Category: noodles

Categories
carrots chicken lemon noodles stock

lemon chicken on crispy noodles

lemon chicken on crispy noodles

Not having money sucks. Worse still, not having money and really enjoying food sucks. The time you most notice this is when you’re a student. Most Wanted, the magazine for VoucherCodes.co.uk has asked me to come up with some recipes that are frugal but hopefully don’t feel like it!

The first of these is lemon chicken on crispy noodles. It’s inspired by a Ken Hom recipe that’s a favourite in our house. It’s tasty, messy and great fun to eat. It also scales up really well if you need to feed a few more friends.

The ingredients in this are pretty basic but raised up by making the flavours big and punchy. Shopping around you could save money on the chicken, and can be adjusted to suit any other sturdy vegetables you wanted to add, such as peas or green beans. However don’t cut too many corners with the stock, it forms the base of the flavour and carries the rest of the dish. I like Knorr products so look out for good brands of stock cubes and stock pots: stock is handy in almost all savoury recipes. One thing to watch for in this recipe is it needs two frying pans on the go, so you may need to borrow another! You should be in and out of the kitchen in 15 minutes once you get the hang of this one.

Approximate cost  for main ingredients, excludes storecupboard ingredients (prices from Tesco.com 4th Oct 2012): £1.72

Lemon chicken on crispy noodles (serves 1):

1 packet of instant noodles

1 chicken breast, diced

250ml stock made with ½ stock cube

1 lemon

2 carrots

1 teaspoon cornflour

  1. Get a pan of water on a rapid boil and add the noodles. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes until tender and then tip into a sieve to drain. Rinse with cold water to completely cool them down.
  2. Get two frying pans on over medium-high heat. In one of them you will cook the noodles; this should have a layer of oil to coat the base of the pan. The other just needs a tiny bit into which to cook everything else.
  3. While the pans heat up dice the chicken and prepare the carrot. Peel the carrot, and after you’ve discarded the skin keep peeling until you reach the bitter core, which you can chuck away. Being very careful to avoid spatter add the noodles to their pan and spread out with a wooden spoon so they cover the base. Add the chicken to the other pan and stir fry for a couple of minutes until coloured all over, then add the stock and carrots.
  4. Into the chicken pan grate in the zest of the lemon and the juice of half. Stir well to combine and let it bubble away for a couple of minutes. The noodles should be crisp on one side now so with confidence flip them over. While the other side cooks taste the broth. You may want to add more lemon, or possibly a pinch of sugar or salt to balance everything out. When you’re happy with the flavour add a splash of water to the cornflour in a small dish and mix well, then tip this into the sauce.
  5. When the noodles are done tip them on to kitchen paper to drain, and then into your serving bowl. Tip the chicken and the sauce over the top and start slurping!
Categories
carrots cucumber food noodles onion peanut butter

cold sesame noodles

In my most recent monthly roundup, looking at my favourite food posts of the last month, I highlighted Helen Graves’s cold sesame noodles as one I definitely wanted to try. It struck me as a perfect lunch, so I made it the night before for the next day’s al desko treat (see, there’s a mouse and keyboard in the picture and everything).

I made a few tweaks based on my store cupboard. I gave the veg a light pickling to provide a tangy edge, as I was fresh out of pickled mango (not an ingredient I am familiar with). I ended up with a salty, sweet, savoury, crunchy yummy pot of noodles. I transport mine in a snazzy Sistema lunchbox where the dressing, noodles and veg can be separated from each other until the perfect moment. Much more interesting than a flabby cheese sandwich.

Cold sesame noodles (serves 2):

½ cucumber

1 large carrot

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Pinch of sugar

2 roasted onions, roughly chopped

2 dried noodle nests

1 teaspoon ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 large heaped tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon spiced rice vinegar

Pinch of chilli flakes

A shake of sesame seeds

  1. Halve the cucumber lengthways and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Cut at an angle to get little 1cm-wide bridge shapes. Grate the carrot into the cucumber, splash over the vinegar and add a pinch each of sugar and salt. Toss gently and allow to macerate while you get on with everything else.
  2. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and rinse the noodles thoroughly with cold water.
  3. While the noodles cook, combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Add water if necessary to make a runny dressing. When you’re ready to eat combine the lot and wolf down! (Warning: wear a napkin tucked into your collar).
Categories
beansprouts broccoli food noodles onion peppers pomegranate pork red onion

roast pork belly and broccoli pomegranate stir fry

This is a hefty Sunday lunch in disguise. There’s quite a lot going on here so you have to plan ahead but by golly it’s worth it. There’s quite a few pans to have on the go too. The pomegranate juice makes it – sticky and sweet. That with juicy belly pork, crunchy veg and tasty noodles, this is a really interesting plateful with every mouthful slightly different.

This recipe is from Alex Mackay’s Everybody, Everyday. The recipe makes enough for 4 with pork, onions and juice left over so keep that in mind! I reheated mine with some wet polenta which works really well. You can see other recipes from this book that I’ve cooked here.

Pork and pomegranate stir fry (serves 4):

1kg boneless belly pork

6 red onions, peeled and halved

500ml pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

500ml chicken stock

2 teaspoons cornflour mixed with a splash of water

8 dried apricots, finely chopped

1 heaped tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped

1 head of broccoli

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 carrot, peeled

3 nests cooked noodles

1 pack beansprouts

  1. Preheat the oven 160°C. Score the pork belly with a sharp knife and rub all over with salt. Get a thick-bottomed roasting tray on a high hob and get a little oil really hot. Add the pork skin side down. Turn the heat down and fry for 10 minutes. One the crackling looks golden add the onion halves, flip the pork over and put it on top of the onions. Transfer to the oven. Roast for 25 minutes.
  2. While the pork roasts, bring the soy sauce, pomegranate juice and stock together in a saucepan to the boil. Reduce by two-thirds and whisk in the cornflour, add the rosemary and apricots and turn off the heat.
  3. When the pork reaches 65°, remove from the oven to rest. Slice thickly and use reserve half for another recipe. Put the onions to one side and use half of these in another recipe.
  4. Take a lidded saucepan and put it over a high heat. Trim your broccoli into florets and halve each one so they have a flat side (this will catch and create a lovely toasted flavour). Add the florets to the pan for abut 3 mins, then add the garlic, a sprinkle of salt, a splash of water and jam the lid on. After another 3 mins shake vigorously until tender, and then put to one side until you’re ready to stir fry.
  5. Get your largest wok out over a high heat. Add a dash of oil and fry the red pepper for a couple of minutes. Add the beansprouts and cook for a further minute, add the pork, 5 or 6 onion halves, broccoli and use a peeler to shave in the carrot in thin strips. Keep it moving as much as you can, and add about 200ml of the sauce from earlier. Toss in the noodles and keep stirring. When everything gets up to temperature sprinkle over some chilli flakes and serve. Eat immediately.
Categories
noodles

chinese vegetable stir fry

I’ve been wading through Sainsbury’s Feed Your Family for £50 meal planner. This Chinese vegetable stir fry is OK – packed with lots of great veg but missing a bit of seasoning. Next time I’d make a yakisoba style dipping sauce to drizzle round.

Chinese vegetable stir fry (serves 4):

4 noodle nests

1 x 700g pack Basics stir fry mix

300g fresh peppers, deseeded & sliced

175ml pouch Chinese sauce

100g salted peanuts, crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled & finely chopped

  1. Cook the noodles following pack instructions.
  2. Meanwhile, over a medium-high heat, heat the oil in a large pan or wok and add the stir fry mix and peppers. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring continuously, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  3. Stir in the sauce and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir through the peanuts then serve with the rice.
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