You will need to have some store cupboard staples to create this dish (rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, noodles and chilli flakes) but once you have them, they last forever and are your tools to turn just about any vegetables and protein source into a meal that takes less time to prepare than any takeaway takes to be delivered. My recipe uses cashew nuts (but chicken, pork or prawns work equally well) as the protein element, and carrots, red pepper and sugar snap peas as the fresh vegetable components. Again, just about any vegetable will do (including green beans, mushrooms, cabbage, baby corn and asparagus) but you will need something really crunchy to complete the dish: beansprouts are ideal but I used tinned water chestnuts, which I generally have kicking around in my pantry. Fresh ginger, garlic, spring onions and chillis are also a key part of the meal and are always a useful bunch of things to have on hand in your fridge (all bar the spring onions keep for ages) to rustle up any number of tasty Asian style dishes, where the spice element compensates for a low fat and sugar content. As ever, chilli kick can be brought up or down to suit any taste.
- 8 spring onions finely sliced
- 2 inches fresh ginger peeled and chopped into 1mm dice
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 0-2 fresh red chillies finely sliced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into fine julienne
- 2 medium red peppers de-seeded and cut into thin 3 cm strips
- 180 grammes sugar snap peas sliced on the diagonal onto 1 mm strips
- 200 grammes tinned sliced waterchestnuts drained
- 120 ml stock veggie, chicken or fish depending on protein
- 120 ml soy sauce
- 4 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 4 tsp sesame oil
- 0-2 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 4 tsp Corn flour
- 200 grammes raw cashew nuts or 400g thinly sliced chicken breast or pork, or prawns
- 300 grammes wholewheat noodles
- Prep the vegetables and protein if necessary (not for nuts or prawns) and measure out the sauce ingredients.
- Fill a large pan with salted water and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, cover a large frying pan or wok with fry light and bring to medium high heat.
- Add spring onions. ginger, garlic and chillies to frying pan and stir for 1-2 minutes, before adding protein and stirring for another 2-3 minutes,
- Add vegetables to frying pan and noodles to other pan: noodles will take roughly 6 minutes.
- Stir veggies for 3-4 minutes and then add sauce ingredients,
- Stir for 1 minute till bubbling and turn heat to very low,
- Drain noodles. Serve.