Now, before you go getting all “Oh, I
don't like egg drop noodles” or “Oh, I love egg drop noodles,”
it would be best to keep in mind that these noodles are NOT egg drop
noodles, and are likely a bit different than most any others that
you've had, too. They're lusher, thicker, juicier, and in all other
ways a tastier noodle than you're likely to get with your soup at a
Chinese restaurant. That's because these aren't Chinese at all.
They're purely Midwestern. Enjoy them as such.
What you'll need (the dry stuff):
1 cup flour
¼ tsp baking powder
What you'll need (the damp stuff):
1 large egg (or two small ones will do
if your beak is to the gravel, so to speak)
1 Tbl oil (cooking, not automotive)
1 Tbl water
What to do next:
Fluff the baking powder together with
the flour and set that aside for a moment. Beat all of the wet
ingredients together and then add them to the dry stuff (which means
you'll have to go find where you put it when you set it aside. Try
the bathtub). Work it all together until it becomes a doughy ball of
dough. Roll your doughy ball out flat on a floured counter (that's
so it doesn't stick, y'know). It should be pretty flat. I mean,
really...it should be flat. This stuff will poof up later when you
cook it, so unless you want noodle tubes, go with thinner-is-better.
Once you've got that worked out, let it
dry. After it's dried you can use this handy noodle-cutting trick:
roll the dough up and slice it into strips like you would a loaf of
bread (but thinner -- see above).
Now that you have a bunch of noodle
strings, feed them slowly into about a quart of boiling chicken or
beef broth (chicken is best). Yeah, I know, I should have told you
about the broth up in the Damp Stuff section, but then you might have
mixed it in with the eggs and such and that would have just been
messy. This will teach you to read the whole recipe before
beginning.
Cover your noodles and broth and stir
occasionally (take the cover off to stir, duh) until they're tender.
Then you can eat them. Probably with the chicken that you had to
cook in order to get the broth.
Makes enough for 2 people. Four times
this much has fed 10 people at Thanksgiving.
P.S.: these noodles are supposed to
absorb all the salt they need from the broth, but if you want to add
a tsp or so to the dry mix, I won't stop you.
Enjoy.