(upbeat music)
- Hey there.
Taylor from The Girl on Bloor here.
If you're into healthy eating and meal prep,
you are just going to love this make ahead lunch idea.
Let me introduce you to the magic of instant noodles.
So this is one of the OG recipes from the blog,
and even though it's an oldie, it's a goodie.
I actually think
it's one of my favorite recipes of all time,
so I thought it was about time
I showed you how to make them properly.
These jars are the perfect grab and go lunch.
Whip up a batch on Sunday,
then you're set for the entire week.
They're filled with shredded chicken,
whatever veggies you need to use up in the fridge,
rice noodles, and a simple Sriracha soy chicken broth.
All you need is a kettle
and five minutes soaking time, and lunch is ready.
Trust me, you're gonna be obsessed with these jars.
So first things first,
you're going to do a huge clean out
of the crisper drawers in your fridge.
You can add literally whatever veggies
you want to these jars.
So this is a good clean out the fridge sort of recipe
where you can get rid of anything that's about to go bad
or anything you maybe forgot about
at the back of the fridge.
Just go in and do a deep dive.
I typically add bell peppers, green onions,
carrots, red cabbage, and cilantro.
In the past I've even added broccoli stems,
which is a great idea to reduce your food waste.
As long as you julienne your veggies
or slice them up super thinly,
they'll work wonderfully in this recipe.
Now let me tell you a little story.
I still remember creating this recipe
back when I was in grad school full-time
and needed some more grab and go lunches
so that I could avoid takeout at school.
To me, there's nothing worse
than blowing your takeout budget on food
you're eating while at school or work
because you don't even really get to savor it properly.
But anyway, that's a rant for another day.
I remember shooting these jars,
and this was back in 2015
when nobody had created this sort of thing yet.
It really was this unique idea.
Now, when I Google instant noodle soup jars,
that Buzzfeed site, Tasty, pops up and I see
they're stupidly trying to incorporate
mushrooms in their jars.
Believe me, as a mushroom fan,
I would love nothing more than to add them to this recipe,
but you just won't be able to cook raw mushrooms properly
by adding hot water alone.
It's just not possible.
Bell peppers, yes.
Thinly sliced cabbage, sure.
Raw mushrooms, absolutely not.
Just don't even try it.
Trust me when I say that I'm the OG
of mason jar instant noodles.
You just have to try my version.
I won't steer you wrong.
I also include chicken in my recipe
because you need a little bit of protein.
So what you'll wanna do is boil a chicken breast or two
in a large pot of water for about 20 minutes.
Drain the water, then shred the chicken.
From there you'll add your chicken
to the bottom of each mason jar.
Be sure to use a one liter Mason jar,
as you need all the space you can get
in terms of stuffing them full.
I know I typically recommend a smaller size
16-ounce mason jar, which is the size of a drinking glass,
but you need the larger ones for this recipe,
since the rice noodles are long, need the breathing room
until you soak them in boiling water.
Now back to the chicken.
You can feel free to use other types of protein here,
as long as you cook it thoroughly,
and this is actually a great way to use up leftover meat
that's going to go bad.
You can even cheat and get a rotisserie chicken.
If you're feeling extra prepared,
you might even have some frozen shredded chicken on hand
in the freezer to defrost and then add to these jars.
If you do want to make these jars vegetarian or vegan,
you can add chopped up tofu or seitan.
Even some lentils or chickpeas work,
but I don't like the legumes as much in these jars.
Whatever works for you.
I just like to provide lots of options.
A meal isn't a meal to me
unless you've included some sort of protein,
and that's to keep you feeling
as full as possible after eating.
So once you've got your chicken or protein
layered in the bottom of your jars,
this is where you'll add your flavorings.
Squeeze in some Siracha, drizzle in some soy sauce,
add a pinch of lime juice,
and then throw in a bouillon cube.
You can feel free to get creative with your flavorings here.
For instance, you might want to add sesame oil,
powdered ginger, or rice vinegar in place of the lime juice.
You basically just want something salty,
such as the soy sauce,
then a hit of spice from the hot sauce
and a final addition of something acidic
just to make the flavors really pop,
so think citrus juice or vinegar of some kind.
I prefer Asian-inspired flavors in these jars,
just because you have so many options
of simple flavor add-ins
that you likely already have on hand in your pantry,
but you can also go
with more chicken noodle soup style seasonings,
such as dried or fresh herbs.
Italian seasoning and garlic would be good to add,
along with a squeeze of lemon juice.
I'll leave it up to you to mix and match the flavor combos.
Now that you've got your protein and broth,
it's time to add those veggies.
Remember, anything goes, except mushrooms.
No mushrooms in this recipe,
unless you want to cook them ahead of time,
but who has time to dirty another pan?
Not me.
So skip the mushrooms, add your veg.
Now, there's been some confusion in the past
regarding exactly what type of noodles to add.
I'm here to let you know that it is the rice vermicelli.
There are other types of vermicelli,
such as bean curd vermicelli,
and those actually need to be boiled for a few minutes
because they are hardier noodles, not unlike pasta.
You want the rice version
because those will actually cook well
soaking in boiling water.
Once you've got everything added to your jars,
you can let them chill in the fridge
until you're ready to use them
for up to about four or five days.
When you're ready to eat,
just take one out of the fridge and add boiling water.
I like to add the boiling water,
then also microwave for a few minutes
to really cook the noodles.
Sometimes adding the boiling water is not enough
because the chicken and veggies are super cold
right out of the fridge, so boiling water,
trying to heat up too many things at once
may result in more of a lukewarm soup.
One easy way around this
is to take the jars out of the fridge
about half an hour before you plan to eat them.
I know there's some of you out there
that may have access to a kettle,
but not necessarily a microwave, so I got you.
Your rice noodle should be thoroughly soft and ready to eat
after a few minutes, whether you choose to microwave
in addition to the boiling water or not,
so make sure to grab a large bowl
and then pour your mason jar into the bowl.
Yes, unfortunately you do need a bowl
because eating out of a mason jar
is just too damn difficult.
You can definitely still eat out of the mason jar
if you're in a pinch and want to try it,
but I find it too hot to handle,
and then you have to stir everything together
to get it all mixed up properly,
whereas it's just easier to do all of that in a bowl.
But it's up to you.
There are so many items you can use
to make these mason jar instant noodles
even better than they already are,
so I've linked to the full blog post below
so you can get an idea of the substitutions to make,
the additional flavorings and fillings.
I'm absolutely obsessed with these instant noodles
and I think you will be too once you try them.
They're a great way to use up leftover proteins and veggies,
and then the rest of it is just adding pantry staples
to make an easy flavor-filled broth.
You can also freeze any chicken you cook up for future jars,
so the meal prep potential with these instant noodles
is just out of this world.
I've linked to some other delicious lunch prep ideas
below this video, too,
in case you wanna get more meal prep inspiration,
and you can of course subscribe to my channel
to get some more deliciousness.
Thanks for hanging with me,
and I can't wait to see you in the next video.
(upbeat music)