I love basil. Do you guys like basil? I call this local basil because it's different from the basil usually used for pesto.
Last month, I started basil from seed. It's hard to find basil in my area. Actually, growing basil is also easy from stem cuttings. But since I couldn't find any basil plants that could be propagated in my area, I decided to start from seed.
Next time, I'll show you how to grow basil from seed to harvest. In this post, I'll focus on showing you my basil harvest and the dishes I made using it.
I'm going to combine basil with vermicelli noodles. Coincidentally, this morning I had a stock of vermicelli noodles that I had boiled the day before and put them in the refrigerator.
One morning, while enjoying the sunrise and bathed in the morning sun, I harvested basil leaves. The basil was two weeks old after planting. This was my first harvest.
Because the area where I rented the house is currently very hot, around 31-37 degrees Celsius, the basil plants flower very quickly, and it's not good to let them grow. So, pruning and harvesting was the right thing to do!
I also harvested long beans! The long beans I planted in a pot a few months ago are no longer as productive as they were at the beginning. But there are still some long beans to harvest. I'm grateful for that.
The ingredients are quite simple. I used chopped shallots and chopped garlic. Well, since my husband and I always eat spicy food, I added chopped chilies. But for those of you who can't handle spicy food, you can of course skip the chilies and replace them with pepper.
THE INGREDIENTS
- 50 grams of rice noodles, boiled and drained
- 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 5 cloves of shallots, chopped
- (optional) chili
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
- 400 ml of water
- Enough basil, according to your taste
- Enough long beans, or you can substitute with other green vegetables of your choice
- 1 egg
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
After I harvest the basil, I remove the basil leaves from their stems. Then, I only use about two handfuls of basil leaves. Eventually, the basil will shrink, so adjust to your own taste.
Since I already had boiled rice noodles, I didn't need to boil them again. However, I doused the rice noodles I'd just taken out of the refrigerator with boiling water, but didn't soak them. Just briefly, then I threw away the boiling water. Set the rice noodles aside.
Chop the garlic, shallots, and chilies. I used a manual hand chopper to speed things up. Of course, you can use a regular knife if you prefer.
Next, it's time to cook the rice noodles! Anyway, the rice noodles I'm cooking this time are the soup version. If you prefer them without soup, you don't need to add any soup.
Then, I added water, then added the tofu, basil leaves, and long bean pieces.
Then, I added the sweet soy sauce and salt. Stir all the ingredients thoroughly for about five minutes.
After five minutes, I added an egg. I scrambled the egg into the broth. Cooked briefly until the egg was cooked.
Just before serving, add the boiled rice noodles. Stir briefly, then remove from heat.
SERVING
Serve the basil rice noodles in soup while warm. I love it so much. Seriously, with the abundance of basil I'll be harvesting again and again in the future, I'll add basil to most dishes. But this rice noodle combination is worth cooking!
This rice noodle soup can serve 4 people. It's enough for several family members and is quite economical during times of financial crisis, of course.
Well, what are your favorite herbs for cooking noodles? For me, besides basil, I definitely have spring onions! Yes, yes!
Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari
Anggrek Lestari is an Indonesian fiction writer who has published two major books. Now She is a full-time content creator. She has a goal to share life, poem, and food content that makes others happy and can get inspiration.
Contact Person: authoranggreklestari@gmail.com
Discord: anggreklestari#3009