These noodles take mere minutes to throw together, and you can pad them out with veg to make them go further and ramp up their nutritional value – I sometimes like to add a cupful of those small, diced, mixed frozen vegetables and some extra peas, too. Don’t be put off by the jar of salmon paste suggestion; I’ve found it to be a surprisingly versatile ingredient in speedy budget cookery, and it works well here.
Quick and spicy salmon noodles
Serves 1 hungry person with leftovers
100g onion or frozen sliced onions
1 tbsp fresh root ginger, grated
1 clove of garlic, grated
400ml full-fat coconut milk
1 stock cube
1 tbsp curry powder
a pinch of chilli, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1 x 170g tin of salmon or jar of salmon paste
100g dried noodles
70g frozen edamame beans or peas
a dash of lime or lemon juice
- Measure your onion into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic, and pour over the coconut milk. Crumble in the stock cube and add the curry powder, chilli and pepper.
- Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Drain the salmon and tip into the saucepan, or stir in the salmon paste. Stir well to combine, then cover and cook on a vigorous simmer for 4 minutes.
- Add the noodles and the edamame or peas and replace the lid. Continue to cook for 6 minutes at a slightly less vigorous simmer, then turn off the heat. Allow to stand for a few minutes for the sauce to thicken as it cools and the noodles continue to cook in the residual steam.
- Serve with a dash of lemon or lime juice and extra black pepper, to taste.
Jack Monroe’s Good Food for Bad Days, published by Pan Macmillan, is out now.
