March 23, 2016

Easter Glass Noodle Nests

Easter, easter egg, Glass Noodle,  Nests, recipe,  Chinese vermicelli, bean threads,crystal noodles, 復活節, 粉絲, 巢, 冬粉, 細粉, 線粉, easter nest

The Easter Bunny is coming and we've been busy preparing for his arrival!  My little girl, as perhaps typical of an only child, has a huge collection of stuffed animals of all sorts and sizes that serve as her 'children' and playmates.  And as the both of us have recently just discovered those magical Cadbury Candy Coated Easter Eggs (I know, I know...where have I been?) my little girl really wanted to make some little Easter egg nests to share the chocolate eggs with her little stuffed friends.

Nests...humm...how to make a wee little Easter nest?  After some thought I decided to use an ingredient we had at home already, the Chinese glass noodles, to experiment.  And, woo-hoo, we were sooo delighted how our experiment turned out.  Our Easter Glass Noodle Nests not only turned out translucent, elegant and fairy like but also were super duper easy to make!

Easter, easter egg, Glass Noodle,  Nests, recipe,  Chinese vermicelli, bean threads,crystal noodles, 復活節, 粉絲, 巢, 冬粉, 細粉, 線粉, easter nest

I was so pleased to be able to use something I had around the house already to make our Easter nests.  We always have a packet or two of these Glass Noodles around the house for making our steamed fresh seafood dishes.  

Glass Noodles are made from the starch of the mung bean and are also known as Chinese vermicelli, bean threads or crystal noodles.  In Chinese there are also several names:  粉絲, 冬粉, 細粉 or 線粉.  Be sure you don't get rice vermicelli, which is made of rice flour, and is a different creature altogether.

Easter, easter egg, Glass Noodle,  Nests, recipe,  Chinese vermicelli, bean threads,crystal noodles, 復活節, 粉絲, 巢, 冬粉, 細粉, 線粉, easter nest

Once the glass noodles are softened and pliable you just twirl them into the buttered muffin tins.  Kids will love to help out to twist and twirl the long strands into nest like shapes.  And don't worry if it gets messy or most of the noodles end up on the bottom.  Once the kids are finished mucking about and just before you put it into the oven just use your fingers to gently push down and out and up the sides.

Easter, easter egg, Glass Noodle,  Nests, recipe,  Chinese vermicelli, bean threads,crystal noodles, 復活節, 粉絲, 巢, 冬粉, 細粉, 線粉, easter nest

To create the effect of lovely twigs zigzagging up and out, add a few strands of noodle that trail out of the muffin cup and over the surface of the tin before baking.  These strands will bake up into twisty, dynamic, random twigs that will help create the feel of a more natural nest.  

After baking the nests are delightfully crunchy and noodle-y tasting.  We couldn't help munching on a few twigs here and there.  Do note that the nests get softer after a few days, more bouncy than edible at that point.

Easter, easter egg, Glass Noodle,  Nests, recipe,  Chinese vermicelli, bean threads,crystal noodles, 復活節, 粉絲, 巢, 冬粉, 細粉, 線粉, easter nest

For a more fancy finish we decided to dip our Easter nests into melted chocolate.  Doesn't it look posh?  In order to do this step, though, I had to figure out how to properly temper chocolate.  Tempered chocolate allows chocolate to be hard and shiny and not melting all over the place at room temperature.  

Previously my little girl and I had played with her Hello Kitty chocolate making kit , which is so adorable, and we made cute Kitty chocolates which, disappointingly, melted at the merest touch.  Which means, I found out, not tempered.  (Also means chocolate fingerprints everywhere.)

This time I was determined to temper my chocolate, and so, armed with my trusty thermometer and after many trials and tribulations did finally succeed.  (For more on tempering chocolate, our almost kitchen disaster and how we overcame, check out our post on How to Temper Chocolate.)

Easter, easter egg, Glass Noodle,  Nests, recipe,  Chinese vermicelli, bean threads,crystal noodles, 復活節, 粉絲, 巢, 冬粉, 細粉, 線粉, easter nest

So the Easter nests were finally done and it was time for our grand Easter picnic.  My little girl spent most of a day inviting, preparing for, dressing everyone up and hosting her fabulous Easter picnic for all her favorite stuffed animals.  

In the photo above we have part of the Boo family.  (Daddy Boo and Baby Boo didn't make it into this photo.)  There is sweet Sugar Boo on the left and wee Lola Boo on the right, posing with their own nest.  I'm happy to report that the Easter picnic was a success and all the critters were particularly impressed with their special homemade Easter Egg Nests!

Make yourself some beautiful Easter Egg Nests with our easy Easter Glass Noodle Nest recipe!  Enjoy your making and baking and Happy Easter to y'all!

Easter, easter egg, Glass Noodle,  Nests, recipe,  Chinese vermicelli, bean threads,crystal noodles, 復活節, 粉絲, 巢, 冬粉, 細粉, 線粉, easter nest
Easter Glass Noodles Nests Recipe
(makes 8-10 nests)  Prep time : 5 mins   Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F (220C).

Soften the glass noodles by putting in bowl and pouring boiling water over to cover.  Leave for 30 secs or until pliable but not soft, sort of al dente.  Remove to colander and rinse under cool water.  Shake off excess water as much as possible.

Butter muffin cups.  Twirl glass noodles in a few strands at a time, filling from the bottom then up the sides.  Go all the way up the sides as nest will shrink when baked.

Bake for 20-25 mins or until completely dry and hard.  Let cool completely in the tin.  If not dipping in chocolate, fill nests with your Easter Eggs and you're done!

If dipping in chocolate, prepare your tempered chocolate (see our detailed post on How to Temper Chocolate here.)  Chop chocolate roughly and melt 2/3 of it in a bain marie to 115-120F (46-49C).

Remove immediately from heat and pour in the rest of the chocolate.  Stir vigorously until the chocolate is cooled down to 88-91F (31-32C).

Dip nests in halfway down the side, place onto parchment paper or your handy silicon sheet and don't bother it until the chocolate is set.  Add your lovely Easter Eggs and you're all ready for your own Easter party!

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2 comments:

  1. So creative! I too have bags of fun-see in my pantry. Happy Easter.

    ReplyDelete