How to make egg noodles

At home we usually make a lot of fresh pasta, we love it, but especially my son. I couldn't say what he likes more, whether to share time together in the kitchen preparing it or to taste it afterwards. He is a fan of pasta. I have been introducing him to Asian cuisine (which I adore!) for a while now and he is really enjoying it. The easiest way to get started is with noodles. You could say that it is a direct relative of pasta, so I was playing it safe with this one. So today I am going to show you how to make egg noodles.

If you like this type of cuisine, I'm sure that noodles will be an ingredient that will never be missing from your pantry. In my case, it's like that. I always have a great variety of noodles for different preparations; made with egg, without egg, vermicelli, crystal noodles, mung bean noodles... Not to mention how versatile they are and how quickly you can prepare a wonderful dish with them. I almost dare to say that it's a better alternative to a sandwich! Although if it's a good Jabugo ham with tomato, I might have to think about it ;)

Making noodles at home

For those of you who are used to making fresh pasta at home, it will be very easy to make noodles. In fact, if it weren't for the type of flour you use, you won't notice any difference.

Personally, I prefer fresh pasta made with durum wheat flour (semolina), not only for the flavour but also for the texture. For me, there is no comparison. But in the case of noodles it is different, we need a different type of finish and texture. In this case, we are going to make noodles of a thin thickness that will need very little cooking time.

We will need very basic ingredients that we all have at home, such as flour, eggs, salt and water. Afterwards, we will only have to mix the ingredients, knead them so that they amalgamate, favouring the development of gluten, and let them rest. Resting is necessary , not only because when the flour proteins hydrate, they facilitate better kneading afterwards and, therefore, better gluten development.

But we also need our dough to be completely relaxed so that we can stretch it without any problems. And we achieve this by letting the dough rest.

Do different proportions of water and egg have an influence?

Yes, absolutely yes.

Each ingredient contributes different characteristics to the dish we are preparing. On the one hand, the more egg the noodles contain, the more chewy they will be. On the other hand, the more water they contain, the softer their texture will be. So the ideal is to achieve a good balance between both ingredients to obtain the best possible texture.

Always keep in mind that the flour will determine the amount of liquid your dough can hold.

Shaping our noodles

Pasta, or in this case noodles, can be rolled out in a number of ways. Traditionally done with a rolling pin, this step is quite a bit of fun but very rewarding, so it may not be suitable for everyone, mainly due to time constraints.

We can also make them with a traditional pasta machine , which allows us to stretch the dough, cut it if we have the accessory or, failing that, cut it with a knife. Finally, we can make them with the KitchenAid pasta accessory , which is incredibly convenient. We just have to hold the portion of dough while it is being stretched, and then pass it through again to achieve the desired thickness. Then we change the accessory and in a few seconds we will have our noodles on the counter. It couldn't be simpler or faster!

Recipe adaptation and information from China Sichuan Food blog .

Ingredients (for 370g of noodles)

• 240gr of strong flour, W=200
• 2 large eggs
• 40-45gr of water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Cornstarch for sprinkling

Elaboration

1. We prepare the noodle dough.
2. In the bowl of our mixer or KA , we add the flour together with the salt and the eggs.
3. We mix with the help of the paddle at speed 1 until obtaining a sandy dough.
4. We begin to add the water little by little and mixing at the same time. We must obtain a homogeneous dough, but without excess moisture.
5. Once our dough is more or less amalgamated, we turn it out onto a clean work surface and knead it with our hands. We will do this until we notice that the surface begins to become smooth, around 3-4 minutes .
6. We form a ball, cover with film and let it rest for 30 minutes .

KitchenAid Artisan food processor and Seigaiha porcelain bowl by Tokyo Design Studio

We work the dough a little more

1. We remove the film and knead the dough again. We will notice that it is very relaxed and slightly sticky.
2. We knead again until obtaining a completely smooth surface.
3. We cover it again with film and let it rest for 30 minutes .

Form the dough ball, sprinkle the dough with cornstarch and cut the dough

We stretch the dough

1. We place our pasta attachment in the KitchenAid following the instructions for use. First we will use the smooth roller.
2. Sprinkle a work surface with cornstarch and place the dough on it. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with cornstarch as well.
3. We flatten the dough slightly and cut it into two equal pieces.
4. We cover the piece of dough that we are not going to work with with film to prevent it from drying out.
5. We lightly stretch the portion we are going to roll out, turn on the KitchenAid and roll the dough through the roller at thickness 1 and speed 1. We will do this step twice at this thickness , the rest we will only roll it through once for each of them.
6. Reduce the dough to thickness 2 and roll it out again. Every two times you roll it out, I recommend sprinkling and spreading the surface of the dough with cornstarch to prevent the dough from sticking to itself.
7. We repeat this same process until we reach thickness 6.
8. As you stretch the pasta, it will become longer. Cut it in half if you are not comfortable with the length and continue stretching it.
9. Once we have stretched out all the dough, we cover it very well with cornstarch on both sides, fold it over itself and cover it with film.
10. We repeat the same process with the other portion of dough.

Noodle making process with the KitchenAid pasta attachment

We form the noodles

1. We changed the roller attachment for the noodle attachment, the one with the finest cut.
2. We take one of the stretched portions that we had reserved and wrapped in film. We pass it through the grooved roller.
3. Take the noodles, sprinkle them well with cornstarch, remove the excess and form a ball. You can also leave them stretched if you prefer.
4. We repeat the process with the rest of the stretched pieces.
5. Once we have our noodles we can consume them the same day (this would be ideal) or store them in an airtight bag or container and refrigerate them for a maximum of 24 hours .

KitchenAid Artisan Food Processor

Grades

• The flour I used to make the noodles is wheat flour and is categorized as strong. Remember that depending on the type of flour you use, its absorption capacity may vary and, therefore, the final amount of water it can absorb.
• If you prefer, you can use the wider accessory to form your noodles.
• Since fresh eggs are used to make these, they cannot be left refrigerated for more than 24 hours . If you want to postpone their use, I recommend freezing them in zip-top bags (well covered with cornstarch) for a maximum of 1 week . They will be cooked directly from the freezer.
• The cooking time for these noodles will depend on the final use we are going to give them. If we are going to make fried noodles, we will cook them in boiling water for 1 minute and then sauté them for 6-8 minutes. If we are going to cook them to season them with vegetables, meat, sauces... In that case, we will cook them for 4 minutes. Then we will cook/sauté them for 1-2 minutes with the rest of the food.
• Once you've finished using all of the KitchenAid pasta attachments, let them air dry for 1-2 hours. Afterwards, just gently shake each attachment to remove any residue that may have gotten inside, run a brush over the attachment to thoroughly clean the gaps, and wipe it down with a damp cloth.

I definitely encourage you to prepare these egg noodles at home . They don't require much attention since the kneading is not intensive, on the contrary, quite moderate. The rest will allow us to do other things at home or even get ahead on part of the preparation we are going to make with them.

Stretching and cutting will take just a few minutes if you use the KitchenAid accessory, it is really quick and convenient. If you have children at home, you can ask them to lend you a hand and they will be happy to do so.

To finish, just a few minutes of cooking and topping them with whatever you like. We are looking forward to you trying them and telling us what you have prepared them with.