The noodle blueprint

What is it?

Think of this noodle blueprint as a protocol or a mental framework to create endless variations at home with anything in your fridge or pantry. Ethan covered this in an early video, but we’re resurfacing it since many of you might not be familiar with it.

Why should you implement it?

A common pain point for us home cooks is learning to break out of a rut of the same few meals. Learning a food framework allows you to rely on a familiar meal, but change the ingredients or flavor profile to keep things exciting.

How do I implement it?

The graphic says it all: keep some noodles on hand, use whatever protein and vegetables you have around, cook and sauce everything together, then garnish.

• If you just want to brush up on your technique, check out our stir-fry or blanch fundamentals.
• See the below for recipe recommendations.

Callouts

When should you use a cornstarch slurry?

• Starch slurries are a great way to control the texture of saucier dishes, like a teriyaki noodle situation.
• For a dryer, more seared, pad-see-ew style noodle texture, you don’t need to use a slurry and instead just cook off extra moisture in the pan.

Get smart with sauces…note the framework within a framework here:

• The 2:1:0.5 salty/sour/sweet sauce ratio is killer and comes up often in common stir-fries sauces.
• Even just batching one sauce to keep in the fridge (or buying one) sets you up for loads of different meals.