Rice Cooker Noodles with Shrimp and Ginger

Step 1

Soak glass noodles in room temperature water for 10 minutes to soften. Drain and cut the noodles with scissors in half or thirds to shorten them; this will make them easier to eat.

Step 2

Mix all sauce ingredients together into a large mixing bowl, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Put the noodles and the shrimp into the bowl and toss to mix. Let this sit until you’re ready to cook.

Step 3

In a rice cooker, add the bacon or oil, garlic, ginger, chopped cilantro stems, and white pepper and/or sichuan peppercorns. Turn it to “cook” and cook for about 3 minutes or until the bacon fat has rendered and the garlic has softened, stirring once or twice in between. *If your rice cooker will not stay on “cook” mode without the lid on at this stage, it is okay to keep the lid on and open it once or twice to stir in between. You’ll just need to press the cook button again after you put the lid back on. (more on this above)

Step 4

Use tongs to place the noodles on top of the bacon and herbs, then pour the sauce and the shrimp on top and arrange the shrimp so they’re in one layer. Cover and let the rice cooker cook for about 4 minutes.

Step 5

After 4 mins, open the rice cooker and use chopsticks or tongs to stir the noodles, bringing the bottom up the the top, to help redistribute the sauce. Then do your best and bring the shrimp back up to the top, flipping them so the side that is less cooked is facing down (it's not a big deal if a few of them end up under the noodles at this point.) Cover and let it cook again until the rice cooker clicks off, total cooking time should be about 10 minutes but this will vary from machine to machine. *If you have a smart rice cooker, like the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy, it should be done as soon as the rice cooker starts giving you a timer countdown, or you can open and check it after noodles have been in there for 10 mins (see more about this above).

Step 6

Once the rice cooker clicks off (or switches to warm mode) open and toss everything to distribute all the bits. Taste the noodles, and if they taste a bit underdone, add a splash more water (~2 Tbsp/30 mL) and keep it cooking for a few more minutes. If the shrimp are already cooked at that point, you can remove them before further cooking the noodles.

Step 7

To finish, top with celery leaves and/or cilantro and/or green onions, then transfer everything into a serving dish, or serve it right from the rice cooker! Serve with jasmine rice, if desired. PS. The slices of ginger are meant for infusion only and are not meant to be eaten, though you can if you like that strong ginger flavour.