How to Make Fideo As a Side Dish

Tomatoes add a key flavor to traditional fideo.

The traditional Mexican comfort food, fideo, generally contains tomatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, oil, cumin, salt and fideo noodles, which are sometimes called vermicelli. Some families prefer their fideo to be more like soup, as in sopa de fideo. Others prefer the thicker version often called Mexican spaghetti. To make one of the most common recipes for fideo, begin by browning the noodles in oil. Fideo substitutes well as a side dish for any meal with which you normally would serve potatoes or rice.

Things You'll Need

• Large frying pan
• Spoon
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 8 oz. package fideo or vermicelli pasta
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce or 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tbsp. chili powder or 1 chili from can of chipotles in adobo sauce
• 1/2 cup anejo cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano
• Sliced avocado
• Sour cream

Instructions

1. Heat the frying pan on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil. Allow oil to heat for a minute. Add the onions to the pan. Saute the onions until they are translucent, about two to three minutes.

2. Break the fideo noodles in half. Add them to the pan. Brown the noodles. Add minced garlic and saute for one minute.

3. Add the tomato sauce or chopped tomatoes. Add 3/4 cup of the chicken broth. Stir continuously for about five minutes. Turn the heat up to high. Add the other 3/4 cup chicken broth. Continue to stir. After the mixture comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer, about medium low heat.

4. Add cumin, garlic salt, chili powder or one chili from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Stir occasionally.

5. Simmer for seven to eight minutes. The fideo is finished when the noodles are al dente, or soft but slightly firm, and most of the broth has cooked down. Remove from the burner before all the broth has thickened because the fideo will continue to thicken a bit after it cools.

6. Sprinkle cheese on each plate of fideo before serving. Garnish with sliced avocado and sour cream.

References

• Foodmomiac: Great Mexican Comfort Food: Baked Fideo
• Allrecipes: Fideo
• Food Network: Baked Fideo

Resources

• Vegan Explosion: Fideo
• The Other Side of the Tortilla: Sopa de Fideo