Singapore Noodles

Singapore noodles are an old family favourite but they are a bit hit-and-miss from takeaways. The ones I've made contain fairly average veg that a Uk fridge is likely to contain, rather than any specialist (expensive) ones, so they aren't exactly like ones from a good Chinese but they are tasty.

The guideline recipe I used is from "Chinese Food Made Easy" by Ching He Huang - a great book if you love a Chinese takeaway, but hate the heart-thumping, water gulping after effects.

I like to pre-prepare all of the spices and veg, so that the last thing to touch the chopping board is the raw meat. For the spices, you need a chopped red chilli, a few cloves of chopped garlic and a couple of generous tablespoons of turmeric. The garnish is chopped spring onion and a sprinkle of dried chillies. In addition to the veg, you're also going to need 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of rice vinegar, some chicken and some bacon. Or use prawns if you have / like them.

The veg I used (and by no means feel bound by these, because I certainly didn't choose these ones based on any recipe!) were: one green and one red pepper, spinach, a cob's worth of sweetcorn and a carrot sliced into thin batons. I also had a jar of mushrooms preserved in olive oil which needed using up, these were really good in it.

Then you can chop up your chicken - this was the meat off two legs, as they are cheaper than buying a pack of four thighs or two breasts, and I always feel the breast is less tender anyway. The sad water-injected legs you'd get off a battery/poorly treated chicken won't cover this, at the very least a free range bird is needed, but I'd recommend organic for too many reasons to cover here. There are some notes on choosing chicken in this earlier post.

Pre-cook the chicken with nothing more than a little seasoning and some oil, then put the peices to one side. You also need to soak your rice noodles, hot water from the tap will do, for about 5-10 minutes depending on what the packet says.

In the same frying pan, heat up a little more oil and add the garlic, fresh chilli and turmeric (and mushrooms if using). Cook for at most a minute, then add the bacon and cook for a minute more. Tip all of the veg in and cook until tender, then add the soaked noodles, light soy, oyster sauce and vinegar.

Mix it all up, add the dried chilli and spring onions, and serve.

Bento Box: Pepper & Beansprout Stir Fry, Maki Roll, Cucumber Pickles

A bento is basically just Japanese for a packed lunch, but there is something really special about the way bentos are put together. The variety of ingredients, the visual presentation... all of it makes lunch something to look forward to, more so than even the tastiest of leftovers.

I got the "Just Bento" cookbook (based on the well known website) for my birthday and I love it. My maki roll was a bit squiffy, I think I over-packed it, but it was a really exciting lunch anyway. The quick pickle recipe is from "Everyday Harumi".

This bento has 3 homemade sections and two bought. The kamaboko is bought as-is, just taken out of the freezer in the morning to defrost over the course of the day, ready to make up the bento the night before you're going to eat it. You can find out a bit more about kamaboko from this earlier post.
The adzuki and edamame bean salad was one I bought on a whim in the supermarket because it looked nice and I've got a weak spot for beans.

Homemade Cucumber Pickles
These are easy peasy and ready in as little as 3 hours of marinating time. First peel a cucumber and cover it in salt then, over the sink, rub the salt into the flesh. You'll see droplets of water coming from the cucumber, keep squeezing and massaging it for a few minutes, then rinse in fresh water and pat dry.


Deseed and finely slice it and pop it into a baggie or other non-reactive container. Pour 100ml shoyu (Japanese soy sauce), 100ml rice wine vinegar, a few drops of sesame oil, a couple of tablespoons of chopped ginger and two tablespoons of sugar over the cucumber and give it a good mix. Put in the fridge for at least 3 hours before eating, but they'll be tasty for a good couple of days after.

Pepper and Beansprout Stir Fry
Slice half each of a green, yellow and red pepper (or whatever you actually have), plus a large spring onion and a big handful of beansprouts. Heat up some oil in a frying pan and stir fry the veg.


Towards the end of cooking, season with some soy sauce and any other ingredients you commonly like in your stir fries - I used a splash of sherry, a little sugar and crumbled in the corner off a vegetable stock cube.

Prawn & Cucumber Maki Roll
I think the technique of rolling maki is going to take a bit of practice to get right, but it is really very satisfying to make, whether it comes out perfectly or a bit squiffy as mine did.

First, cook up your rice - this should be shortgrain, preferably Japanese rice but I used to use pudding rice and the outcome was generally excellent. Then put a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar into a glass or wooden bowl and tip the hot rice in as well. I had an accomplice to fan the rice as I mixed the vinegar through it but I guess it's doable with one person. Keep fanning and stirring for a few minutes until the rice starts to become sticky, you can mix up to a second tablespoon in as well if you have the time, but you don't want the rice to be wet, only sticky.

Lay out a sheet of dried nori or lava seaweed onto one of those sushi mats (or a bamboo placemat) and layer the rice over the top. A cup of dried rice made enough cooked rice for two maki rolls.
Along the centre, lay strips of cucumber and spring onion, followed by a mixture of finely chopped prawns, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and chilli powder. Then lift up the edge furthest from you and slowly roll the square towards you.

When you come to cut the maki into circles make sure you do it with the seam facing down, that'll help it stay together as you cut.  

Malaysian Style White Fish Coconut Curry

I got the idea for this from "Cook Malaysian" by Lee Sook Ching but, as usual, I had to tailor it to what was in our fridge. The peas are definitely not in the original recipe but they were perfect with it.

So, first put together a couple of diced purple onions (shallots would be better but I didn't have any), lots of sliced garlic, and a couple of tablespoons each of: chopped ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves.

This lot goes into a big frying pan with some oil and a chopped, red chilli. Fry these up for a minute or two, until the aromatic smells start to fill the kitchen, then add a can of coconut milk, a tablespoon or two (depending on your tastes) of tamarind paste, one or two of palm sugar (again according to taste) and a big teaspoon of shrimp paste.

Stir together and bring up to a simmer, then lower the heat and leave it to cook for a while, maybe 10-15 minutes. Taste it, I added fish sauce because I love it, but whether you do is up to you.  
I shelled a load of peas because I had fresh but frozen would have done just as well. Throw them in the sauce and let them cook almost through before adding whatever white fish you have; I had whiting fillets.

Cook the fish through but take care not to overcook it. Finally stir in a load of coriander, fresh is best but I didn't have any and the frozen kind is really very good. Spoon over a bowl of rice (instructions for perfect rice here) and sprinkle a sliced spring onion on the top.

Homemade Veggie Burgers

These were so easy to make I wondered why on earth I've been paying someone else to do it all these years. They taste amazing and I think you could make all sorts of exciting variations.

I had some broccoli and carrots wilting away in the fridge, desperate to be used, so they went in, along with a few very finely sliced and de-strung runner beans.

First, take a load of new potatoes and put them in boiling water to cook, with the rest of the veg chopped up in a steamer over the top. Separately, fry up a purple onion (I'm not a fan of steamed onion!).

While those are cooking, whizz up some breadcrumbs and lay out three plates, one for flour, one for a beaten egg and one for the breadcrumbs - to coat the burgers with.



When the veg and potatoes are cooked, mash them with some butter, pepper, a little milk and salt if needed. Mix in the vegetables and form into patties, then coat them first in the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs.

Heat up some oil in a big frying pan until it's really, really hot, then put the burgers in and let them cook without moving them for a few minutes. When the breadcrumbs around the side start to turn brown turn them over and cook for a few more minutes.



Serve with some melted cheese and tomato ketchup, they went brilliantly with sweetcorn but it would have been lovely in the mixture too.

Runner Bean & Fennel Seed Pasta Bake

I got the inspiration for this from Abel & Cole's cookbook, but as usual I corrupted it to fit my needs. Sadly, my poor pasta machine has broken so my plans of serving the sauce with fresh egg pasta was scuppered. Instead I was stuck with a packet of pre-made semolina shapes, which usually work best in bakes (mind you, that's just my opinion).

The first thing is to make the bechamel which is easy: warm up half a pint of milk with some bay leaves, peppercorns, mace (or nutmeg), a bit of onion and some parsley stalks - I've actually run out of parsley so I omitted them this time. Once the milk is hot to the touch, but not boiling, take it off the heat, strain into a jug and allow it to cool a little.

Finally, heat up 25g of flour and 25g of butter, constantly stirring. Once you have a roux, take it off the heat and slowly mix in the flavoured milk.Once you have mixed everything in together, put it back on the heat and stir until thickened.

Pre-cook the runners, after destringing and cutting them into small peices. Heat up some olive oil in a saucepan and add a few smashed cloves of garlic, a chopped onion, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and about 1/2 a teaspoon of fennel seeds. Give them a minute or so, then add a tin of tomatoes, a glug of red wine, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes while you cook 175g of dried pasta.

Drain the cooked pasta and mix the tomato sauce and runners in, along with a handful of torn basil. Decant this mixture into oven safe dishes, you can do it all in a single dish or split it into two or three smaller ones.

Spoon the bechamel over the top and dot with peices of mozzarella. Top with a light grating of parmesan and a grinding of pepper. Bake at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes.