When I’ve had a particularly busy or long day, sometimes the only thing that gets me through is the thought of a delicious dinner. I love cooking – it’s a great stress reliever for me, and trying out new recipes is one of my favourite pastimes.
However, we’ve all got those failsafe dishes that we come back to time and time again. And for me, that’s noodles. I have some form of noodles probably three times a week, and I’ve discovered an easy – and healthy – way to get them to taste like they’re straight from the takeaway.
I love a takeaway just as much as the next person, but let’s face it – they’re expensive, and you always feel rubbish after having one. For a treat they’re fine, but it’s not something you want to be doing every day.
Unfortunately though, they do taste great, which is why I’m so relieved I came across this this cooking tip from the experts at MOB Kitchen. They say that doing one thing with your vegetables before you cook the noodles should never be forgotten, as it’ll give your dish that classic smoky taste that’s associated with dining out.
You basically just need to cook your chosen vegetables – peppers and carrots sliced super-thin are usually my go-to – in a neutral oil like vegetable oil until they’re very charred, almost to the point of burning them.
Whenever I made noodles in the past, I’d always use olive oil, which caused my whole kitchen to fill up with smoke and the veggies would almost immediately burn to a crisp. This is why an oil with a lower smoke point is key here.
Then, once the veggies have a nice char on them, remove them from the pan and put them in a bowl. Douse them with sesame oil and leave them to sit whilst you do all of the other prep.
Sesame oil, which is a key ingredient in Asian cooking, adds so much flavour to the vegetables – especially after they’ve been charred. And leaving them to marinate for a while as you whip up a sauce and cook the noodles makes everything taste all the more delicious.
Once you’ve boiled your noodles and made a sauce – soy, ginger, honey, rice vinegar, garlic and chilli crisp is always a winning combo – all there’s left to do is whack everything together in a pan and mix over a very low heat until everything is combined.
Charring the veg might seem like a bit of a faff when you could just cook everything together, but I promise you will notice such a difference when you start doing it. Next time you find yourself itching to order a takeaway, try this instead and you’re guaranteed to love it.