I’ve used vegetables and fruits to dye Easter eggs before, but I never really entertained the thought of dying noodles until now! Blue noodles are easily achieved by boiling red cabbage and then soaking rice-based noodles (or lightly cooking) in the colored remnant water. The blue cabbage water can be turned pink by adding an acid like vinegar or lemon juice. This is a fun thing to do with kids, as they love to see how they can change the color themselves! If you want a really punched up pink or red, I suggest using water from boiled fresh beets.
Here’s an easy dyed noodle recipe topped off with some healthy veggie tofu stir-fry.
You Will Need:
- 1/2 shredded red cabbage
- vinegar (if you want pink)
- pot with about 3-4 cups of water
How to Prepare
Boil cabbage until it is almost translucent.
Drain and save blue water.
If the water has cooled too much, simply put back on the stove and simmer on low.
Add firm rice or glass noodles. You don’t want to overcook these, so try to submerge the noodles in the hot colored water.
If you have fresh noodles, turn off the heat and just let them soak as you don’t want to overcook them.
As the noodles soften, turn them several times to allow color absorption.
Much of the liquid will be absorbed and you may need to add more.
Remove noodles after about 5 minutes or until al dente.
Serve with a colorful stir-fry on top! Experiment with colors! Colored noodles would also be great as a cold salad.
