stir-fried bean starch noodles

While bean starch noodles often appear in cold dishes such as salads, they are also served hot and highly seasoned. This is one of the quickest ways to get a tasty meal on the table, relying on the jar of Charmaine Solomon’s Thai Red Curry Paste I always have on hand in the refrigerator.

Serves 4

200g bean starch noodles

100g cooked meat, e.g. barbecued pork, chicken or Chinese sausage

2 tablespoons oil

2-3 tablespoons Charmaine Solomon’s Thai Red Curry Paste

100g small cooked prawns, peeled

6 spring onions, sliced

50g roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed

salt or fish sauce

a few sprigs of fresh coriander chopped

lime or lemon wedged for serving

Soak the noodles in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes. Drain. Depending on the thickness of the noodles, cook them in a pan of lightly salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes for fine bean threads or 8 minutes for the 3mm wide noodles. Drain well.

Slice the meats you are using, if using Chinese sausage, steam over boiling water for 5 minutes until swollen and soft. Slice diagonally.

Heat the oil in a wok, On medium heat fry the curry paste, stirring for 1 minute. Add the noodles and toss until the curry paste is evenly distributed over the noodles. Toss in the cooked meat and prawns, spring onions and half the peanuts. Strip-fry until the noodles are well mixed. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a little salt or fish sauce if required. Serve sprinkled with the remaining peanuts and the coriander. Lime or lemon wedges may be offered for squeezing over individual serves.

Note: I advise buying bean starch noodles in plastic net bags containing 8 small bundles of 50g each. If purchased in 500g hanks, they are fiddly to separate and have to be cut with scissors.