be called guacolivelery cornnamonacrepenoodlespaetzlecini, I *think.

Pete said...

Hey John, you could make some more batter and fry those in it for a texture contrast(hash browns come to mind with a hidden crunch). They would probably make a good casserole topping too. ;)

Asian Malaysian said...

Chef John, I think youre on your way to making a wesern form of murukku which is an indian savory snack. All you need is an extruder or piping bag and more oil for shallow deep frying.

Unknown said...

ooh! Instead of grated cheese, how about sugar, and caramelize it, and make a Carmel pasta snack! (or or or) even, take that and use it as a garnish on ice cream! (or or or), if you can somehow make the batter THINNER, and cut them thinner, you can use them in some spicy creamy gravy thing..... or maybe not :)

Unknown said...

chef john u should try them for a topping over shrimp fried rice instead of chinese fried noodles, dont have a name for them but i think you are on the right track

Tim said...

Not exactly sure what they are...but I like how your creative juices were flowing. These did give me an idea for a crepey noodley breakfast, perhaps served with a chocolatey nutella sauce of some sort...a different texture from the traditional rolled up crepe!

Dirk said...

In Germany and Austria crepe strips are often used as a kind of soup garnish for consommés and such. This looks similar, but more noodley. I think I should give this a try to see if it's actually comparable! Definitely looks interesting.

Anonymous said...

the first glaring question not addressed herein was how did ze noodles taste?

kinda like a superfragilisticexpialidocious taste treat?

as not knowing how they tasted but the image of a strawberry whipped cream bavarian noodle sounded yummy!

Unknown said...

I guess my question is..."does it taste good?" Is it sweet or salty maybe a little of both? How about you call it confetti strings! It looks like a snack and something you can bring to a party, just add some spicy queso sauce and you're ready for some good times.

Razors Edge said...

That is Splatzle... its a traditional Hungarian way to make noodles. My grandmother showed me how make these years ago, except with regular flour.

Pantalone said...

I don't know. Nice creative process. And I like the pancakes.

But these things look a little like they went maybe one (or two)steps too far? If they were longer, then maybe weave them into a lattice structure and ... uh, I don't know, maybe deep fried and then dusted with powdered sugar and topped with melted chocolate covered strawberries? Yikes.

But, as always, lots of fun to watch and learn! Keep going!

Luatica said...

You didn't mention if you liked it. Looked good though. But name, no clue, call it crispies (or anything else not denoting what kind of dish it is, just one of its characteristics)

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%A4dle

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised! In the USA you know the german word "Spätzle"? You live and learn. Best regards from Germany.

Anonymous said...

I agree with what Pantalone suggested ... powered sugar, etc. Yum!

am said...

as soon as i saw these fusion noodles i thought about Mi Krop : a Thai dish made with crispy noodles and a sweet and citrus-y sauce.
you may have invented the alternative to Thai rice crispy noodles, for those parts of the world too far from Thailand and rice-flour-less - yum.

Anonymous said...

Cut them thinner and use them for decoration or instead of noodles in a soup. :)

Zac said...

I'm glad Chef John doesn't have the good sense not to film what he's cooking :)

Jeremie James said...

In the Steryan province of Austria these are called something like "palerschinken". You don't fry them but put them in soup.

Julie said...

If I were you, I would have probably called them "crouton's skinny cousins" and added them as a crispy topping to soups and salads...Ta ta!

meho said...

Nobody fries Spätzle...

Greetings from Germany ^^

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A4tzle

Anonymous said...

I am originally from Austria, and such thin crepes are known there as Palatschinken.

Palatschinken are made from a batter as shown in the video, except one usually does not use semolina, but regular all-purpose flour. Palatschinken usually are VERY thin, and they are served rolled up and filled either sweet (various preserves, vanilla cream, etc) or savory (ham, cheese, etc).

Palatschinken can also be cut into thin noodles (I usually use left-over ones), and served in a clear broth as soup. Such a soup is known in Austria as Frittatensuppe. You will find it in most restaurants.

If you google "Palatschinken" or "Frittatensuppe," you will find recipes and images.

Chef John, from a fan of yours, many thanks for numerous inspiring recipes! - Wolfgang

Anonymous said...

At first I thought they were some type of french fries, and then I realize they're supposed to be some kind of noodles.. they look good.. but not sure how they'll taste.. I'd love to watch more experiments and whole heartedly agree with Zac :D

Daveyboy said...

Ascaris.

May Shanshan said...

Heyy Chief John, I love your way of making this noodle! I just have a quick reply to your doubt on whether fried noodles have ever been invented, and the answer is -YES! As a Chinese, I can guarantee you that fried noodles (not those stir-fry noodles, really deep fried noodles) history can be traced back to thousand years ago! Here is the pictures I searched from google, you don't need to understand the Chinese words I typed, but you could see how those deep-fried noodles look like! enjoy!
http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=馓子&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1438&bih=714

Anonymous said...

we made them...drizzled some warmed up raspberry jam on them...then a dusting of powdered sugar...tasty fried dessert :-)

Troy said...

kind of like fried won ton strips?

theo said...

i am sure that my brother has done the exact same thing before....but he was stoned at the time.

looks like a great topping for a taco soup.

Unknown said...

You know what I think? I think you are amazing! =D Those look delicious and I think they could be used as an awesome side dish... kind of like pasta french fries? Only I feel like they could go with Italian, American, Chinese, and German food. Particularly German food. I'd love to see you come up with a recipe involving using these as a side dish. *is already starting to brain storm*. I dont know, but I think you are brilliant!

me said...

Nice :)
try to boil a bit before frying and there you have a testaroli/panigacci egg version.
by the way: Im goin to try!
Charlie

Unknown said...

Leave out the sugar and put savory herbs in it, to put on my salad or soup ^_^

Daniel Bottoms said...

I think someone already posted this thought, as i didn't read all the comments, so forgive the repeat if it is:

That looks just like what you get in boulon soups (consumee?) in Austria. My kid loves to eat those things floating in a nice hot bowl of beef stock. I'm pretty sure they are not fried, however!

what about name: Semi-nood-ola?

Chef John said...

Thanks to everyone for all the ideas and suggestions!! Semi-nood-ola? lol

Unknown said...

Shoestring pasta crepe fries?

eXtreme said...

look like my over-baked potato chips
you might put it in a bags and sell them

Unknown said...

The batter reminds me of crespelle except that the crespelle recipe I know uses regular flour.

Anonymous said...

Now THAT was funny!

Maria said...

Just call them "crispy critters."

EasilyEnthused said...

Chef John,

I've been reading you and following you for years. This is the point at which you went from internet cooking guide to true cuisine guru.

Best chef ever.

Justin
Charlotte, NC

Anonymous said...

Chef John, I was just searching the web for recipes for things I could take to a Wagner marathon (opera anyone?) and I ran across this http://www.letscookgerman.com/dishes/shredded-pancake-kaiserschmarrn.html It sounds exactly like your invention!!! BTW can you suggest anything appropriate to make to bring to a German opera marathon??? Thanks! Margery

Anonymous said...

Reminds me very much of Viennese fritatten. Crepe like pancakes (the thrifty cook uses leftover pancakes from lunch or dinner the day before) are rolled and cut into fritatten (like the noodles in your recipe). Only instead of being fried the fritatten are put into beef broth and eaten as fritatten soup

Anonymous said...

Hi John,
well i think you can call this a kind of "kaiserschmarrn" which has the same ingrediends like pancakes (excl. raisins) and is made like them only difference is that the pancakes get shredderd after baking

greeds from germany
chiabatta no knead ROCKS..BTW the first piece of the bread shape reminds the venetian gondola boats thats why that call it like that

Anonymous said...

Just for the record, "spaetzle" is pronounced more like "spet-shleh". Interesting idea, your noodle-y thing.

Anonymous said...

Oops. I meant "schpet-shleh". My mistake.

Antara Roy said...

Hey Chef Jhon,

these noodles are a great recipe for chinese classic sweet dish, honey crispy noodles... i tried drizzling in honey and few nuts.. a healthy alternative to refined flour noodles.. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Chef John,

Just saw the video and it was hilarious! If the batter isn't to sweet nor salty you could perhaps wrap the hybrid noodles (before you fried it) around something (aka prawn) and fry it off afterwards! :D

Maya said...

How about just serving it with a drizzle of liquid caramel and some toasted sesame seeds and a dusting of powdered sugar :) eaten immediately ofcourse

Michelle said...

fried noodle? put them on a salad like a crouton?

Unknown said...

oodwishes this reminded me of middle eastern vermicelli..where actually originally came from China through the old silk-road. in Farsi it's known as Reshte...in Lebanese we call it Shireye...we use it when we make rice! you put a bit oil in the rice pot give it a bit of a fry and then u add the rinsed rice and pour water and mix it in put the pot on low heat until the rice is done! - that's what i think you invented. a version similar to Shireye!

Unknown said...

If you made these with regular flour and maybe some herbs like parsley and cut them like you did, you would get "flaedle/frittaten", which are a southern German/Austrian pancake strips which you add to clear beef soup - usually without extra frying. Delicious and from the same region as spaetzle. :)

Unknown said...

to me this really feels like 炒饼/chao bing, which is fried cut pancakes exactly, typically tossed with veggies, some form of protein, and spice it up with garlic, green onion, fresh green chilli peppers. Hope this helps

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Years late to the party, but I'd want to try them with sour cream, but not apple sauce...