As any good student knows,
noodles are a large part of any
healthy balanced diet. From the mighty
Pot Noodle to the lowly 8p
Tesco variety, there is not one student kitchen that is devoid of one.
I returned to my
student halls after my holidays, armed with a shiny new hob-based
espresso maker. For those of you out of the know, this device allows the
caffeine junkie on a budget to get his daily serving of mud. It consists of a hollow base, which is filled with water, a small funnel with a filter on top, which resides the freshly ground coffee, and a kettle-like container, which is screwed on top. The contraption is then placed upon a freshly heated oven hob, when the magic takes place. The water boils,
percolating through the coffee, resulting in the sweet, sweet nectar being forced out into the top.
Arriving back at the halls, I discovered that after the three hour long trip had gotten me slightly
peckish. I searched my cupboard. What greeted me?
Barbeque Beef Noodles
Looking frantically around for a suitable cooking vessel, I discovered where they all had migrated to. My once proud pots lay strewn along the sink, caked in the residue of a thousand
baked bean meals. I ran around the kitchen, desperately searching for a clean container, when it hit me.
/me rubs head
My
espresso machine had fallen off the shelf in my haste, and lay cast aside on the floor. Slowly picking it up, I stared at it, and it all fell into place.
I would like to point out at this time that I am a serious coffee person, and this espresso machine is capable of churning out twelve cups of the
ambrosia in one boiling. Saying it is big is an understatement. The water container could swallow stars in its own right.
I unscrewed the machine, and filled the bottom with water, adding the little sachet of
seasoning it always comes with. I then broke the block of noodles into little bits and placed them into the coffee trap. Abandoning all things I knew about the laws of physics and science, I screwed the top on and placed it on the stove on a low heat.
Time passes...
I return to find the espresso maker merrily boiling away on the hob, seasoned water spitting everywhere. I quickly turned the gas off, and poured the water away through the funnel at the top. Unscrewing the top, I discovered a mass of freshly cooked noodles awaited me. I removed a fork from my cutlery drawer, and tentatively raised the noodles to my mouth...
I took a bite.
The taste was far better than anything I had dared imagine. The hot water was infused with the seasoning, and the resulting liquid percolating through the noodles gave the best flavoured noodles I have ever tasted.
I have never gone back.
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