Oodles of noodles

I'm not usually one for noodles (not quite sure the raw two minute noodles I used to eat crushed up in the packet as a kid count).

You won't find me ordering the chicken chow mein or udon soup at a restaurant, but pages 326 and 327 of the new cookbook spoke to me.

One brimming with meat; one vegetarian. One dried egg noodles; one fresh Singapore noodles. One spicy; one not. Two exceptionally delicious dishes.

Both recipes serve two and include my adjustments (read: you may want to tone down the chilli content of the first one).

Chinese Chilli Noodles

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 onion, finely sliced
• 2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 Tb soy sauce
• 1 cooked potato, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 block firm tofu, cut into squares and lightly fried 
• 2 c mung beans
• Handful of green beans
• 175g Singapore noodles
• Sliced spring onions

Beat the eggs and season lightly. Pour into a pan with a little oil to make a thin omelette. Once cooked, remove from the pan, cut into strips and set aside.

Mix together the chilli powder and turmeric with a little water to form a paste.

Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the onions until soft. Reduce the heat and stir in the chilli paste, chillies and soy sauce. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the potato and fry for a further two minutes, mixing well.

Add the tofu, mung beans, green beans and noodles.

Gently stir-fry until the noodles are coated and heated through. Be careful not to break the potatoes or tofu. Season with more soy sauce or salt and pepper if needed.

Serve hot with the egg strips, sliced spring onion and sesame seeds on top.

Meat was definitely not needed in this loaded noodle dish and I of course amped up the chilli content so it was nice and spicy - that might have distracted Elliot from all the tofu which he gobbled up.

Traditional Indonesian Noodles

• 150g dried egg noodles
• 1/2 chicken breast
• 75-100g lean pork fillet
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp butter
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 c cooked prawns or shrimps
• Handful of baby spinach leaves
• Handful of mung beans (just cos I had some)
• 1 spring onion, chopped (keep some of the green tops for garnish)
• 50 ml chicken stock (approx.)
• Soy sauce (some dark and some light if you have it)
• Fried shallots (come in packets or jars and are easily sourced from Asian supermarkets)

Cook the noodles in salted boiling water according to the packet (minus a minute or two as they will finish cooking when stir-fried). Drain and rinse under cold water, drain again.

I cooked far too many noodles as the recipe was a tad generous,
so have adjusted the quantity in the ingredients above

Season the egg. Heat a small amount of oil in a pan with the butter and stir in the egg and keep stirring until scrambled.

Slice the chicken and pork. 

Heat oil in a frying pan or wok and cook the garlic with the chicken and pork for 2-3 minutes. Add the prawns or shrimps, spinach and spring onion and toss well.

Add the noodles and mung beans and toss well until combined well.

Add enough stock to moisten and some of each type of soy sauce until seasoned to your taste. Lastly, stir in the scrambled egg.

Serve hot with ribbons of spring onions greens and fried shallots.

This recipe makes two but next time I will be doubling it to extend the joy by having leftovers for lunch.

I love the scrambled eggs mixed through and am a sucker for anything that has soy sauce or three types of meat in it (feel free to add the calf's liver to make it four), so this was a win. For the first time in my life, Indonesia seemed slightly appealing as a place to visit.

This is what to look for in Asian supermarkets -
they are salty and sweet and crunchy and goooooood

On the seed/chilli/garden front, our herbs and lettuces are doing extremely well and surviving the cold. I still use the lettuces almost everyday and the herbs to add to slow cooker meals, sauces and gravies.

The shallots and carrots are growing extremely well and the lemon and lime trees are still alive. So far, so good.

It has been three and a half weeks since the new season chilli seeds were planted and we have two Bhut Jolokia sprouts which are now in the light box. They join the two pumpkin plants that are getting quite big. Oh, pumpkin plants you say? You have room to grow pumpkins? Where will they be planted? Exactly.

I was cutting up a pumpkin for a roast a month or so ago, and Elliot in his infinite curiosity mused "I wonder if these pumpkin seeds would germinate." They was bunged in some soil and, well...

I guess the answer is yes.

Before anyone offers to take them off our hands, I suggest Googling images of "pumpkin plant" first.