Chilli Garlic Noodles with Vegetables

Noodles are versatile and are the best when you want a quick dinner. Simply toss some veggies or meat in with some sauce and your meal is ready. One evening, at the grocery store, I found these vegetable noodles. They looked like the kind you make pad thai with. The flat and slightly thicker ones. I bought a packet for myself to make a quick dinner. It was a chilly evening and I knew I wanted something spicy, chilli garlic like, and easy to put together.

With our kind of faux Chinese food, we use a lot of sauces and condiments. Not that I mind it, but sometimes just one or two is enough. Like in these chilli garlic noodles with vegetables, besides soy, I used my homemade chilli garlic paste. It was just perfect. And all I did was stir-fry some veggies in some coconut oil and the chilli garlic paste, threw in the noodles and added some soy. A good stir and everything came together like a perfectly starry night. I slurped on these noodles while I watched old episodes of Masterchef Australia to get some ideas for what I wanted to cook on Sunday.

Ingredients:

Noodles – 100 gm (or as much as you want), cooked

Carrots – 1/2 cup cut into matchsticks or thin strips

Beans – 1/2 cup cut thinly

Ginger – 1 inch piece grated or minced

Coconut oil – 2 tsp

Soy sauce – 1 tbsp

Homemade chilli garlic paste – 3 tsp (Simply grind together dry roasted red chillies and a lot of garlic together with some water for the paste)

Basil – handful (optional)

Coriander leaves – handful chopped

Method:

Cook the noodles and keep aside. Save half a cup of the cooking water.

In a wok or a large pan, heat the coconut oil and saute the ginger and vegetables until slightly cooked. You still want a crunch on them.

Add the chilli garlic paste and give it a good mix. Add a splash of water if it looks too dry.

Tip the noodles in a combine everything well. Don’t break the noodles. Add the cooking water a small splash at a time depending on how wet or dry you want your noodles to be.

Give it a taste and add soy or chilli paste if needed. If you want to avoid soy, just add salt.

Add the basil and coriander leaves at this point. Turn the heat off.

Serve as it is.