Can you cook pasta noodles in the microwave?!
Answers: If so, how?
My daughter does it all the time. She puts pasta in dish adds water, cover pasta in water and add salt and cooks them until done. Like 5 to 8 minutes. To me they turn out OK, kind of mushy, but that could be because she over cooks them.
Yes, boil the water, add salt if desire. Add pasta, cover, about 5 min.
Yes, in a pinch. I don't recommend. You have much more control on top of the stove.
If you are boiling on stove, I add a bit of oil to the water to avoid noodles sticking together. Don't just walk away and leave it to the timer. Stir a couple of times throughout cooking time. I HATE stuck together noodles.
To test for el dente. (Noodles with perfect "bite") I throw a noodle against the wall. If it sticks it is not done. If it falls on the counter, just right. (Not as messy as you think, just wipe wall with soapy sponge or dish cloth). Works every time.
Also, to take the guess work out of timeing, I clip the little square of cooking instructions from the box/bag and slip into the same air-tight containers I store my dried pastas/beans in my pantry, respectively.
One more thing: If using in a hot or cold entree, rinse with cold water to arrest the cooking process. If adding cooked noodles to soup, add at last minute or they can continue cooking and bloat up to twice their size and then you have mush.