It does not take all 10 fingers and toes for me to count the number of times I have been moved to reproduce a dish featured on one of those cooking shows where the host attempts to re-create a restaurant favorite. But this one grabbed my attention, because it seemed easy and different.
The sauce is no-cook. The gluten-free noodles are glass, made from sweet potato. I like the look and chew of them. They pick up the bright green of the sauce, and taste just as good at any temperature. The down side is that I could not find them at regular grocery stores, so you’ll have to make a special trip to a large Asian supermarket. It’ll be worth it; buy a few packages and you’ll be set to make this recipe again and again — perhaps adding a few vegetables or other herbs as you like. You can use rice stick noodles or vermicelli instead.
A few hints: Start the noodles’ cooking water with hot from the tap or just-boiled water from the kettle, to stay on schedule. It won’t affect the texture of these noodles. The original recipe called for powdered vitamin C, which is expensive. Its function here is to preserve the beautiful color of the sauce, which will darken slightly when applied to the hot noodles or after a few hours’ refrigeration. Feel free to leave out the vitamin C, especially if you plan to eat these right away.
Green Glass Noodles
4 servings
About 8 ounces (half a package) Korean glass noodles
3/4 cup pine nuts, plus more for garnish
3 scallions
1 large jalapeno pepper
About 20 stems chives
1 or 2 ripe Hass avocados
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 ounce powdered vitamin C (optional)
3/4 cup packed Thai basil leaves (may substitute Genovese or green basil leaves)
About 1/4 cup freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish
Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions (6 to 8 minutes), stirring after a few minutes to detangle them a bit and make sure they are all submerged.
