Though Tabantha’s noodles began humbly from flour, milk, and the ingenuity of the village bakers, it didn’t remain a simple side dish for long. In the cold, clear lakes and streams that thread through the Tabantha and Hebra regions, hearty fish like salmon were a vital part of local meals, especially among the Rito, whose diet leaned heavily into fish and poultry. As the noodles took root in Tabantha and then across all of Hyrule, it was only natural that cooks began pairing them with the meat and fish already central to their tables.
Over time, dishes like salmon meunière were adapted to include these tender ribbons of dough, greatly enhancing the plate. As noodles spread beyond the highlands, variations of many different dishes emerged across Hyrule. Once such dish was a variation on the Meunière recipes of Hyrule. A seared filet of fish is served with Tabantha noodles that are gently topped with a silky goat butter sauce. Both rustic and refined, noodle dishes became an alternate and delicious way to add heartiness to the meals, a nice break from the often present Hylian Rice.
The Tabantha Seafood Noodles are a fan-crafted dish I created as a natural evolution of Hyrule’s highland noodle tradition, something that could easily exist in Hyrule (or so I like to believe, at least). I begin with a pan-seared fish filet that is then nestled atop a bed of soft, homemade Tabantha-style noodles. The whole dish is brought together with a simple yet elegant sauce made from l white wine, lemon juice, and cold l butter, gently emulsified off heat into something silky and bright. Finished with a touch of parsley, it’s a delicious spin on the seafood recipes that originated in western Hyrule. It’s a plate I would have eagerly indulged in while relaxing in pre-Calamity Tabantha Village on a cool afternoon while taking in the views of the mountains and absorbing the culture of this now forgotten bastion of Hyrulean baking.
Ingredients
Noodles
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 egg
2 egg yolks
¼ cup milk
1 tbsp + 1 tsp salt, divided
1 egg
2 egg yolks
¼ cup milk
1 tbsp + 1 tsp salt, divided
Fish
4-6 white, skin-on fish filets, such cod, porgy, or snapper
½ cup flour
2 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
Salt and pepper
Lemon Butter Sauce
2 tbsp shallot, finely minced
¾ cup white wine
2 tbsp lemon juice
7 tbsp cold butter, cut into 1 tbsp cubes, divided
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and black pepper
Begin by making the dough for the noodles. Add 2 cups of flour and 1 tsp of salt to the bowl of a mixer. Using a dough paddle, mix the flour and salt together on a low setting for a minute or two until blended. Turn the mixer off and make a well in the center of the flour with a spatula. Add the eggs and milk into the well you created, and turn the mixer back on to medium-low. Allow the dough to mix for 2-3 minutes until the ingredients are mixed and the dough is formed. Use your hand to mold the dough into a ball in the mixer bowl.
To knead the dough, you can take one of two approaches:
- Change out the paddle for a dough hook and turn the mixer back on to a low setting. Allow the dough hook to knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
- Dust a cutting board with flour and place the dough ball on a cutting board. Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes.
Once the dough is rested and you are ready to make the noodles, remove the dough ball from the towel and plastic wrap. Slice the dough ball into four equal chunks with a knife.
Now we will flatten each of these chunks into a pasta sheet using a pasta machine. Dust the surface of your cutting board well with flour. Place a dough chunk on the floured surface, and use your hands or a rolling pin to press the dough chunk into a disk about ½ inch thick to help it feed into the pasta machine.
Now we will feed the dough through the roller of the pasta machine. Set your machine on the widest setting (usually #1). Feed the flattened dough through the pasta machine. After it comes out flattened, fold in half and put it back through the pasta machine. Do this two or three times to square it off and further knead the pasta dough.
Change the setting of the pasta machine to setting #2 and put the flattened dough through again. Repeat this process until you work your way down gradually to about setting #5 or #6 on the pasta machine. This will provide pasta sheets that are thin, but not too delicate. Use a knife to cut the pasta sheet into two pieces of roughly 10-11 inches in length each. Repeat this process with other three dough chunks.
Reserve the cut pasta sheets on a baking sheet dusted with flour. Dust the top of the pasta sheets lightly with flour. Do not stack the pasta sheets on top of each other. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of each layer and dust it with flour before placing down other pasta sheets.
Now place each of the pasta sheets back onto a lightly floured cutting board or surface, and use a knife to cut the sheet into noodles that are ½ to ¾ inch wide. To do this, dust the top of the sheet lightly with flour, loosely roll it up onto a tube, and then cut the tube into uniform ½ to ¾ inch pieces. Carefully unroll each noodle back to length.
Place the cut noodles back on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour. Repeat this process with each of the pasta sheets. You can lay them out flat one the parchment paper or place them in nests, just ensure there is enough flour dusted so that they do not stick together, but not so much flour that it cakes onto the noodles. Repeat this process with each of the cut pasta sheets. Use more than one sheet of parchment paper (and more making sheets) as needed.
Allow the noodles to rest for about 30 minutes to dry more. While the noodles rest, we will move onto the fish and sauce.
To prep the fish filets, pat them dry with a paper towel, and then salt and pepper the filets. Add ½ cup flour into a bowl to dredge them. Dredge each filet in flour, shaking off the excess. Place a pan over medium heat and then add in 2 tbsp of butter along with 1-2 tbsp of oil. Once the butter has melted and the pan is coated, place your fish filets in the pan skin side down. Fry the filets for 4-5 minutes skin sided down, and then flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side. If the pan gets too hot, turn the heat down a little. Fry the fish in batches if needed, adding in another 2 tbsp butter and/or oil before the second batch. Keep the fish warm on a baking sheet in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven.
To make the sauce for the fish, heat a small pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of butter. Once melted, add the minced shallots and sauté until translucent and softened, about 2–3 minutes.
Pour in the white wine and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Let it simmer and reduce by about half, which should take around 5 to 7 minutes. Once reduced, stir in the lemon juice.
Remove the pan from the heat and begin whisking in the remaining cold butter cubes one at a time. Let each cube emulsify fully before adding the next, slowly creating a smooth, silky sauce. When all the butter is incorporated, season to taste with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
While you are making the fish and sauce, fill a pot with 4 to 5 quarts of water and add 1 tbsp of salt. Stir the salt into the water to dissolve it. Place it over high heat to bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a rolling simmer. Once the fish and sauce are complete, continue on to cook the noodles.
Add the dried noodles to a colander and toss them (over the sink) to shake off any excess flour. Add the noodles to the simmering water. Allow the noodles to cook for 2-3 minutes, until al dente. They should be tender but still have a little bite, not mushy.
Once they are al dente, drain the noodles through a colander. If you are using these noodles for another Hyrulean recipe, stop here. If you are serving them on their own, continue below.
To serve the dish, add a small pile of the noodles on the plate and spoon some of the sauce over the noodles. Lean one of the fish filets skin side up on the plate, and then top the noodles and dish with chopped parsley. You can optionally serve dressed salad greens and sliced tomato on the side. Enjoy!