Ingredients

• Stir-Fry

  • One 8-ounce package of glass noodles
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups sliced protein, such as chicken or beef
  • 4 cups vegetables, such as sliced sugar snaps, scallions and peppers
  • Secondary flavoring ingredients, such as soy sauce and mirin

Cooking the Noodles

• Soak the noodles in a bowl of hot water until they're pliable, about 10 minutes.

  Drain the noodles. Cut the noodles into 4- to 6-inch pieces using kitchen shears.

  Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until transparent and tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the noodles.

Adding to Stir-Fry

• Set the noodles aside after cutting them. In stir-fry, glass noodles finish cooking in the moisture released by the other ingredients.

  Heat a few tablespoons of peanut oil using medium-high heat in a wok or large nonstick skillet with sloped sides. A slope-sided pan is a must for the quick tossing required for stir-frying.

  Add a sliced protein, such as chicken or beef, to the pan. Cook the protein until browned, moving it around the pan frequently, about 2 minutes.

  Next, add the vegetables. Fry the vegetables until browned on the outside but still crunchy, about 2 minutes.

  Add the glass noodles to the pan along with secondary flavorings, such as rice wine vinegar, mirin and soy sauce. Cook the noodles until transparent and tender, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Cooking Notes

• • Need to bolster a broth-based soup with some substantial but light chewiness? Add soaked glass noodles to the soup as you finish cooking it. The noodles will finish cooking by the time you place the soup on the table.

  • Use glass noodles for an Asian take on pasta salad. After cooking the noodles in boiling water, drain them and add them to a mixing bowl. While the noodles are still warm, add a simple Asian-inspired dressing along with the secondary ingredients -- sliced chicken, mandarin oranges, peanuts, scallions -- anything works here. Chill the salad for 30 minutes in the fridge before serving.