{"id":7176,"date":"2016-01-24T18:57:16","date_gmt":"2016-01-24T23:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veganlovlie.com\/?p=7176"},"modified":"2019-12-11T02:18:45","modified_gmt":"2019-12-11T07:18:45","slug":"how-to-make-homemade-noodles-mauritian-vegan-vegetarian-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veganlovlie.com\/how-to-make-homemade-noodles-mauritian-vegan-vegetarian-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"How-to Make Homemade Vegan Noodles [Mauritian Chinese\/Ramen Noodles – Eggless Noodles Recipe]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Easy process on how to make homemade vegan noodles from scratch. Homemade ramen noodles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These alkaline noodles are similar to the Mauritian yellow\u00a0wheat flour Chinese noodles. Suitable to use as ramen noodles for soup, boiled with various toppings or in stir fried noodle dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With strong Chinese influences in the Mauritian cuisine come an amalgam of flavours, ingredients and combinations that moulds traditional Chinese food into something notably unique to Mauritius. Whilst still highlighting their origin, Mauritians have put their own stamp onto the food introduced by the Chinese over a century ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having lived and experienced the food culture in quite a few countries, it is now plainly evident to me that while many dishes bear some resemblance and influences of similar origins, Mauritius boasts a multitude of distinctive food that can be found nowhere else on the globe. One example is the unmatched yellow wheat noodles that is locally produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our fruitless search for the perfect commercially available yellow wheat noodles, that would be similar to the ones that we have in Mauritius, brought us to getting our hands into dough. After numerous trials and tests, we finally nailed the combination and proportion of ingredients that gave birth to a noodle texture and taste that pretty much captures the authentic Mauritian appeal.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot less daunting than what they appear to be, these homemade noodles come together rather quickly. With the kneading time and rest time being a lot more reasonable than bread making for instance, this dough is also by far easier to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These vegan noodles, a riff on the quintessentially Chinese staple, have all the elements of the Mauritian classic wheat noodles. Being neither too chewy nor too mushy, they work perfectly for either\u00a0fried noodle dishes (chow mein), boiled\u00a0with toppings or in soups. Typically, the Mauritian wheat noodles are less chewy than other types of noodles like the packaged dry noodles available in the Asian markets or the Japanese ramen types of noodles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Commercial noodles manufacturers make use of alkaline salts known as kansui<\/a> to achieve that springy toothiness. Kansui is actually a mixture of sodium carbonate and usually potassium carbonate, as well as sometimes a small amount of phosphoric acid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are lucky enough, you may be able to find kansui in Chinatown or Asian markets but I wanted to come up with a recipe that would make use of ingredients that are easily accessible to most people. Kevin and I figured out if you want to attempt making your own noodles, it is very probable that it might be because you live in an area where Asian ingredients are not commonly available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A familiar alkali salt found in most kitchens is baking soda but it is not strong enough to yield the supple-firm texture. So, a little research landed us on this article in the New York Times<\/a> that introduced us to the idea that it is possible to use the same baking soda but processing it to a stronger alkali by baking it. Hence ‘baked baking soda’ is the key ingredient in this recipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When baking soda is baked, it turns from sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate which is an stronger alkaline salt. After a few tests, we were able to determine the ratio of flour to alkali salt and water needed to produce noodles similar to the ones that are commercially available in Mauritius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Apparently, alkaline noodles date back to ancient China where the water that were used from wells proved to be of alkaline pH. The Noodle Road<\/a> is quite an insightful Travel Documentary hosted by Ken Hom as he tracks down the secrets of this simple but unique food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Erring on the side of adventure while experimenting, we incorporated our own twist to these classic vegan noodles with the addition of sweet potato in the dough. The subtle sweetness was enough to add unexpected flavour depth to these plain noodles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We used the white variety of sweet potato, although the orange one will work too. We are sharing both recipes below – plain noodles and sweet potato wheat noodles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Apart from trying these vegan noodles in a fried noodle dish, it was only natural for us to gorge on\u00a0them freshly boiled and paired with our traditional rougaille \u2014\u00a0a quintessentially Mauritian combo.\u00a0This is the type of food that literally brings tears to your eyes. The simplicity of this dish, like many Mauritian dishes, is what makes it a winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some rougaille recipes if you wish to savour these noodles for a truly Mauritian experience:
Red Kidney Beans and Mushrooms Rougaille<\/a>
Plain Rougaille Sauce<\/a>
Tofu and Mushrooms Rougaille <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Watch the video tutorial as Kevin demonstrates his newly found passion for making these vegan noodles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n