Every few months I make a trip to our local Asian Superstore (I'm lucky, we've got 2 massive ones within a 5 mile radius of my house) to stock up on bits and pieces. Supermarkets are getting better and you can find a lot of sauces in the world section now but they can't rival the variety you get in a dedicated store. Besides that, if you go to an Asian market you will get a large 700ml bottle for the price of (or often less than) a 200ml bottle in the supermarket.
I love wandering along the aisles and just marveling at the wonderful, and sometimes weird, ingredients you can find on the shelves. My pantry staples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Soy sauce (light and dark), Oyster sauce, Sweet chilli sauce, Spring roll dipping sauce, Teryaki sauce, Chinese Marinade, Sesame Oil (gives a lovely nutty flavour sprinkled over noodles), tons of noodles (egg, rice and 3-minute noodles), dried chilli (you can get a HUGE bag for a few pounds, just chop them up in the food processor for a supply of chilli flakes or add them whole to dishes to add extra spice), Hoisin paste and my favourite - Tom Yum paste.
Most Asian meals are quick to cook, nutritious and economical - a little bit of meat goes a long way chopped up finely and bulked out with lot's of fresh vegetables and noodles or rice. Here is one of our favourite quick fixes, a tasty bowl of noodle soup that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and always hits the spot:
Ingredients:
- 3-minute noodles (use any flavour you like)
- Tom Yum paste
- Ginger
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Cucumber
- Frozen Broccoli (or fresh if you happen to have some)
- Fresh coriander
Method (for 1 person):
1. Bring a bowl of water to the boil (I use my soup bowl to measure the exact amount of water I need) and quickly boil the broccoli to defrost
2. Remove the broccoli and add the noodles and seasoning that comes in the packet to the boiling water
3. Add a heaped tablespoon of tom yum paste and a clove of crushed garlic, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes
4. In the meantime, chop up your broccoli, cucumber, red onion, ginger and coriander
Once the timer goes after 3 minutes it is time to pour your soup into a serving bowl, add the vegetables and sprinkle with coriander.
Enjoy!
PS: Feel free to add any other vegetables you like or some prawns or left over shredded chicken for a meat version.
Have you got any quick and easy tasty meals to share?
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