Veg box chowmein

This was delicious.  It is also vegan, gluten free and easy.  Oh, and cheap.

Recipe:  open fridge, take out whatever vegetables are there - chop them up, stir fry/simmer with tasty stuff from cupboard. Scoff.

Oh, OK, this is what I did:-


Vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic crushed
small knob ginger, grated
2 leeks, sliced and washed
1 kholrabi
2 carrots
1 red pepper
Biggish pinch of chili flakes
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp Soy sauce (check GF if GF)
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
splash rice wine vinegar
water
2 tbsp peanut sauce
Handful baby spinach
Rice noodles
Sesame seeds

1.  Prep veg - cut into smallish pieces.
2.  Soften leeks in oil, after a minute or so chuck in other veg, garlic, ginger and chili flakes.  Stir round.
3.  Add about a pint of water and tomato puree, soy sauce, rice wine and rice wine vinegar.
4.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, let the sauce thicken up, but don't let it go completely dry - just add more water as you need it until the vegetables are just done.  Add peanut sauce when the vegetables are nearly cooked.
5.  Meanwhile boil the rice noodles.
6.  Drain noodles, add to vegetables with baby spinach.  Take of the heat and stir together until spinach leaves wilt.
7.  Sprinkle on sesame seeds.

Peanut, vegetable and rice noodle soup... does this have an exotic name?

Get me for health giving soup !... but what to call it?  Peanuts are the crunchy garnish, and used sparingly ... but the single ingredient which makes it a bit more interesting.  Broth with some noodles and vegetables...?  So, it's a chinese(ish) rice noodle soup with peanuts and chili.  You need a good chicken (or vegetable) stock for this because most of the flavour is in the very "thin" liquor.  Right, so here we go.  I made chicken stock from roast chicken carcass, but chucked in star anise, szechaun pepper corns, sprinkle of Chinese five spice, cumin seeds and a pinch of fennel seeds - after a couple of minutes chuck in tbsp rice wine/ sherry, season til proper tasty but not over powering...this is now "broth", keep it hot.  Actually, it's probably worth mentioning that in this case the roast chicken was roasted with shed loads of garlic and lemon, and the stock made with additional celery, carrot, onion (and some more garlic).  Heat stock/broth back up to boiling point.  Meanwhile - chop and prep solid bits of soup - in this case spring onion, red pepper, carrot, celery (chop finely to avoid aniseedy overload) and mushrooms... and a red chili.  Then, cook noodles as per packet instructions and chuck in veg to soften at appropriate point... ie water boils - noodles say 5 minutes - chuck in noodles, stir, bring back to boil add veg (keep some chili and spring onion or other yummy veg (beansprouts, mange tout.... for garnish), bring back to boil for 3 minutes... drain.  When ready to serve pile noodles and veg in bowls (top with stips of chicken for extra yummy meatiness, and if you have some) ladel over hot broth.  Sprinkle on garnish - chili rings, spring onion, coriander, basil, chopped roasted peanuts, gold leaf... you choose  :).  I liked it, and had seconds, victim agreed the flavours are OK - but declares preference for egg noodles.  I get the point, as the thinner rice noodles are a bit slimey - but, from diet balance/ allergy/ variety etc... rice noodles are worth understanding and using where they are nutritiuous and tasty/ a carrier for tastes.

Anyway... clean, hot, balanced... but not victim's favourite.