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Spicy Chicken Noodles

Monday saw me off to site this week so it was time for another installment of Meals even my husband can cook.  

I walked in the door just as it was ready to be served, Miss L had been a very able kitchenhand and disaster was narrowly averted when Woody got carried away and put in twice as much curry powder than the recipe indicated.  Thankfully he scooped some out and we ended up with only a little more.

A good batch of Singapore noodles would have to be one of my most favourite foods on earth.  Rice vermicelli is a more traditional noodle to use but I love the fresh, thin egg noodles I can buy at the chinese supermarket as a treat.

This is the kind of meal that can be on the table in under half an hour, less if you have prepped the veggies ahead of time.  I have used a curry spice blend but your run of the mill curry powder would be just fine too, even the baharat spice blend would add a different twist.  Adjust the curry and chilli to suit the taste of your family.  We like our food spicy so I go big.

Feel free to switch the chicken for green prawn meat or pork mince.  Throw in some sliced firm tofu if that is your thing.  I like to eat this with chopsticks because I think it makes it taste even better!

Spicy Chicken Noodles – Serves 6

Ingredients

500g fresh noodles

500g chicken mince

1 bunch spring onions + 3 randoms hanging around in the crisper, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

3 red capsicums, washed well, deseeded and sliced in thin strips.  They are only small, you may even need 4.

2 large carrots (from one of the bags that isn’t open, there are only small carrots in the open bag) peeled & grated

1 Tbs coconut oil

1 heaped Tbs curry powder

2 teaspoon garlic

2 red chillies, sliced

3 eggs

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 bunch coriander, washed well and just the top cut off.  Keep the roots, I’ll use them for Vietnamese salad dressing.

Method

Get all of the veggies ready.  In the 500mL glass jug mix the eggs, soy sauce and sesame oil together.

At 6.30 put water in the medium saucepan and turn it on.

Heat the coconut oil in the wok and cook the chicken mince and garlic, add the curry powder towards the end of the cooking time.

When the water comes to the boil throw the noodles in for about 5 minutes, until they are cooked.

Once the noodles are in pop the capsicum, chillies, carrot and spring onions in with the chicken mince and cook.

Use tongs to transfer the noodles from the water to the wok.

Use the tongs to stir the mince and veggies together with the noodles then pour over the egg & sauce mixture.  Keep stirring until the egg is set.  Add in the coriander and stir through at the last moment.

Serve into bowls.  Hopefully I will be home just before 7. 

Tatum xx

Unexpectedly Good Curry

On Sunday I had 2 bunches of spinach in the fridge and none if the other ingredients required for making a spinach pie.  I also had no desire to visit the supermarket but I definitely didn’t want to end up chucking the spinach in the bin.  Monday is a work day so I wanted to be organised for dinner.  I consulted a few cookbooks and mashed few ideas together to come up with a simple curry.

I nearly chickened out because I really wasn’t sure how it would go down with the family, I am glad that I didn’t because it was delicious.  One of the best new things I had come up with in a while.

You will need to make or buy some Baharat Spice Mix, I bought mine initially but have since made some for myself.  It is a traditional Middle Eastern spice blend but works well in a curry because the spices are fairly consistent with the spices used in the Indian cooking from some regions.

I added chicken to keep my troop happy but it would be equally good as a full on vegetarian dish.  You could serve it with some rice but I didn’t bother because the potatoes and chickpeas make it pretty carbohydrate dense already.  I use coconut oil, olive oil or butter for all my cooking.  Feel free to switch for something else if you don’t have coconut oil available but I do recommend staying away from seed and vegetable oils, especially for high heat cooking.

Ingredients – Serves 6 with chicken, 4 without.

2 chicken breasts (about 500g), cut into good sized chunks.

1 large bunch spinach, well washed

600g baby potatoes, steamed and halved

1 Tbs Baharat spice

1-2 long red chillies

2 large cloves garlic

4-5 cm piece ginger

1 Tbs coconut oil

1 Tin chopped tomatoes

1 Tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Method

Chop the chicken and mix with the Baharat spice.  If you aren’t using chicken then tossed the halved, steamed potatoes in it and pop to the side.

Remove any dodgy leaves, trim the raggedy ends and scan the spinach for wildlife.  Chop the leaves and stems into about 1cm pieces, throw all the damp spinach into a large saucepan over low heat with the lid on to wilt.  You will probably have to turn it with tongs a couple of times.  Make sure that you catch it before it turns into sludge and tip it into a waiting colander to drain excess water and cool.

Blitz the chillies, garlic and ginger together to make a paste.

Heat the coconut oil in a large wok and chuck in the potatoes.  Cook the potatoes until they start to develop some crusty bits before removing them to waiting bowl.  Throw in the chicken and toss that around for a bit and then add the garlic, chilli and ginger and cook until the chicken is pretty much done.

Add in the tomatoes, chickpeas and potatoes and bring it all to a simmer.  Once you are happy that the chicken is cooked add the spinach and mix it all together.

Serve straight to the table.  I use the base of a bamboo steamer to balance my wok in.

You might like to accompany with some rice, a couple of poppadums or a cucumber yoghurt raita.  A dollop of mango chutney would probably work a treat too.

I’m not kidding about how good this is.  I will be making it again, repeatedly.  I am sure that my family will get used to the addition of spinach to a curry eventually (I think it was the best thing about it!).

Tatum xx

No Noodle Chow Mein

Another trip to site for work recently meant another set of dinner instructions for Woody.  The response to the email:

‘I’m a guinea pig again aren’t I?’

‘Maybe’ was my reply.

He knows me well.

With a fridge full of veggies including a Wombok that was begging to be used noodle-less Chow Mein was the order of the day because it is easy and I had a hankering for something flavoured with Chinese 5 Spice.  It was a hit with the kids.  Mr S gobbled it up and gave it lots of thumbs up.  He didn’t even look sideways at the green vegetables and tucked right in.

I always include plenty of veggies in our meals.  I don’t go out of my way to ‘hide’ them nor do I make a big deal out of them.  Over the years there is often a lack of consistency to which veggies the kids will and won’t eat but that is true for food in general.  However if it is cooked well and the flavours are appealing then I definitely have more hits than misses in terms of what gets eaten.

I had planned this for what I thought was pork mince but it turned out to be turkey mince.  Chicken mince or even beef will work well here too.  Feel free to vary your vegetables depending on what you have on hand.  The big pile of shredded cabbage fills the dish out without having to muck around with cooking noodles separately and the cabbage does a great job of soaking up the flavour.

Chow Mein – Serves 4-6

There is 500g pork mince in the fridge, top shelf in the bowl (turns out it was actually turkey, even better).

Half fill the little sink with cold water.

Cut the wombok in half and put it in the water with

1 red capsicum &

2 big carrots or 4 of the small ones

The bag of snow peas (about 150g)

Other stuff you need:

Get a tin of water chestnuts from the IGA if you aren’t too late picking up the kids.

About half of the fresh ginger that is in the fridge + 2 of the chillies

Coconut Oil, there is a new jar in the pantry

Chinese 5 Spice Powder

Light Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

What to do next

Peel the carrots and put them through the spirooli

Top & tail the snow peas and cut them cross ways in to 1cm-ish pieces.  You do not need a ruler for this step.

Dice the capsicum.

Drain the water chestnuts (if using)

Remove the base from the cabbage and chop it crossways

Peel and grate the ginger and finely slice the chillies (I don’t know how hot they are so exercise caution)

Aim for dinner at 7 so you will need to start cooking at about 6.50

Heat 1 Tbs Coconut Oil in the wok.

Throw in the ginger and chilli and cook them quickly until fragrant then add the pork with 2 tsp Chinese 5 spice (don’t go overboard here).

When the pork is starting to brown throw in the carrot and diced capsicum.

Cook for another minute or two and add the snow peas and water chestnuts when the pork is nearly done.

Finish by adding the cabbage with ½ cup water and 3Tbs Soy to taste + 2 tsp sesame oil.

Serve it in the big bowls with chopsticks with some kecap manis drizzled over.

Tatum xx

Spicy Chicken Noodles

This is an all time favourite for eating sitting on the couch, just Steven and I.  Accompany with a glass of wine or some cider for an evening of chilled out bliss.

Spicy Chicken Noodles - Serves 2 with leftovers for lunch

Ingredients

300g Chicken Thighs
1/3 cup Red Curry Paste
1 Tbs Coconut Oil
1 Bunch Spring Onions, cut into 1" pieces
1 red capsicum, cut into strips
200g dried rice stick flat (pad thai) noodles, cooked according to packet directions
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Eggs, lightly beanten
Small bunch of coriander, washed and roots cut off
2 red chilli, sliced

Method

Cut chicken into bite size pieces, mix with red curry paste and put aside while you prepare the onions and capsicum

Heat Oil in wok and cook chicken when it is nice and hot.  Add Capsicum then spring onions when the capsicum is starting to soften.  Thrown in most of the sliced chilli but reserve a few pieces to add at the end.

Add soy sauce and stir in cooked noodles and then stir through lightly beaten eggs until cooked.  Add coriander before serving and serve with wedges of lime.

So much better than takeaway could ever be, it is fresh and zingy and so so good.

Tatum xx

Chicken Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of those things that my whole family love but I don't think to make it nearly often enough.  I usually turn to fried rice when I'm struggling a bit for what to cook, a bit short on meat in the freezer and can't be bothered going to the supermarket.

One of the great things about fried rice is that you can throw in whatever veggies you have in the fridge, it's still a substantial meal without the chicken and best of all the kids gobble it up.

If you don't have a small tribe like I do then you will have extra for lunches.  Winning.

Chicken Fried Rice - Serves 6

Ingredients

3 cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice (I cook it in bulk and stash it in the freezer in 3 cup portions for our family of 6 )

400g chicken breast or chicken thigh cut into strips

1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and chopped into short pieces

2 carrots, peeled and grated

5cm ginger, peeled and grated

1 tin baby corn, halved lengthways

1 cup peas

Head of broccoli cut into small florets

3 eggs

2 tsp fish sauce

2Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs Indonesian soy sauce

Method

I am pretty lazy about the way I make my fried rice.

Heat some coconut oil in a wok and cook the chicken once it is done pop it into a bowl while you get on with cooking everything else.

Throw in the onions the onions and cook until softening

Add rice, corn, ginger and broccoli, turning continuously to incorporate everything together

Add carrot and peas and keep stirring all together

Add your chicken back in followed by the rice

Add your sauces and a splash of water if things are getting to dry, you want to create some steam at this point.  Feel free to adjust your sauces to your taste.  Substitute 1Tbs oyster sauce for the fish sauce if you aren't a fan.  Personally I love the smelly socks-ness of it.

Once everything is starting to come together crack in your eggs and stir everything together (another lazy aspect...stirring in the egg at the end rather than making omlette and slicing).

My fried rice has a nice stick-together texture that I love.

Enjoy!  Perfect yummy stuff for a quick and easy mid week dinner that is ready faster than you can pick up takeaway.

Tatum xx