pan asian noodles

I love me a bit of Pan Asian cuisine. Wagamama and Dim T are two of my go-to chains if I fancy some noodles, ramen or rice and I've been keen to recreate something equally as tasty at home. I love to cook with the fresh, fragrant flavours of Asia - no heavy oil or deep frying needed! 

I've adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals book and merged with a couple of other recipes, it's so simple to throw together and really packs a punch flavour-wise. Here I've used chicken and prawns but we also have it with salmon, and Jamie Oliver's original recipe uses steak. Take your pick! 

You will need (for 2)

Dried egg noodles for two

3 chicken breasts

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Handful of prawns

1 tsp ginger paste

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red chilli, diced

3 spring onions, sliced

4 mushrooms, sliced

Juice of half a lime

Handful coriander, chopped

2 tbsp soy sauce (reduced salt)

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 pak choi

Start by coating your chicken in sesame seeds before frying a little oil or Fry Light. If you're using salmon, pop it in some foil and in the oven for about 20 minutes until cooked through. Rub a little five spice on if you fancy! Into the chicken throw in the garlic, ginger paste (I use this), chopped coriander, chilli, spring onions and mushrooms and the lime juice. Cook all together on a medium heat until the chicken is cooked through. 

In a separate pan cook your noodles in boiling water according to pack instructions. 

Add the soy sauce and hoisin sauce to the chicken and vegetables, stir through and then throw in your prawns (I use frozen cooked prawns, defrosted in a bowl of water) and pak choi. Leave to cook on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the pak choi has softened and prawns have turned pink and opaque. Drain the cooked noodles and stir into the pan with the chicken and sauce. Drizzle on a little more soy sauce if you think it needs it. Serve in warm bowls with another squeeze of lime juice.

Most of Jamie's 15 minute meals seem to take me far longer than 15 minutes to cook, but this really doesn't take long at all! There are a load of shortcuts you can take to ensure you have these ingredients ready to use after a busy day at work: ginger paste, frozen chopped chillis and garlic, freezing your own coriander cubes or this frozen coriander. I buy my frozen prawns from Lidl (around £2 something) which I keep in the freezer and just grab a handful when I need them. 

Slimming World syn values - 

Hoisin sauce - 2 syns per tablespoon (4 syns total)

Remember to split the syns between servings!