Salmon & soba noodle salad

ingredients

Serves 4-6 as a main

• 4 salmon fillets

• 250g buckwheat & wholewheat soba noodles

• 120g frozen shelled edamame beans

• ¼ small Chinese leaf, chopped finely

• 1 lg carrot, grated

• 150g sweetheart cabbage, chopped finely

• 2-3 spring onions, chopped finely

• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

Dressing

• 4 tbsp sesame oil

• 6 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter

• 1 tbsp mirin

• 1 small garlic clove, grated

• Juice 1 lime

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C

• Mix all the dressing ingredients together by shaking vigorously in a jar or whisking with a fork in a bowl.

• Line a baking tray with parchment and place the salmon fillets on it leaving a few cm space in between each one. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season.

• Roast in the oven for 12-14 minutes until just cooked through. Set aside to cool.

• While the salmon is in the oven, boil a kettle full of water and add to a large saucepan. Put in the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes, or as per packet instructions.

• Steam the edamame over the noodles for 3-5 minutes, or until just defrosted.

• Chop and grate all the veggies.

• Drain the noodles and then cool quickly by running under the cold tap, drain thoroughly. Do the same with the edamame so they stop cooking, or put them straight in a bowl of iced water, but drain thoroughly afterwards.

• Once the noodles are drained well, put them back in the dry pan and add about half the dressing, mix well.

• Remove the skin from the salmon and break up gently into large flakes with a fork.

• Get a large serving plate and layer the salad: start with a layer of noodles, then veggies and salmon, drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of dressing, repeat.

• Sprinkle with spring onion and red chilli, if using, to serve.

Speedy noodle stir fry

Here’s a dish I often cook during the week as it’s quick and everyone likes it - a win / win. It’s has taken me a few goes to get the timing and quantities just right for the 4 of us, but I think I’ve nailed it now.

It’s a really adaptable recipe as you can switch the tofu for quorn, chicken or pork if you prefer, and veggies to suit your tastes. Just remember that you might need to increase the cooking time for meat though. Also I have added the vegetables in order of time they take to cook, so just have a think about that if you swap any of them. Longer to cook go in first!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp groundnut oil

• 4 tbsp mirin

• 4 tbsp soy sauce,

• 225g tofu, chopped in approx 1.5cm cubes

• 3 carrots, chopped in batons

• 100g sugar snap peas/mangetout, halved

• 100g baby sweetcorn, chopped in diagonal quarters

• 2 bak choi or sweetheart cabbage, sliced

• 1 large clove of garlic, grated

• Small thumb of ginger, peeled and grated

• 2 spring onions, chopped finely

• 1 red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced

• 300g dried egg noodles

• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

• Preheat the oven to 50ºc and warm the serving bowls.

• Then make the marinade by mixing the sesame oil, mirin and soy sauce in a tub or bowl.

• Next add the tofu and set aside to marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients so you have everything ready to go before you start cooking.

• Boil a kettle full of water for the noodles.

• Heat ½ tbsp groundnut oil in a wok and then fry the tofu (or meat, but increase the cook time accordingly) on a med-high heat for 4-5 minutes so the cubes have browned on a couple of sides. Remove and set aside in a bowl, cover and place in the oven.

• Fill a pan with boiling water, add the noodles and cook as per the packet instructions.

• While the noodles are cooking, start the vegetables: fry the carrots on a med-high heat for 3 minutes until browned a little and then add the sweetcorn for a further 3 minutes.

• While the vegetables are cooking, drain he noodles and then drizzle with 1 tbsp of marinade and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil and to stop them sticking. Keep warm in a lidded pan.

• Next add the bok choi and mangetout to the carrots, frying for another 2 minutes (you might need to add a little sesame oil at this point).

• Then add the garlic and ginger, cooking for 1 minute, before pouring in the remaining marinade and heating through for about 30 seconds.

• At this point you can either mix the noodles into the wok, or I like to serve everything separately as I think it’s quicker and there is less chance of the veggies over cooking - it’s easier to mix if you’re only making two portions as there’s more room in the pan. Add the noodles to the warmed bowls and then spoon the veggies and sauce on top.

• Finish with spring onion, red chilli, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and a wedge of lime.

Tip

• The tofu I like best is Tofoo. It’s nice and firm so it fries well and has a very neutral taste which works well with marinades.

• Marinate the tofu an hour before cooking to inject more flavour, but don’t worry if you can’t, just a few minutes will still make a difference.

• The most important things to do when making any stir fry is to get ALL the ingredients ready before you start cooking, turn the oven on low and warm the serving bowls.

• Never overload the pan or your ingredients will steam rather than brown. Cook in batches and store in the oven until the last minute.

Mango noodle salad with sesame & ginger

I love this salad; it’s crunchy, spicy, tasty and healthy! Perfect on it’s own or make it as a BBQ side to go with soy and honey marinated chicken, salmon or tofu. Try and keep a portion to have for the next day, it’s a great one to have for lunch.

Ingredients

• 200g brown rice noodles 

• 100g red cabbage, thinly sliced

• 1 carrot, julienned for spiralised

• 1/2 pepper, cut into thin strips

• 1 small or 1/2 large spring onion, chopped finely

• 1 red birds eye chilli, chopped finely

• 1 handful of salted peanuts, chopped

• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds & handful of coriander leaves, optional

  Dressing

• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 slice or 5g fresh ginger grated

• 1/2 garlic clove, grated

• 3 tsp honey

• Juice of 1 lime

Method

• First cook your noodles as per the pack instructions - I soaked mine in boiling water for 15 mins (a few minutes longer than the instructions) - then drain and drizzle with sesame oil to stop them sticking.

• Chop your veggies and put to one side in a large bowl.

• Next mix your dressing ingredients well in a jar or shaker.

• Add the noodles to the veggies and pour over about 3/4 of the dressing, mix well.

• Serve in bowls and sprinkle over the peanuts and the other toppings if you’re using them.

• Add more dressing if needed.

Tip

• If you make this to take to work or eat for lunch over a few days, keep each component separated: noodles drizzled with a little sesame oil to stop them sticking; chopped veggies; dressing; peanuts and sesame; and coriander leaves. Mix together just before serving or in the morning if you’re packing lunch for later.

Vegan noodle bowl

I’m rapidly becoming obsessed with making noodle bowls! They’re the perfect balance of flavour, texture, nutrients and they look bloody amazing too. This is my latest combo that we ate for lunch today, but it would have been equally good as a main course - it might only serve 3 for dinner though, so make a bit more if you have big appetites!

Ingredients

• 220g packet brown vermicelli noodles

• 130g mangetout or sugar snap peas, whole 

• 150g carrots, as finely julienned as possible 

• 2 spring onions - I used 3cm of the green end of leek as I didn’t have any onions, red would also be fine too

• 100g radishes, chopped into thin slices

• 100g cucumber, julienned

• Juice of 1 lime 

• 200g firm tofu - optional

  Dressing 

• 7 tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 3 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar (white wine if not)

• 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter, crunchy is fine too though

Method

• First cook the noodles as per the packet instructions, rinse well in cold water and set aside. 

• Chop the veggies and set aside, but don’t mix them.

• Put all the dressing ingredients into a shaker (this Oxo Good Grips one is great - no more leaky jars!) or jar and mix really well as the peanut butter will take longer to dissolve.

• Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the noodles and mix well. If the dressing is a little thick then add a tbsp or two of water. 

• Divide the noodles into 4 bowls and add the veggies in little groups. 

• If you’re using tofu then chop into small cubes and fry on a medium heat for about 5 minutes in a little sesame oil. Once browned on at least two sides add a splash of soy for flavour. 

• Add the tofu to the bowls and serve with a lime wedge and the rest of the dressing drizzled over the veggies.