Singapore Noodles

Wok cooking gets more complicated the more you try to cook. This is for one portion, however you can cook safely up to two portions at a time if your wok is big enough. I wouldn’t risk more than two portions in a wok at once.

Woks are about heat management and if the wok can’t get hot enough due to too much ingredients, its ruined from the get go.

• teaspoon Dark soy sauce
• tablespoon light soy sauce
• Good pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons Curry powder
• 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Fresh birdseye chilli
• 2 teaspoon water
• 1 egg
• Half white onion
• Half a red pepper
• 2 spring onions
• Half tin of bean sprouts
• 1 portion vermicelli noodles, dry
• 6 large (uncooked) prawns, deshelled
• Vegetable oil (preferably in a squeezy bottle for control)

Before anything boil a kettle and fill a large bowl or pan with boiling water (but don’t heat that up!). Place the noodles in the hot water for 3 minutes. Using a birdsnest sieve out the noodles and place on a dry clean tea towel. Spread them out roughly and leave to dry for 10 minutes. This is crucial!

Slice the whites of the spring onions, the length is your choice but I like around half an inch long and then sliced lengthways. With the greens, slice them length ways. Place the greens in ice cold water.

Firstly make the sauce by mixing the curry powder, chilli powder and turmeric in a ramekin. Add the light and dark soy and mix to a paste. Add the water to thin it out and the salt. Finally add the sesame oil. The oil helps lubricate the sauce against the noodles and gives a nice flavour. Mix well.

Now arrange on a large plate, starting at the top (12 oclock) in a clockwise order the egg, the thinly sliced onion, the red pepper sliced lengthways into strips, and then slice the red pepper strips in half. Next, now at about 5 oclock on the plate, the prawns, followed by the bean sprouts.

Next on the plate after the sprouts place the vermicelli noodles and finally, the whites of the spring onions.

Get your wok very hot (smoking hot) and add some vegetable oil. I find managing a wok is best done with a large metal ladle. Using the back of the ladle in the oil move it in circles coating the bottom of the wok.

Wok cooking is very fast, so put your plate laid out with your ingredients close by, with the egg at the top (12 oclock). You are going to work around the plate, clockwise. This makes knowing what ingredient comes next easy as you won’t have much time!

Crack the egg into the middle of the wok. Let it fry up and bubble a bit so the white has gone…. white. Now start breaking the yolk up and mix it with the white, breaking it all up, quickly now, push the egg up the side of the wok and out of the way.

Next - onions. If there is oil still from before thats great otherwise add a squeeze and work it with the back of the ladle again. Push the sliced onion around and make a bed of onion. Flick the egg ontop of the onions so it doesn’t burn. Give the onions 10 seconds and mix it all up. Push up the side of the wok.

At this point you probably need more oil - add some, swirl it around and add the peppers, make a bed and bring the onion/egg ontop. Wait 10 seconds, give it a flick around mix them all up and push up the side.

Prawns. Check if you have some oil, add the prawns, keep them moving bring the pepper/onion/egg mix over the top and watch as the prawns turn pinkish and translucent - push up the side of the wok.

Bean sprouts (add oil if necessary)- add, make a bed, bring the mix over the top, not too long they cook very fast, mix it up, give it a toss to bring some cool air in and push up the side.

Noodles will definately need a bit more oil, add them, press them down slightly and bring everything over and on top. This ones the tricky one. Move the wok in circles while using the ladle to quickly mix back and forth everything. Getting the noodles/mix to ingredients well together and not have two seperate piles is tricky, but this technique works well along with tossying the mix. To toss its slow forward motion, fast flick backwards. Don’t worry about mess, thats half the fun. Remember tossing the food will cool it down so the round and forward technique is better here.

Ok check your sauce, it might need another stir so its all mixed well and liquid. Add this into a large area of bare noodles. Quickly now wok in circles, spoon back and forth it should start to look well mixed, add the spring onions and turn out onto a plate/bowl. Garnish with the ice cold greens of the spring onions. Boom.