While adulthood and many trips to an Asian grocery store have taught me that not everything translates perfectly from Chinese to English, it always did bother me that there was nothing birdlike about the birdnest. Living alone, I also hate that this dish is more of a family sized meal and the crispy noodles don’t make the best leftovers. I decided to address both these qualms by creating mini noodle birdnests using muffin tins and featuring some soft boiled quail eggs instead. Not only are these baked bite sized noodle birdnests simple and healthy, but they’re great appetizers for a dinner party. Try them with different toppings and fillings!
Baked Noodle Bird Nests with Quail Eggs
Ingredients Â
- 2 nonstick muffin tins
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or cooking spray
- 1 12 oz package of thin wonton noodles
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 dozen quail eggs
- 1 bowl ice water
- green onions chopped, for garnish
- sesame seeds for garnish
InstructionsÂ
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Boil noodles and 1 tsp salt until noodles are soft, about 10 minutes. Strain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat the inside of one muffin pan and the bottom of the other muffin pan with vegetable oil.
- Fill each muffin cup of the muffin tin greased on the inside with boiled noodles past the rim.
- Place the muffin tin with greased bottoms over the muffin tins with noodles and press down as firmly as possible. You should be able to see the noodles overflowing over the cups from the sides.
- Place both muffin tins in tact in the oven and bake for 60 minutes or until noodles are completely crispy. After noodle cups are finished baking, carefully remove them from the muffin tins. If you've thoroughly greased both pans, tapping the tins with a spoon should do the trick.
- Bring water to a boil and soft boil quail eggs for 2 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and place into an ice bath. Peel eggs and place 3 in each baked noodle cup. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
