SPEEDY STIR FRY (WITH A KICK)

I love Asian food. I believe it comes from the fact the last meal my mum ate before giving birth to me being a special Chow Mein from the chippy! The love of a good noodle dish is still with me to this day, I obviously inherited her good taste.

Today however, I much prefer a freshly homemade stir fry. Don't think you need to get in a shop bought stir fry sauce to enjoy one though, for a start they are expensive compared to making a fresh sauce and I find them to be too gloopy and thick. It's so much easier and tastier to make your own!

So what do you need. Check out my recipe below for a quick and fresh stir fry that you can russle up with all your store cupboard basics so you just have your protein and veg to buy in. I'm using Quorn pieces again for the old diet, feel free to replace it with any meat you fancy it'll work just as well.

Speedy Stir Fry (With a Kick) (serves 2)

Egg Noodles (Enough for Two)

2 Grated Garlic Cloves

2cm Piece Grated Ginger

1 Tsp Chili Flakes

1 Tsp Chinese 5 Spice

2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
A Splash White Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
A Splash Hot Sauce (Optional)

300g Quorn Pieces

Handfull Halved Button Mushrooms

Handfull Frozen Peas
1 Chopped Roasted Red Pepper

1 Bunch Chopped Spring Onions,

1. Cook up your noodles as per the instructions provided. Drain and leave to one side to cool whilst you prepare the stir fry.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, ginger, chillies, 5 spice, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup and the hot sauce. Tip in to a lightly oiled wok on a medium heat. Fry for one minute to let all ingredients flavors infuse into the oil.
3. Add in your Quorn pieces and fry for around 5 minutes until they start to soften.
4. Next, add in the mushroom and peas and fry for a further minutes until the mushrooms have softened slightly
5. Throw in the red pepper and spring onions and fry for just a minute to coat them in the sauce.
6. Finally throw in the noodles and give everything a mix so that everything is covered in the sauce. Transfer quickly to a plate and serve super hot.

Now I know I said the recipe used store cupboard basics so some of you might be wondering about the rice wine vinegar.  This is something you should always have in your cupboard ready for a stir fry or any Asian dish so do pick up a bottle next time your doing your weekly shop - it will last you quite a while and is well worth the investment.

With my stir fry I like a bit of crunch which is why I do not stir fry the

mushrooms or onions for long however, feel fry for longer particularly if you don't like a strong raw onion taste. As normal - you can replace any of the veg with anything you have knocking around the kitchen, just make sure you add them at the right time to cook them to your taste.

As for the chili, this recipe is someone who loves the kick it brings. If you like it a bit spicy, leave out the hot sauce or if you and chili are not friends at all, leave out it out altogether but I would add some extra 5 spice to make up for it.

If you do try this recipe I hope you agree with me that it's so much more tastier than a packet sauce. 

Get out your chopsticks and tuck in! 

"Qǐng xiǎngyòng!"