Chicken and leek with a bit of this and a dash of that

This recipe originated in my kitchen circa the middle of last week.

It's obvious that chicken and leeks go together like soccer mums and SUVs so it didn't require much imagination to throw these two together with a few other likely suspects and come out with a very fine dish indeed.

* Contains pork, alcohol, butter and cream!


Ingredients

• 6 skinned chicken breasts cut into bite-sized morsels
• 1 large leek sliced into rings
• 1/2 a medium red onion diced
• 2 modest cloves of garlic
• 6 button mushrooms
• 2 tsp minced coriander
• 2 heaped tsp grainy mustard
• 1/2 a pack of smoked lardons
• 1 (or slightly more) large glass of good white wine.
• 1/2 a square pack of puck cream
• salt and pepper to season

A few notes on ingredients. I like to slice my mushrooms very thinly as I prefer the taste to the texture, you might like them just quartered! I chop fresh coriander, then steep it in olive oil in storage boxes and keep it in the freezer - very convenient. I used a Californian Riesling - it's important to keep testing this during the cooking process...

Heat a little olive oil in a large wok-like pan and then throw in a knob of butter. Add the red onion then the leeks and soften. Add the chicken and season. Fry the chicken until it starts to brown then add lardons and reduce the heat.

Add the garlic just after this so that it doesn't burn and turn bitter. Add mushrooms, the corriander and mustard and mix around a bit, then the wine to heat through. Add the cream last thing and do a final stir-through and seasoning.

I served it with wholewheat spag which was lovely but I think it would be better with penne or twisty pasta as the bite sizes would match better.

Enjoy with the remains of the wine!

Aromatic Asian Soup Noodles

Most Oriental cultures have some version of this dish of steaming hot, aromatic broth with bits of vegetables and noodles swimming around. I suppose the most famous would be the Vietnamese “pho”. This is a very regular feature in the HMHB household for a quick mid-week dish that takes about 20 mins to throw together and is deeply satisfying and very filling.

The list of ingredients looks ominous but it is not meant to be. There are no hard and fast rules here, just throw in what you have, skip some of the ingredients, add others if you wish, this dish can handle a lot of playing around with so let loose!

You will need for the stock:

2 litres good homemade chicken stock
1 carrot, chopped in half
3 stalks celery with leaves
Bunch fresh coriander
6 kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks lemongrass, bashed flat and cut into small lengths
1 knob ginger peeled
3 cloves garlic crushed (no need to peel)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 heaped tsp caster sugar
100ml mirin or sherry


You will also need:

225g dry egg noodles
12 cooked prawns or bits of roasted chicken. Or both
8 cherry tomatoes
4 stalks pak choy
1 chilli, chopped fine
1 spring onion finely chopped

(you can add mushrooms, bean sprouts, finely chopped cooked pork, choy sum, chinese cabbage, broccoli, you can sprinkle on crushed peanuts, add a squeeze of lime juice.......)



And then you need to:


Get four large deep bowls lined up ready to go.

Chop the thicker end of the celery stalks into shortish lengths and throw into a big stock pot. Finely chopped the thinner ends with all the leaves and divided equally between the four bowls.

Chop off the roots and the stems of the coriander and throw into the stock pot. Finely chop the coriander leaves and divide equally between the four bowls.

Add all the other stock ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn down to a simmer and leave cooking quietly for about 15mins. The kitchen will fill with the most divine smells.

Once the stock has simmered for a while strain the stock and pour back into the stock pot. Taste for seasoning and then bring back to a simmer.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and throw in the egg noodles. Cook for 3 mins only, drain and divide equally between the four bowls.

Wash and then chop the stalks of the pak choy into smallish lengths. Put the dark green leafy bits straight into the soup bowls and quickly blanch the thicker white ends in the stock. Remove and divide between the bowls.

Chop the tomatoes in half and divide between the bowls. Divide the prawns and/or chicken, the chilli and the spring onions between the bowls.

Ladle the stock into the bowls, sprinkle a few chopped coriander leaves on top and away you go. Absolutely yummy and so very, very easy.

Pasta con la Mollica

This a Calabrian recipe and the paucity of the ingredients is illustrative of the poverty that used to exist in that region of the south of Italy.

I know that most of you will look at this recipe and think what a strange combination but I really do urge you to try it. This makes a fantastic, very quick and very satisfying lunch dish and it really is quite delicious.

Breadcrumbs is another odd thing that I always seem have bags of in the freezer. If any bread in the bin has gone stale I throw it in the whizzer and stick it in the freezer. It keeps for absolutely ages and you just never know when it might come in handy!


You will need:

360g spaghetti
75g white breadcrumbs
8 anchovy fillets, drained
4 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
100ml good quality EV olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
½ to 1 tsp dried chilli flakes.
Salt

And then you need to:

Bring a big pot of salted water to a rolling boil and throw the pasta in. Cook as per instructions but probably for around 10 minutes.

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and chuck in the garlic, half the parsley and the chilli flakes.

Cook for only about 30 secs and add the breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. As soon as the oil has been absorbed and the breadcrumbs started to colour add the anchovy fillets and mash them against the bottom of the pan to break them down.

Drain the spaghetti and throw it in the frying pan. Add the rest of the oil and stir fry it for about 2 minutes to make sure it is properly coated with the dressing.

Tip into a big bowl, or four individual bowls, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve straightaway.

Salute!

Pasta all’Arrabiata

(The spelling of the title of this recipe has been amended under instruction from The Real Nick . I hope now that it passes muster.)

This is another fantastically easy and incredibly quick recipe, especially if you have done what I have suggested and have bags of tomato sauce in the freezer. You have, haven’t you?

A spicy, tomato-ey, herby bowl of pasta, big pile of parmesan shavings and a big glass of red wine; just heavenly!

You can play around with this recipe I often add pancetta but adding good quality pork sausages (chopped up before cooking) is also great. How about a spicy fishy stew? Add a couple of anchovy fillets with the onions and garlic, and then add some cooked prawns at the end.

You will need:

1 portion of basic tomato sauce
360g penne pasta
1 large onion chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 Thai red chilli chopped fine. Or more if you like
100g pancetta cubes (optional)
Small handful of fresh basil, torn into big shreds
Pinch of dried oregano
Fresh leaf parsley, chopped fine. For garnish
Parmesan cheese


And then you need to:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook per instructions, but probably for about ten minutes.

In a large pan over a low heat gently fry onions, garlic and chilli (and pancetta if using) in about 1 tbsp EV olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add the basil leaves. Cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent but not coloured.

Add the basic tomato sauce and the dried oregano and heat through.

When the pasta is cooked drain it in a colander and then tip the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Stir to make sure it is all coated and spoon into four bowls. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, a good grind of fresh black pepper and serve with a small bowl of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti alla Vongole

Another delicious dish that can be placed on the table in less than 30 minutes from getting home. I reckon this is one of my favourite pasta dishes and I am surprised every time I cook it that I don’t do so more often.

I add cream to mine which is anything but regulation and would have me tarred and feathered in Sicily but hey ho. If you are feeling very adventurous also add two plum tomatoes that have been peeled and seeded and chopped fine. Also try pancetta.

You will need:

1 kg clams
4 cloves garlic, crushed chopped roughly
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 red chilli chopped fine or ½ tsp chilli flakes
250ml white wine
360g spaghetti
A good sized handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped roughly
30g butter
2 tbsp EV olive oil
2 tbsp double cream
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

And then you need to:

First up put a large pan of salted water on to boil. As soon as a good rolling boil has been reached throw in the pasta and cook per instructions.

Wash the clams well in lots of running water and drain in a colander.

In a large heavy based pan (with a lid) melt the butter and olive oil over a gentle heat and then lightly fry the garlic, onions and chilli (and tomatoes and pancetta if using)

Once the onions are translucent, increase the heat slightly and throw in the clams, the wine, the cream and the lemon juice. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. Discard any clams that haven’t opened fully.

Drain the pasta and tip it into the pan with the clams. Chuck in the parsley. Give it all a really good stir and shake around to really coat the pasta and then serve either in four bowls or one large one for everyone to dig into.

Crab Spaghettini

Another one of June’s highlights is crab.

I am sure I am not alone in finding crab a real bore to both prepare and dress. All that work for very little reward. But isn’t it fantastic when you do finally managed to prise those little morsels from all the nooks and crannies.

Crab has such a delicate flavour that it needs very little in the way of adornment otherwise it will be swamped. I have to admit that I don’t really ‘get’ the French insistence of serving crab with homemade mayonnaise, or even a rouille, as it completely takes over and obliterates the crab. A very big surprise that I discovered recently was what a fantastic accompaniment the Thai dipping sauce, prik nam pla, is for crab. Somehow it really seems to bring out the delicate flavours.

Anyway, you will need:

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeds and pith removed, finely chopped
4 spring onions, white parts only, finely sliced
360g spaghettini, tagliarini or linguine
Juice of ½ lemon (maybe more, taste test before serving)
300g fresh crab meat (white, or a mix of white and brown)
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A small handful of basil leaves

(you can also add some very finely chopped drained sun-dried tomatoes as well)


And then you need to:

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil.

Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a small pan and sauté the garlic, chilli and spring onions for 1-2 minutes: they mustn’t colour.

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Drain, leaving about 1 tbsp of water in the pan.

Tip in the garlic, chilli, onions and the oil they were cooked in. Add the chopped tomatoes as well if you are using.

Return the pasta to the pan, then add the remaining oil, lemon juice, crab and parsley, and season.

Mix thoroughly, so that the pasta is well coated, then tear the basil leaves and stir in. Serve immediately.

Tagliatelle with Gorgonzola, pancetta and toasted walnuts

This is another entry in the occasional series of recipes that shows you how to get food on the table in less than 30 minutes.

A very, very simple dish but delicious nonetheless.

You will need:

360g tagliatelle pasta
100g walnuts
50g butter
100g gorgonzola
100g lardons or cubes of pancetta
150ml fresh cream
4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped very fine.
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Grated fresh parmesan


Okay, follow these instructions step by step and you will be sitting down and eating in no time.

Pre-heat an oven to 180C/350F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.

Spread the walnuts out on a baking tray and pop in the hot oven. Roast for 6 minutes, remove and chop up roughly with a big knife.

In a saucepan gently fry the pancetta with a little bit of EV olive oil until crispy. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

The water should be boiling by now so throw in the pasta, cook per instructions but probably for about 8 mins.

Melt the butter over a low heat, add the gorgonzola and then the cream and cook gently until all melted and it has become a creamy sauce.

Drain the pasta and return it to the big pot.

Add the spring onions, the basil, the crispy pancetta and the walnuts to the creamy sauce and then pour the sauce over the pasta. Give it a good stir to coat and serve.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan and some freshly ground black pepper.

An Asiatically Inclined Pasta Dish

The One Cafe used to have a marvellous chicken pasta dish on its menu called Pasta Dou Chi, which was much beloved of the wiff. Having successfully blagged a menu and noted its composition, I then proceeded to make it at home. Over the years, as one ingredient or another was or wasn’t to hand, it’s morphed. The original, in case you’re interested, used water chestnuts, wilted greens and black bean sauce. This one doesn’t!

This recipe serves a hungry two as a main meal but it'll happily do four as a light one...

Ingredients

• 500g chicken breast
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 300g conchiglie pasta
• 225 broccoli in small florets
• 100g small button mushrooms, halved
• 2 sticks celery, finely diced
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 100ml white wine
• 1 tsp cornflour
• Chopped fresh coriander to garnish
  

Marinade

• 4 star anise
• 2 tbsp kecap manis
• 1 tbsp light soy
• 1 tbsp teriyaki
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 30ml white wine

Chop the chicken breast into 1.5cm pieces or thereabouts. Mix together the marinade ingredients and let the chicken steep in these for a good while - overnight's great.

Blanch the broccoli: have a bowl of cold water to hand, ideally with a couple of generous handfuls of ice in it and then plunge the broccoli into a pan of boiling, salted water for 30 secs or so - for sure no more than a minute, remove it into a strainer and then slip it all into the ice water. This will keep it a little crunchy but also preserve the vibrant colour.

Have a pan of water on the boil ready for the pasta.

Fry the onion in the oil to soften over a medium heat, then turn the heat to high and add the mushroom and stir fry for a couple of minutes before adding the chicken and stir frying to colour it. Add the celery and fry it up, then take the heat to low. Mix the cornflour, wine, vinegar and honey together, then add to the chicken and turn the heat to low.

Cook the pasta – add ½ tsp salt to the boiling water, let it froth up and then add the pasta, Slip a teaspoon of good olive oil into the water and stir it up to stop the pasta clumping. It needs to be ‘al dente’ so, depending on what pasta you use and whether it’s dry or fresh, do it for a little under the recommended cooking time. For dried conchiglie, I’d give it nine, max 10 minutes.

As the pasta’s boiling away, give the chicken the odd stir and check your Bebo page or pour a glass of cheeky Orvieto. You could also give the sesame seeds a quick extra toasting in a small pan before sprinkling it on the chicken just before the pasta cooks. As soon as the pasta’s cooked, drain it and add it into the chicken mixture along with the chopped onion. Stir it in to warm through and then serve it up with a smattering of chopped fresh coriander to finish it off!

Spaghetti with Pesto and Pancetta

What follows is the absolutely perfect dish for a very quick mid week supper. I can have this dish made from scratch and ready on the table in the time it takes to bring a pot of water to the boil and to cook the pasta.

Ingredients

400g Spaghetti or linguine pasta
Fresh Pesto (comments on quantities below)
1 onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
100ml white wine
100-150g cubes of pancetta (or similar)
50ml fresh cream
Grated fresh parmesan cheese

When I haven’t been doing my Percy Thrower bit and harvesting my own plants I often use pesto sauce out of a jar. There are some very good ones available, check the ingredients and try and buy the best you can, ie try to get one that has only the ‘normal’ ingredients. There is a brand here in Dubai that only has basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan in it, no preservatives, no salt etc, and it is really very good. The brand is called "ROI" and can be found in Spinneys. They also sell a Waitrose own brand which is pretty good as well. Avoid any that has preservatives or fillers like potato and cashew nuts. Also avoid others that have 'refined oils' or oils other than olive oil.

If you can’t get pancetta substitute another smoked bacon, either lardons, or smoked streaky bacon cut into little pieces.

And then you need to:

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil over a high heat.

In a frying pan over a medium heat fry pancetta, onions and garlic together with 1 tbs EV olive oil. After about 5 minutes pour in the white wine and cook until almost all reduced.

When the water has reached a boil put in the spaghetti and cook as per packet instructions (somewhere between 8 – 12 minutes depending on brand).

Take frying pan off heat and add the pesto sauce. If you are using pesto out of a jar I would suggest 1 heaped tsp per person. If you are using fresh pesto I would probably use 1 tbsp per person.

Add the cream and stir to mix thoroughly. Place back on heat over a very low flame and warm through.

Drain spaghetti in a colander, return to large pan and pour pesto/bacon sauce over the pasta. Stir to mix and either serve straight onto plates or into one large bowl. Grate fresh parmesan on top, garnish with a couple of basil leaves and serve. You can also toss a small handful of toasted pine nuts on top too for a little bit of something special.

That’s it, 15 minutes from start to finish.

A Student Pasta Dinner

This dish is one of those simple pleasures you tend to forget as life goes on and you complicate things by adding experience. It's easy and quick to do, absolutely delicious and foolproof: student food at its best and a dish that just begs to be served with a balls-out Cabernet. You can vary it endlessly (try chorizo instead of the bacon) and tart it up with a slice of garlic-buttered French bread. I've labelled this as 'Italian' but it's about as Italian as a Cornetto...

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 120g pasta
• 50g parmesan

Sauce

• 4 rashers cooked smoked bacon, chopped
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
• ½ courgette, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp chopped basil
• ½ tsp thyme
• ½ tsp rosemary
• ½ tsp chilli flakes or powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp olive oil

In a smallish pan over a medium heat, fry the onions in the oil, stirring occasionally. Wait until they turn transparent, then add the garlic, fry for a minute and then add the red pepper and the courgette. Fry this off for a while, stirring, then add the other sauce ingredients, the chopped tomato last, stirring all the while. Cook over a lowish heat for around 15 minutes - just enough time to make the pasta now!

Put the pasta in a nice big pan, boil a kettle and then pour the boiling water over the pasta. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and stir it in well – this helps to stop the pasta sticking. Cook for 10 minutes (more or less, depending on the type of pasta you use - 3 mins for fresh, 8 for smaller pieces. You're basically looking for 'al dente' - a bit of 'bite' in it) and then drain. Pour a little olive oil over the pasta, stir it in and then dish it up onto warm plates. Place the sauce in the middle and sprinkle with the cheese and lots of black pepper. Serve!

Spaghetti Carbonara

This is a classic dish and a personal favourite. Smoky bacon, smooth creamy sauce and bitey pasta: I can eat this stuff by the bucket. Over the years I've come to prefer tagliatelli with carbonara, although I've had a really nice version in a restaurant that was made with spirelli and the addition of sundried tomatoes. So do try that if you like!

Serve it up with bruschetta. Go on, do! And by all means, substitute the streaky bacon with lean ham, pancetta cubes or, if you prefer not to eat pork, with beef bacon or turkey ham.

Ingredients

• 500g tagliatelli
• 300g streaky bacon, chopped
• 5 eggs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 200g creme fraiche
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped finely.

Boil a kettle of water, and then pour the water in a roomy pan along with ½ tbsp of olive oil. Bring to a gentle boil, and then add the pasta. Boil for 8-10 minutes until cooked.

While the spaghetti is cooking, fry the bacon, ham or beef sausage in the remaining olive oil. Whisk three of the whole eggs with the yolks of the other two in a bowl, adding plenty of freshly grated black pepper and the parmesan cheese. Mix in the creme fraiche and the cooked bacon or beef sausage.

Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the pan with the heat off, adding the mixture to it, stirring it to heat through (using the residual heat from the pan only) and serve in hot bowls sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Spaghetti with Prawns in a Creamy Sauce

The pernod in this really adds a wonderful flavour.

Ingredients, serves 2

• 180g dried linguine pasta
• 100g Frozen or fresh prawns (if frozen rinse under cold water and drain)
• 1 big leek
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed, chopped small
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 50ml Pernod (or other aniseed flavoured drink Ouzo, Ricard, Arak)
• 50ml Martini Bianco
• 300ml white wine
• 1 small tbsp cream cheese or mascarpone
• Small handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

And then you need to…….

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta as per packet instructions. Drain.

Clean and then slice the leek on the diagonal into thin ovals

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, splash a glug of EV olive oil in and add the leeks, garlic and chilli flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes until leeks have softened.

Add Pernod and cook until evaporated, add martini and cook until also evaporated.

Pour 150ml white wine into a glass, drink. Pour remaining 150ml white wine into the frying pan. Add cream cheese or mascarpone and the lemon zest. Stir and add prawns. Simmer until prawns are thoroughly cooked.

Tip drained pasta into frying pan, give it a couple of flicks to mix, add chopped fresh parsley and freshly ground pepper and serve in shallow pasta bowls.

Prawn Chow Mein

Chow Mein means fried noodles and there are probably as many recipes or versions of this as there are cooks in China. You probably wouldn’t find anything like my version in the great People’s Republic of China but it is still quite tasty.

Ingredients, serves 4:

• Packet of dried Chinese egg noodles
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 150g peeled big prawns (shrimp). I use frozen ones, thaw under a cold tap and drain in sieve.
• 1 carrot chopped into thin ‘julienne strips’
• 1 onion chopped into biggish chunks
• 3 cloves pf garlic, chopped
• Fresh ginger (about 2cm square) chopped
• 1 tsp chilli bean paste
• 3 tbsp fresh chicken stock
• 3 tbsp sherry
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 spring onion cut into very fine strips.
• Assorted other vegetables as you wish. You could use baby asparagus, thin French beans, red pepper and little pieces of celery and of course Chinese cabbage.


And then you need to:

Bring pot of water to the boil, chuck in noodles and cook for 3 mins. Drain, throw into bowl of cold water and then drain again. Put into large bowl, pour over sesame oil, stir to coat and put to one side.

Heat wok to medium high heat, add 1 tbsp groundnut oil, and throw in onion, garlic, ginger and carrot.

Stir for about 1 mins and then add stock, sherry, soy sauce and chilli bean paste. Cook for about another 2 mins, add all other vegetables and the prawns, and continue to cook until the sauce has become quite thick (this should not take long). Add the cooked noodles and the spring onion, stir to coat and to mix through and then tip out into a large shallow dish.

Serve with a little dish of soy sauce into which you have chopped 3 or 4 thai chillis.

“Pad Thai” - Fried Noodles Thai Style

I think pad thai is probably as close to a national dish as you can get in a country such as Thailand, it is available everywhere from hawker stall to five star restaurant. Pad thai is often served in a sort of thin omelette case which you peel open to reveal the noodles inside but that is far to fiddly for me! These noodles are usually offered with a choice of chicken or prawns and quite often will be served with a small pile of crunchy bean sprouts, a small spoon of sugar, a lime wedge and some crushed peanuts on the side.

This is a very fast dish to cook, as is often the way with SE Asian food, it is the preparation that takes the time.

You will need (serves 2):

• 100g Rice noodles (look for those that are thin and flat, rather like linguine)
• 1 onion chopped biggish pieces
• 2 cloves garlic chopped fine
• 1 cm square knob of fresh ginger chopped fine
• 1 Thai chilli, chopped fine
• 100g Prawns or chicken (cooked) as you wish
• 25g, Cashew nuts, roasted
• 2 Spring onion, chopped into fine strips
• A few leaves of fresh mint and fresh coriander
• 1 egg
• 100g Firm beancurd, cut into ½cm squares
• Small handful of beansprouts

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp tamarind juice (see note below)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp paprika powder
• 2 tsp caster sugar

For the prik nam pla

• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (the nam pla of the title)
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 2 heaped tsp caster sugar
• 3 or 4 finely chopped thai chillis

And then you need to:

Put dried noodles into large bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 15 mins, drain and put to one side.

Wash bean sprouts, blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, drain and refresh under cold water.

Mix together the ingredients for the sauce

Mix together the ingredients for the prik nam pla, making sure the sugar has dissolved.

In the wok or a small frying pan heat over medium heat about 1 tbsp groundnut oil. When hot add chopped beancurd. Fry for about 5 mins on each side until lovely and brown. Don’t throw these around too much, just leave them to cook away and then turn them over every so often with a palette knife. When cooked drain on kitchen paper and set to one side.

Heat wok over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp groundnut oil and when hot throw in onions, garlic, ginger, chilli. Stir for about 1 minute.

Add noodles and quickly stir. Add cashews, prawns/chicken, fried beancurd, bean sprouts and stir to mix.

Add sauce ingredients and continue to stir to make sure everything is coated. Then make a sort of well in the middle of the noodles and add the egg. Let to set for a little bit and then mix into the noodles. Keep stirring.

Add spring onions, mint and coriander, quick mix then tip out onto a big shallow dish. Sprinkle some more chopped coriander leaves on top, and serve immediately. For those who like it spicy add some of the prik nam pla for the authentic Thai afterburn.

Pan Fried Salmon with ‘northern-style’ Chinese noodles

Northern-style noodles are served cold and I suppose are a close relative of the famous Sichuan ‘dan-dan noodles’ though without the fiery kick in the head that the Sichuan version often provides!

The recipe for the noodles is an adaptation of a Ken Hom version.

Ingredients (for four persons)

For the Fish:

• 1 salmon filet per person, skin on.
• 1 good sized knob of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine
• 3 cloves garlic chopped fine
• 150ml mirin or sherry
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc nam)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce


For the Noodles:

• 350g dried or fresh egg noodles
• 2 tbsp Sesame oil
• 3 tbsp finely chopped Spring onions to garnish

For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp sesame paste or creamy peanut butter
• 2 tsp finely chopped root ginger
• 2 tsp chilli bean sauce
• 3 tbsp Chinese white rice vinegar or cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp ground roasted Sichuan peppercorns (if you have them)
• 2 tsp groundnut oil
• 1 tsp Sesame oil

And then you need to:

In a freezer/sandwich bag put the fish and the marinade ingredients. Let to sit for at least an hour.

Bring to the boil a pan of lightly salted water, when ready throw in dried noodles and cook for 3 mins.

Drain noodles and plunge into cold water. Drain again and tip into large mixing bowl. Add 2 tbsp sesame oil and give them a toss. Set aside.

Mix all sauce ingredients together and whisk with a fork.

In a frying pan heat some groundnut oil over a medium or medium low heat. You must not have this too hot otherwise the fish will burn very quickly from all the sugars in the mirin.

Place salmon skin side down and cook for about 2 mins. Flip over and cook for about another 1 min.

To serve noodles, pour the sauce on top and toss well, put into four bowls and then garnish with the spring onions. Place cooked salmon filet on top of the noodles. Serve straight away.