Mange Tout and Pak Choi Stir Fry

This is a quick, easy and tasty stir fry, perfect for a busy mid-week evening, packed with Pak choi, mange tout and daikon radish (also known as mouli), along with fresh herbs, a touch of soy sauce and a nutty addition of cashews.

Ingredients: 2 Shallots, 1 garlic cloves, 10g ginger, 1 pak choi, large handful of mange tout, 100g daikon radish, a few coriander stems.

From the larder: 175g noodles, 3 tsp sunflower or sesame oil, 1-2 tbsp soy sauce, (optional: handful of cashews, prawns or chicken).

Instructions:

  • Prepare all the veg: peel and chop the shallot, garlic and ginger, thinly slice the daikon into batons, chop the pak choi, separating the leaves and stems.veg on chopping board 1600pxveg chopped 1600px
  • If using meat, prepare by peeling prawns or chopping chicken into pieces.
  • Bring a saucepan of water to the boil before starting to stir-fry the veg.
  • In a wok or frying pan, heat the oil on a high heat and if using, add meat, if using, and cook for a few minutes. Add shallots, and stir fry to soften. Add the ginger and garlic and then daikon, pak choi stems and mange tout. Stir-fry for around 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are just reaching the right level of crunch and then stir in the pak choi leaves. Remove from the heat and add soy sauce.
  • While stir-frying the vegetables, cook the noodles for about 3-5 minutes in boiling water or according to packet instructions.
  • Drain the noodles and mix into the stir-fried veg. Serve immediately with coriander torn on top and an optional handful of cashews.stir fry with noodles 1600px

Tamarind Pad Thai

Tamarind is found in the seed pods of the tamarind tree. We eat the fleshy pulp surrounding the seeds that tastes somewhat like a date with a delicate citrus note. Although tamarind is often used in Southeast Asian cooking, the Tamarind trees is in fact originally native to Africa. It is used in all sorts of sauces, curries, soups and marinades. In this dish, we use it to make a pad thai sauce accompanying stir-fried veggies, peanuts and spring onions.

Ingredients: 2 tamarind pods, 2shallots, 1 clove of garlic, 1 small head of pak choy, 70g chantenay carrots, 1 small courgette, small bunch of coriander, 1 spring onion.

From the larder: 175g rice noodles, 3tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp brown sugar, oil, juice of half a lime (optional: 1 egg, handful of peanuts).

Instructions:

  • Before you do anything, crack the tamarind pod open and pull out the fleshy inside. Place in a small bowl with 1/8 C warm water and let sit for 10 minutes while you prepare the veg.tamarind out of it's podprepped veg angle 2
  • Bring a saucepan of water to the boil for the rice noodles and prepare all your veg.
  • Mince garlic, chop shallots and slice the stalk and leaves of the pak choi. Slice the carrots and courgette into batons, slice the spring onion and chop the coriander.
  • After 10 minutes, with your fingers, rub the flesh of the tamarind off the seeds pour into a bowl straining the seeds. Push as much flesh through a sieve so that you have tamarind-muddied water. Add soy sauce and sugar to the water and stir to combine. Taste and adjust portions so that it is a strong sweet and salty sauce.tamarind sauce
  • Add noodles to the boiling water and cook for 4-6 minutes. Drain and then run cold water through them.
  • Meanwhile, heat a wok on a med-high heat and add a glug of oil. Add the carrots and courgette, followed by shallots, garlic and pak choi. Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes and then push veg aside, crack an egg into the wok and scramble. Mix in to the stir-fry and then stir in the sauce and the noodles.stir frying veg pushed asideveg and noodles.jpg
  • Serve with peanuts, spring onion and chopped coriander on top.

Pak Choi Stir Fry

Fragrant lemongrass, ginger and garlic wind their way through this stir fry, and compliment the crunch of carrots and pak choi. A healthy start the new year.

Ingredients: Shallots, Thai chilli, garlic, ginger, pak choi, carrot, lemongrass, Thai basil.

From the larder: 3 tsp oil, 175g noodles, 1-2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp lime juice, (optional cooked prawns, chicken or pork)

Instructions:

  • Start by cooking the meat.
  • Prepare all the veg: chop the shallot, chilli and garlic. Grate the ginger, chop the pak choi (separating stalk and leaves) and thinly slice the carrot. Remove the tough outer layer of lemongrass and then thinly slice. Chop the Thai basil.chopped-veg-600px
  • Cook the noodles according to packet instructions.
  • In a wok, on a high heat, heat the oil and add shallots, chilli, ginger, pak choi stalks, carrot and lemongrass. Fry for 5 mins, or until the vegetables are just reaching the right level of crunch.
  • Add the pak choi leaves, Thai basil and cooked prawns or cooked meat. Fry for a further 2 mins.
  • Drain the noodles; add to stir-fry and mix, adding the lime juice and soy sauce to taste. Serve immediately.