Sorry, couldn’t really come up with a better title.
I love noodles in every form, and in general, the simpler the better. A decent quality noodle with a sauce of some kind and I’m a happy camper (cacio e pepe, dan dan noodles - hell, even just simple buttered egg noodles are good with me). But, occasionally I want to make something that involves more substantial food items mixed in with the noodles, and I can’t figure out how to do that well.
Like yesterday, I was making a cold soba noodle salad. I boiled the noodles, and when they were just at the perfect temperature, pulled them out and rinsed them in cold water. At that point I tossed them with radishes and mint and ended up with…a bunch of noodles with almost all of the vegetables at the bottom of the bowl.
Same thing happens with a lot of stir fries. No matter how much I keep the pan moving, no matter how often or vigorously I flip the food, I still end up with a clump of noodles and every other ingredient at the bottom or periphery of the pan; not mixed in with the noodles.
I have, on a few occasions, had moderate success by using my hands to mix everything together, but that’s obviously not possible in a wok. Lately, I’ve just accepted that this will never work out, so I concentrate on getting any sauce well-incorporated with the noodles, and then plating such that the noodles are on the bottom of the dish, and everything else is layered on top.
So - what am I doing wrong, or not doing, or whatever? I’m a decent home cook, but this is a skill that has eluded me forever and it’s kinda starting to bug me. Any tips?