Oodles of noodles

Being back here, I have been getting my fill of something that is not really Swedish - noodles. I haven't been living in Sweden long enough to know a lot about the food there but I know that whatever noodle dishes found there is of Asian origin. Thai food, for example, is quite popular there and pad thai is a commonly eaten dish. I have not tried it yet when I was there so I can't comment on its authenticity.

Whatever noodles I've eaten when I was in Malmö is cooked by me using packets of instant noodles that my family brought with them when they visited me in June. I have seen instant noodles in the supermarkets there but they aren't like what I'm used to. Even Pete conceded that they are not as flavorful as those that I've been cooking for him.

I have also seen some dried noodles but they are usually the rice noodles that is used in Thai noodle dishes or egg noodles used in Chinese dishes. I have yet to see the fresh yellow noodles, dried beehoon or vermicelli noodles or the mee kia or mee pok that are used in the Chinese noodle dishes here. And even if I were to get my hands on them, I might not be able to cook them well.

Another problem about trying to recreate the noodle dishes is the unavailability of other ingredients. Here, a lot of the dishes uses fresh seafood like prawns and squid, Sambal, thick black soya sauce and black vinegar. I have tried to bring some of these ingredients with me. I have this bottle of sauce to make spicy fried noodles Malay style and I use it as sparingly as I can. I have to try to make it last since I only have one small bottle left. I can't do much about the fresh seafood though so I replace it with chicken. And as you can guess, the taste is diluted.

Now that I am here, I can finally have authentic noodles. So, being the noodle lover that I am, I have been ordering as many different types of noodle dishes as I could. One of the best things about living here is the wide array of cuisines from all over the world. Another plus is that they are not too expensive, though the price is increasing.

Here are some the noodles that I've had so far...