"Ol' Buddy" Noodles from Nanning (老友面)
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Laoyou – “Ol’ Buddy” – Noodles! A classic from Nanning (capital of the Guangxi Autonomous Region), its mix of garlic, fermented chilis, fermented black beans, …
Hey guys, a few notes:
1. After posting this to Patreon, it came to our attention that the Thai and Vietnamese versions of sour bamboo shoots seem to be very available in the west – basically just as available as the packaged bamboo shoots we used in the video. If you’re USA based and have access to Weee!, they carry the Vietnamese style of the product which would be perfect (link is in the description). The Thai style that’s available is generally pre-sliced into very thin sheets, which isn’t super ideal but would totally work ok.
2. The packaged bamboo shoots we used in the video aren’t even really fermented as far as we know – they’re simply packaged in brine together with pickled yeshanjiao chilis, and pick up a good bit of that flavor. Thus why the aforementioned Thai/Vietnamese versions would work better.
3. Japanese pickled bamboo shoots (i.e. menma) would likely be a bit of a reach, however. We didn’t try them out, and they might be a decent enough experiment, but AFAIK they’ve got a pretty distinctive taste that I’m not sure would work here.
4. If using the Thai or Vietnamese sour bamboo shoots, our recommendation would be to cut the rice vinegar by half at first – i.e. use ½ tbsp instead of the full tablespoon in the sauce. We upped the rice vinegar quantity to 1 tbsp because of the fact that we were using that package bamboo shoot. Then, at the end, taste your soup – the soup should be a little sour. Add more to taste.
5. There’s two traditional choices re meat at noodle shops in Nanning – pork, or a combination of pork/liver/intestine. We really liked the pork liver in here, so we wanted to include it… but didn’t really feel like dealing with prepping intenstine, which can be sorta painful. I’m pretty sure fresh pork intestine is pretty difficult to source in the west anyhow. So yeah – don’t feel bad for going the all-pork route, definitely a traditional option too.
6. This is a very easy flavor profile to veganize. Skip the lard and pork, obviously. Swap the oyster sauce for vegetarian oyster sauce; swap the 1/8 tsp chicken powder for ~1/16 tsp MSG. Use mushroom or vegetarian stock.
That’s all for now. We’re on our way back home from travelling in western Hunan, so we’ll probably be a bit less responsive than usual in the comment today 🙂
Oh hey! A classic from my hometown! I have my own recipe that I'm using, but will give this a try as well!
This flavour combination I actually didn't like when I was younger. Really love it now.
This looks amazing! You need to publish a cookbook for all of us who love written recipes. Lots of pictures from your amazingly produced videos too. Thanks for the inspiration
Appreciate the shoutout to vegetarians in the room! 😀
I need to know the name for that knife.
I want it, I need it.
Production value that rivals many recent movies coming out of Hollywood
that overview at the start is great!
This giant curved knife gives me the chills everytime xD
老友粉不是面
He's right. I did this with supermarket dried spaghetti noodles and it still tasted good. Ordered everything on amazon for fun too.
Tho I still prefer adding some fresh tomato cubes/slices which gives it a mild sour taste and fresh veggie texture.
Also, fried eggs is also needed since it can soak some of the soup and when you bite it the flavor will just explode in your mouth.
Please dont make a quick recap of the process right before making the dish. Id love to see things unfold like a book with no spoilers 😊
Woow yummiest and delicious looks😍
Aggressively delicious combination))))
Didn't realize this was a thing! I had left over Mapo Tofu and left over noodles from beef noodle soup, and thought, what the hell, let's mix them together. Delicious, though missing the bamboo shoots.
Bamboo has escaped into the wild in the US. One can forage bamboo shoots. So yes please, tell me how to ferment bamboo shoots.
Where can I get that cleaver?
bamboo is another ingredient that generates umami, especially when pickled.
Fresh bamboo shoots are easy to find in the Washington, DC area.
definitely a well thought out grandma style recipe…. salty from the black beans, sour from the bamboo shoots, bitter from the garlic and liver, spicy from the chilli, and a tad sweet from the soy sauce and sugar used for marinade. Flavor profile heaven right there.
Not sure why but douchi in soup noodles always scares me LOL
Yet to see some Liuzhou crayfish noodles. or have I just missed it?
💜💜💜
Personally I would make a large jar of this Ol' buddy sauce. About the same recipe:
– veggies: heavy amount of sour bamboo shoot, chopped mixture of chillies, garlics and fermented black beans.
– seasoning: dark vinegar, light soy sauce, salt, sugar, MSG and optionally, 黄皮酱 aka Wampi sauce, a jam made from the regional grown berries
– Dry-pan-fry the bamboo shoots to evaporate the waters and condense its flavour, put it aside after done.
– Add quite large amount of vegetable oil, about half size of your chillies-garlic-blackbeean mixture, perferably those light flavour oil like corolla or sunflower oil, heat it up until just start smoking, pour the mixture in and let it fry for 30 seconds to fully extract the aromas.
– Add the prepared bamboo shoots
– Add decent amount of light soy sauce from the edge of the pan/wok, the amount should be about 1/2 of the aroma mixture
– Add dark chinese vinegar, sugar, salt, and MSG to your taste. It should taste mildly sour with some fragrance of the vinegar, but still leads by the soy sauce flavour.
(optional) – If you have wampi sauce, pour half of the jar into the pan
– The sauce should be heavily seasoned as its usage is to be diluted in noodle soup base or other dish's flavour.
– Let the whole thing cooking under low heat for couple miuntes, pour into a jar, seal after cooled, and it is done.
– The sauce can be safely stored for one to two months in the fridge since it is so heavily salted and have oil on the top to prevent direct contact to air.
– It is vegan by itself but the taste is marvelous, its application also works wonders accompanied by meats.
= An Example of How to use the sauce
Ol' Buddy Noodle
– Heat up the pan with some oil in
– Add the sauce mixture and let it heat up
– Add meat, pork slice/pork mince/etc
– Add hot water or stock and let the whole thing cook for 2-3 miuntes, then add noodle in
– taste the soup, if it is a bit bland then add some soy sauce.
– Pour the whole thing into a bowl and chop very decent amount of spring onions on it, Enjoy!
I always love seeing the cute doggy at the end of your videos 😀 Your channel has introduced me to so many different Chinese dishes, thank you!
Watching these videos, I realize how lucky I am to be based in San Francisco and the Bay Area in general where almost all of the "impossible" to source ingredients are all at my local markets.
I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but dark miso makes a decent substitute for douchi. The darker (more aged) the better, obviously. It's not exactly the same, but it's really not far off. Although miso in North America tends to be the light variety (which is still probably better than nothing), I have definitely seen dark miso on my occasional trips back to Canada and the UK.
you are cooking with dog?
noticed your dog was not licking air this time. I feel he was hesitant to beg for this dish 🙂
I will say, re: bamboo shoots, I live in an area of the US that has a lot of bamboo growing in weird places, and we'd just find and pick the shoots on walks. They tasted fine, and I'm still alive, I think, but YMMV. Anyway, the recipe for pickled bamboo shoots would still be much appreciated! To be honest half of the recipe videos I watch aren't even for the sake of making them.
open ended but definitely will try it soon
I love this! My dad is from Nanning and he's an amazing cook, but the dish isn't for everyone lol my dad made this for me, my gf, and my friend while we were hanging out at home. My friend loved it and scarfed it down but my gf disliked the bamboo taste. Worked for me cuz I got a convenient second bowl lol
loved the video!! it's almost a crime that this doesn't have a lot of views!!! Will definitely make this dish for me and my partner, thanks for sharing!!
Sweating it out helped me beat the plague I think.
About pork intestines and their availability in the USA: it is widely available in the southern US. If you ask the butcher in your grocery store, subheading can obtain some for you or direct you to the store in town that carries “chitlins”. You would have to show us how to prep them though
Love your cartoons! 😊 I'm definitely going to try making this once I get my hands on those sour bamboo.
My dad is from Fuizhou, will you do peanut butter noodles and the mini wonton soup I saw for street food everywhere? I think it's called 扁肉 拌面。
It looks like you take very good care of your puppy! Thank you for doing So !
You’re channel is legendary. The flexibility is so relaxing. You offer so many different routes to each of your recipes. Makes it feel like you want the viewers to just enjoy the process and food
Is this pickled bamboo comparable to sauerkraut?
Here's a fun fact: the chicken bouillon powder with the sassy chicken on the front that comes in the yellow container doesn't actually contain any animal products.
Who's the artist?