Noodle dishes are a clever comfort food: they somehow manage to be both soothing and vibrant, bringing a welcome bright spell to any grey day.
This week, Peckish Pescy’s wholewheat noodles with prawns, crunchy green veg and satay sauce – a hugely satisfying riot of textures – did just that. As did Marmaduke Scarlet’s KL noodles (or hokkien mee), which were sweet, rich and utterly addictive (I polished off a double portion without even noticing).
If you’re roasting a chicken this weekend, I’d highly recommend ensuring you have enough leftovers to make TwinnyDip’s soba noodles with chicken in a cashew sesame dressing – almost preferable to the main event, and just what’s needed on a dank September day.
Outside of the “comfort” zone were two intriguing recipes: The Little Home Kitchen’s Vietnamese summer rolls stuffed with Sichuan pepper-crusted seared steak and Fadime Tiskaya’s faloodeh – a Persian frozen dessert made with vermicelli, sumac and lime.
This week’s winning recipe, though, is from Karen Austin. Her Thai‑inspired noodle fishcakes are crunchy, golden and flavourful. If you can’t find glass noodles, then rice vermicelli would work just as well.
The winning recipe: noodle fish cakes (pictured above)
The most challenging aspect of these Thai-inspired fishcakes is getting the noodles out of the packet and into the bowl! Mung bean vermicelli, also known as glass noodles, are almost impossible to break. I use scissors, but they still ping all over the place. The rest of the ingredients only have to be blitzed together to make these tasty morsels.
Karen Austin, West Cork
Serves 4
75g glass noodles
2 stems lemongrass, chopped
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
600g skinless white fish such as hake or haddock, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 egg
3-4 spring onions, thinly sliced
A handful fresh coriander, chopped
Vegetable oil
For the dipping sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
2-3 chillies, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp palm, caster or light brown sugar
1 Cover the noodles with boiling water for 5 minutes. Put the lemongrass, ginger and garlic into a food processor then whizz to a smooth puree. Add the fish and fish sauce, then whizz again until smooth. Add the egg, whizz again briefly, then tip into a mixing bowl.
2 Drain the noodles. Snip into small pieces around 1-2cm long, then mix through the fish paste with the spring onions and coriander.
3 Wet your hands and roll the paste into 16 pieces the size of golf balls. Heat a large frying pan. Add enough oil to just cover the bottom. Put the balls into the pan and gently flatten a little. Don’t overcrowd the pan: you’ll probably have to cook 2 or 3 batches. Leave to cook for 3-4 minutes per side on a medium-high heat. Don’t fiddle about with them, wait until there is a good crust before turning and cooking the other side.
4 While the fish cakes are cooking, mix together the dipping sauce ingredients. Then serve immediately.
Faloodeh
This is my version of this wonderful Persian dessert. It is somewhere between a sorbet and a granita. I flavoured mine with sumac, lime and rose water, a combination that really works, served with raspberries.
Fadime Tiskaya, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4
300g caster sugar
300ml boiling water
4 tbsp ground sumac
Juice and zest of 1 lime
70g thin rice noodles or vermicelli
2 tbsp rose water
A handful of raspberries or sour cherries, to serve
1 In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water, sumac and lime juice, then simmer over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Boil for a few minutes until it has reduced a little, then cool for 15 minutes to infuse.
2 In meantime, break or cut the noodles into very small pieces, pour over the boiling water and leave for about 5 minutes, until the noodles are soft. Drain and rinse under cold water.
3 Sieve the syrup through a sieve into a pan to get rid of some of the sumac, then return it to the hob. Bring to the boil and add the noodles. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the noodles are soft and tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in the rose water; let the syrup cool completely.
4 Transfer it to a glass dish and place it in the freezer. After 1 hour, remove from the freezer and stir with a fork. Return to freezer for another hour, and repeat the same again. Return it to the freezer until it has almost frozen and has a sorbet consistency. Stir one more time, then freeze for another 3-4 hours.
5 Rake it with a fork, scoop into bowls, then top with the lime zest and raspberries.
Prawn, mangetout and baby courgette satay noodles
This is a fabulously fresh noodle dish stir‑fried in a smooth and rich satay sauce. Made with wholewheat noodles and low-fat coconut milk, not only is this stir-fry healthy, it’s packed with protein, it’s quick and simple to make and it ticks off a couple of your five-a-day with its all the green veggies.
Peckish Pescy, via GuardianWitness
Serves 2
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
150g wholewheat noodles
75g cooked and peeled prawns
100g mangetout
125g baby courgettes, cut into quarters lengthways
A large handful of peanuts, crushed, to serve
Lemon or lime wedges, to serve
For the satay sauce
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp ginger, chopped
A dash of rice wine
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
200ml reduced-fat coconut milk
1 Put a large frying pan or wok on a medium heat and pour in the sunflower oil. Add the sliced onion and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly, until it begins to soften.
2 Meanwhile, make the paste. Put all of the satay sauce ingredients, except for the coconut milk, in a measuring jug or another high-edged container andwhizz together using a hand blender. This may take a little while, because the peanut butter is thick and sticky. After a minute or so of blending, the mixture should form a thick paste.
3 When the onion has softened, stir in the paste and fry for a 1-2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and stir often for a few minutes longer, until the paste has mixed in well and the milk turns a light-orange colour. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4 Boil the kettle and put the noodles in a bowl or some tupperware. Pour over the boiling water and use a fork to break up the noodles a bit, then leave to soften.
5 After you’ve left the sauce to simmer for a couple of minutes, add the mangetout and courgettes to the sauce and leave to cook for the remaining 10 minutes. Just before the end of the cooking time, add the prawns to the pan and stir into the sauce. Drain the noodles, then add to the pan, then mix well so they’re evenly dispersed with the veggies and prawns.
6 Serve in large bowls with a side of crushed peanuts and a wedge of lemon or lime.
KL hokkien mee (black noodles)
What I remember from my childhood visits to 1970s Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown – apart from the lights festooning the hawker stalls at night – is the noise: of mopeds put-putting as they wove through the alleys and the crowds of people in search of a meal, the sounds of hundreds of voices shouting over each other in Chinese. It’s the sound of the crackle and smoky sizzle of food as it slipped into hot oil. But most of all it’s the memory of my father’s favourite dishes, KL hokkien mee or black noodles. Mouthfuls of prawns, chicken and pork studding dark soy-coated noodles, and glistening with pork fat.
MarmadukeScarlet, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4
For the sauce
5 tbsp ketjap manis or dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light brown or palm sugar
½ tsp salt (or more to taste)
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp cornflour
For the noodles
800g precooked hokkien, udon, or any thick noodles
3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
150g chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
150g king prawns, peeled and deveined
½ a cabbage, cut into thin strips
Sambal belacan or chilli sauce, to serve
4 limes, halved, to serve
1 Whisk the black sauce ingredients together, then set aside. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions, then drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.
2 Heat the oil in a hot wok over a high heat. Stir-fry the garlic until golden brown – around 1 minute – then add the chicken. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the prawns. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
3 Next, add the sauce and bring to a boil. Add the noodles, mix with the sauce and gently stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the cabbage, and cook until just beginning to wilt. Serve topped with a dollop of chilli sambal or sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Roast chicken soba noodles with cashew and sesame dressing
Soba, which literally means buckwheat in Japanese, is a typical thin noodle from Japan. It has strong, distinct and nutty flavour and is great served chilled.
TwinnyDip, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4
For the dressing
125g unsalted cashew nuts, roasted
75ml water, plus more as required
25ml dark soy sauce
20ml sesame oil
20ml honey
1 tsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, sliced
A small pinch of chilli flakes, to taste
Salt, to taste
For the noodles
400g roast chicken meat only, shredded
400g uncooked soba noodles
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
60g roasted unsalted, roasted cashew nuts, lightly crushed
½ cucumber, julienned or cut into matchstick-strips
1 First, prepare the dressing. Place all the dressing ingredients in a blender, then blend until you obtain a smooth consistency. You may need to add more water if the dressing is too thick. Mix 6-7 tbsp of the sauce with the chicken. Allow it to marinate for 5-10 minutes, then set aside the remaining sauce.
2 Cook the soba noodles according to pack instructions, then drain and plunge into cold water to avoid further cooking. Change the water, if necessary, to make sure the noodles are completely cool.
3 Divide the noodles between 4 serving bowls and top each with chicken, cucumber, the remaining dressing that was set aside in step 1, the peanuts and spring onions, then serve.
Sichuan steak garden rolls
I’m clinging on to summer with fresh steak garden rolls.
The Little Home Kitchen, via GuardianWitness
Makes 10 rolls
50g nest vermicelli rice noodles
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
250g rump steak
10-12 Vietnamese rice wrappers
A large handful of Thai (or regular) basil leaves
A large handful of mint leaves
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks or julienned
3-4 spring onions, halved and cut into strips
For the dipping sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Cook the rice noodles until al dente, rinse with cold water then set to one side. Mix together the dipping sauce ingredients.
2 Rub the steak with the sesame oil and press the crushed sichuan peppercorns all over, then sear in a very hot pan for a couple of minutes each side, depending on the thickness of your steak, until medium rare.
3 Leave the steak to rest while you prepare the other filling ingredients. Fill a large, shallow bowl with water wide enough to fit the rice wrappers, then place a damp tea towel beside it, ready for the rolling stage.
4 Have each of the filling ingredients prepared and to hand, then slice up the steak into strips. Grab a rice wrapper and turn it around in the water, rubbing it with your fingers until it becomes pliable and floppy. Shake off any excess water, then place on the tea towel and begin to layer the fillings.
5 Start with one leaf of Thai basil and one leaf of mint, as they’ll show through the finished roll this way. Add a few strips of spring onion, a piece of carrot, one or two of the steak strips (depending on size) and a bundle of noodles. Fold the bottom of the wrapper over the filling. Fold in both sides and then roll it up. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
6 Mix the sauce ingredients together, then start dipping.
