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.

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.