Peanut ramen

January 13, 2019October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

If I hear the word Veganuary one more time, I’m going to stuff my ears full of cauliflowers. Yes, I know I’m vegetarian, but I don’t bang on about it constantly to anyone who’ll listen. In fact, in my experience, the opposite is true.
“What? So you don’t eat chicken?”
“Nope.” I smile faintly, trying to attract the waiter’s eye.
“Not even lamb?”
“Nope,” I reply again, as I swig from my empty wine glass.
“But what about bacon? Surely you’ve eaten bacon?”
“Nope, never eaten bacon,” I say, exasperatedly “Scuse me? Can we get another bottle of red for the table, please?”
“So, you’ve never even tried a bacon sandwich?”
Ugh, why do I always get sat on the weirdo table at weddings? I think, as I continue to shake my head to this awful man’s line of questioning. Finally, my starter arrives, but instead of leaving me alone, he surveys it carefully before diving his fork in and telling me how surprisingly delicious it is. Who invited this guy?

Anyway, my point is that I’m always so baffled that anyone even cares what I eat? I couldn’t care less what other people eat, so when someone who has been vegan for like, a day, tries to lecture me about the dairy industry, forgive me for walking off. That being said, all this talk of Veganuary must have seeped into my subconscious, because I created this gorgeous bowl of vegan deliciousness. So, on that premise, Happy Veganuary everyone!

Peanut ramen
Serves 2 / Hands on time 30 mins / Total time 30 mins / V Vn* Df
1 tsp sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
Knob of ginger (1 inch), grated
1 tbs Thai green curry paste*, I use Blue Dragon
1 can light coconut milk (you can use full fat but I find it makes the sauce too thick)
300ml vegetable stock, I use ½ a Knorr stock pot
2 ½ tbs crunchy peanut butter
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tsp palm sugar or granulated sugar
1 nest of rice noodles* or egg noodles
1 lime, cut into quarters
150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 large bulb pak choi, cut into strips
2 spring onions, chopped
Handful fresh coriander to serve

Method
1. In a large saucepan over a medium heat, add 1 tsp of sesame oil. Once warm, add the chopped garlic along with the grated ginger and cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously.
2. Add a dash of water along with the Thai curry paste and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes stirring continuously. Add the coconut milk and the peanut butter – the peanut butter will need little help to be incorporated so gently work it against the side of the saucepan using the back of your spoon until dissolved.
3. Add the vegetable stock, soy sauce, palm sugar and the juice of half a lime before mixing well and bringing to the boil. Once boiling, reduce and simmer for 5 minutes. Use this time to slice the mushrooms and the pak choi.
4. Add the mushrooms and the pak choi to the sauce and cook for a further few minutes before submerging the nest of noodles. Cook the noodles according to the packet instruction in the sauce (usually 3-5 minutes, depending on what noodles you’ve gone for).
5. Finally, spoon into bowls and serve topped with chopped spring onions, fresh coriander and lime wedges.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Vn*– Vegan’s please substitute egg noodles for rice noodles Df– Dairy free
* Some Thai green curry pastes contain crustaceans and fish. I use Blue Dragon which does not.

Soba noodle miso bowls

March 6, 2017January 25, 2021 ~ Corrie ~ 9 Comments

Not much happened this week, oh apart from me getting A NEW JOB! Yes that’s right, you’re now looking at the new Art Editor of Sainsbury’s Magazine, boo-ya! Bring on type 2 diabetes and inevitable weight gain.
I’m very excited but a little sad to be leaving the world of celebrity, although I won’t miss Kim Kardashian – I know far too much about her lady parts than I care to… No, I wasn’t previously her surgeon, I was in fact Art and Food Editor of celebrity gossip magazine, heat. So I’ll be swapping celebrity shoots with the likes of (not Kim Kardashian) Charlotte Crosby and Olly Murs for food shoots and a life of eating. To say I’m excited doesn’t quite cover it. So let’s celebrate me becoming a proper grown up, with a grown up job and a financial adviser and everything, with this delightful bowl of noodles. Considering I made this very hungover, I think it turned out quite well.

Soba noodle miso bowls
Serves 2 / Takes 30 minutes / V Vn* Df
700ml boiling water
1 vegetable stock pot or cube, I use 1 Knorr
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs miso paste
100g button mushrooms or any other variety of mushroom you may have
2 handfuls cavolo nero or kale, roughly chopped
2 eggs, boiled (optional)
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 shallot or ½ a medium sized onion, finely sliced
1 knob of ginger, grated
2 nest of soba or fine egg noodles
Small handful of mint, chopped
1 lime
De-seeded red chilli, sliced (optional)
Black sesame seeds (optional)

*Vegan: The eggs in the soup are entirely optional. I make it frequently without and it’s just as delicious so if you’re vegan, leave them out.

Method
1. Boil a full kettle and put two eggs in a medium sized saucepan (you will also be using this saucepan to cook the noodles later). Cover with boiling water and simmer over a low to medium heat to hard boil them.
2. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the shallot and grate the ginger. Fry together in a small frying pan in a tsp of sesame oil until soft with the lid on. Once cooked, take off the heat and put to one side.
3. In a large saucepan, pour 700ml boiling water over the vegetable stock pot, miso paste and soy sauce. Give it a good stir and bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Half the button mushrooms and roughly chop the cavolo nero and add to the simmering broth.
4. Meanwhile chop a handful of fresh mint and put to one side. By now the eggs should be hard boiled. Remove from the simmering water with a slotted spoon but leave the water in the pan for the noodles. Pop the eggs in a bowl and leave under a running cold tap until cool. Put to one side.
5. In the same simmering water you cooked the eggs in, submerge the noodles and simmer according to the packet instructions. Drain and give them a blast of cold water to cool then down (this prevents them from continuing to cook). Divide the cold noodles into bowls.
6. Peel the eggs and cut them in half before pouring the mushroom and cavolo nero broth over the noodles. Submerge the eggs into soup and top with the ginger fried onions, freshly chopped mint and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds. Squeeze over the lime wedges and a chopped deseeded red chilli to serve
(optional).

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Df– Dairy free

Ramen eggs

June 13, 2016January 20, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

I recently watched a documentary called ‘Miso Hungry‘ which made me a bit obsessed with Japanese food. Fat comedian, Craig Anderson, swaps his junk food-laden diet, for nothing but traditional Japanese cooking for 12 weeks, in a bid to shed a few pounds. It’s no secret that the Japanese live the longest healthiest lives in the developed world, but is it as easy as swapping a burger for a bowl of natto? Of course it’s not – that’s why it’s so funny.

Anyway, not only is Japanese food slimming and healthy, it’s lovely and cold. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s been like a hundred degrees in London this week, which has turned my little Camden flat into a fully functioning oven. So when you live in an oven, turning the actual oven on is frankly suicide, especially when you look and feel like a fat manatee. I really should lay off the crumpets.
Anyway, ramen eggs are delicious, nutritious and definitely worth trying. They’re easy to make and are a great addition to any lunch box. I personally like to eat mine drunk after a night out.

Ramen eggs
Makes 4 / Hands on time 15 mins / Total time 15 mins + cooling and marinating V Df
You’ll need: Ice and a sandwich bag
4 eggs (fresh eggs are harder to peel once boiled, so I recommend using eggs that are a little older and need using up)
10 tbs of water
6 tbs of light soy sauce
4 tbs of mirin

TIP: Keep refrigerated on the liquid and consume within 1 week.

Method
1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and turn down to a simmer. Carefully immerse your eggs in the water and cook for 8 minutes. Whilst boiling, prepare a bowl of iced water.
2. Once boiled, remove the eggs carefully and place in the iced water and cool for a minimum of 30 mins (the longer you leave them, the easier they are to peel).
3. Meanwhile, put a small sandwich bag in a small bowl and fill the bag with the water, soy sauce and mirin. Put to one side.
4. Once the eggs have fully cooled, carefully peel them and pop them straight into the bag with the marinade. Make sure the eggs are well immersed in the liquid before twisting the bag and tying either in a knot or with an elastic band. Place the bag back in the bowl and leave in the fridge, preferably for 12 hours. Cut them in half and enjoy cold.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian. Df – Dairy free

Noodle soup

April 8, 2016January 24, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 1 Comment

Everyone loves noodles and everyone loves soup. What everyone doesn’t love, are flecks of soup all over your nice new blouse. It’s a messy bugger to eat but we’ll forgive you noodle soup because you’re so tasty and quick to make. In my opinion, this recipe is worth ruining your best blouse for but if you’re precious about your clothes, pop on an old t-shirt and get stuck in. Alternatively, you could try not eating your soup like a messy hippo by daintily leaning your head over the bowl to prevent splash back. It’s up to you but personally, I’m a hippo.

Noodle Soup
Serves 2 / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 20 mins / V Df
2 nests fine egg noodles
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
2 handfuls of kale
2 bulbs pak choy, sliced
½ tsp of chilli flakes
Handful of sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
2 vegetable stock pots, I use Knorr
Dressing
1 lime
4 tbs light soy sauce
2 pinches of caster sugar
Knob of fresh ginger, finely grated
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 handfuls fresh coriander, chopped
4 spring onions, chopped

Method
1. In 2 medium sized saucepans, place an individual nest of noodles into each. Finely chop the carrot, sugar snap peas and cut the pak choy into strips. Evenly distribute between both pans and add a handful of kale and a stock pot into each pan. Put to one side.
2. In 2 separate ramekins, make the dressing by adding 2 tbs of soy sauce to each along a pinch of sugar, half the fresh ginger, half the crushed garlic and the juice of half a lime. Give each a little stir until combined.
3. Chop the spring onions along with the coriander and put to one side.
4. Boil a kettle and pour the boiling water over the noodles in the saucepan until covered before bringing to the boil. Give each saucepan a stir to encourage the stock pot to infuse and simmer for a few minutes until the noodles are cooked and the vegetables are tender.
5. Carefully tip each soup into a large bowl, pour over the dressing and top with fresh coriander and spring onions.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian. Df – Dairy free