Stir Fry Chilli Noodles

I find a Stir- fry is a great staple dish as it can be adapted to whatever is to hand.

For the chilli noodles I used the following;

To serve 2

1 or 2 packets of straight to wok noodles (this is very much down to individual preference, I can usually eat a full 150g pack to myself but then again I’m not noted for my lack of appetite!)

3 or 4 spring onions (chopped finely)

2 or 3 cloves of garlic (crushed/sliced)

1 head of bok choi (roughly chopped or just separate the leaves)

1 red pepper (thinly sliced)

A handful of fresh mushrooms (sliced)

or you can get dried or tins of exotic mixed mushrooms which work very well

1 fresh chilli pepper (chopped finely)

Soy sauce to taste (reduced salt if possible)

Small amount of oil for frying (rapeseed is great)

A squirt of tomato puree works well too, if you fancy a richer sauce

The key to a successful stir-fry is to prepare as much as possible before starting to cook. Once the heat is on, time is crucial to avoid over cooking all those beautiful vegetables and losing not only the vivid colours but more importantly all that vitamin C and folate.

So with this in mind have all the chopping and shredding done before putting the pan on the heat.

It’s also a good idea to boil the kettle beforehand ready to rinse off the noodles to soften them.

Whilst on the subject of pans, a specific Wok pan isn’t necessarily important however a large enough base to the pan is. If you don’t happen to possess a Wok, a deep sided, large frying pan is perfect. If you only have saucepans, just make sure it’s got a large enough base to get the heat evenly to all the ingredients.

So, everything is chopped and ready. Put the oil in the pan on a fairly high heat. Allow to heat through and throw in the spring onions and garlic, stir quickly to avoid sticking and browning. If this happens, reduce the heat slightly. You must act quickly so keep your eye on it!

Cook through and add the rest of the veg.

Keep stirring!

After about 5 minutes, place the noodles in a colander or sieve and pour over hot water to loosen them up. Then add these to the veg pan, stir through and add soy sauce to taste.

Ready ......steady...... EAT!