Dishes to cook on lazy evenings
If only we all rushed home every evening brimming with enthusiasm for making dinner! After a long day of cooking and planning AC parties, we often find it easier to reach for a takeaway menu or ready meal. In an effort to avoid this, our chefs and staff will spill the beans on their favourite quick-fix meals over the next few months. We hope you enjoy reading and trying them for yourselves and look forward to hearing how you got on. Don’t forget to check the blog for more recipes.
First up is from our Head Chef Andy Ritchie (tested by Lynn Asghar)
Chicken Ban Mein
(A Vietnamese noodle salad, usually served cold but also works warm)
Serves 2
Lynn’s completed dish
This super easy recipe is both healthy and speedy, especially if like me, you make the dressing in advance because it improves with age and can be stored in the fridge for over a week. You can also use up any leftover cold meats but remember that the calories will increase.
Recipe
Dressing
1 tsp light soy
1 tsp mirrin
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 garlic clove finley chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 lime juced
Dried or fresh chilli to taste
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
Salad
200g beansprouts
Half cucumber cut into batons
3 spring onions sliced
Half bunch corriander
1 small carrot grated or cut into batons
Crushed peanuts
1 chicken breast roasted for 12-15 minutes, cool and shred (you can have this ready in your fridge).
Crispy shallot rings available in any Asian supermarket (if you’ve planned to make this ahead)
Method
- Combine the salad ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Mix these ingredients with the dressing.
- Boil water for the noodles.
- Add 1 roll of soba pre-portioned noodles per person or 2 if you are very hungry!
- Simmer for 3 minutes; cool slightly in running cold water, it’s OK if the noodles are slightly warm.
- Mix everything together, serve and enjoy.
Lynn’s notes
This was made on a Monday after work with leftover chicken. I had to use gluten free rice noodles and the cucumber should have been sliced more elegantly but my helper (you know who you are) didn’t care for it, so left it in chunks! The whole dish had great flavour and was quick to assemble. I upped the salad quantities for 4 but should have made more of the sauce. One can never have enough!