Recipe: Singapore noodles [Vegan, easy]
There is enormous variation in Singapore noodle recipes and this recipe cannot claim to be in any way authentic—I’ve followed Felicity Cloake (who has an fantastic column in the Guardian), for example, in adding peas, which provide nice greenery and a fresh flavour, but which I highly doubt are authentic. Nevertheless, these noodles really do taste frightfully good and are quick and easy. The key to stir frying with success is in the ‘mis en place’, that is, the pre-preparation of all the elements so that as soon as they are needed they can be whacked into the wok or pan. In general it is not necessary to ever turn the heat down and the pan should sizzle fiercely almost constantly. Singapore noodles are distinctive for their almost unnaturally yellow colour, which is achieved by the large amount of curry powder in the recipe so be generous with it. This is a vegan recipe, unless you want to add the egg for more protein and texture.
Ingredients (serves 2):
125g vermicelli or otherwise thin noodles 50g tofu, cut into small cubes 1 x red pepper, sliced 50g white or shiitake mushroom, sliced A good handful of peas 1 x spring onion, sliced 1 x green chilli, deseeded, finely chopped 2 x cloves of garlic, crushed 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce (see tips) 3 tsp tbsp curry powder A small hand of root ginger, grated 4 tbsp oil 1 x egg, beaten (entirely optional)
Method:
1. Boil the kettle. Pour boiling water over the noodles and leave to stand for 5 minutes or so. Then drain well and sprinkle over the curry powder. Set aside until needed.
2. Heat the oil in the bottom of a wok or a very large frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the crushed garlic, grated ginger and the chilli. Fry until fragrant.
3. Now add the vegetables, the rule is to add the ones that want the most cooking first. In this case, add tofu, then the red pepper, followed by the mushrooms and then the peas—stir constantly, if things are kept on the move they won’t catch and burn. Do not add the spring onions at this stage.
4. (If you are using the egg, push everything over to one side of the wok, then add the egg to the other side and leave it until its almost set. When it’s just undercooked, vigorously stir everything together so that you get little pieces of egg all through the vegetables.)
5. You can now add the noodles to the pan and the teriyaki sauce—let everything heat through.
6. At the last moment, add the spring onions. Give everything a good toss and serve immediately.
Tips: you can make your own teriyaki sauce very easily with a combination of soy sauce, rice wine, sugar and a small amount of vinegar. All chillies vary in intensity. Whenever you are following a recipe that uses chillies, fresh or otherwise, take a small amount of the chilli and taste it. This will give you an idea of how hot it is and therefore how much you will need for your preference. If possible, find a large and very mild chilli, this is because chillies have a wonderful flavour, as well as the compound that gives them their spice. Many dishes are improved by the flavour of chilli even if one does not want the finished dish to be hot.
What to avoid: don’t be tempted to blanche your noodles for too long or they will make the finished dish stodgy. They only need to be ‘woken up’ from their dried state before you add them to the stir fry.