Homemade Chinese hand-pulled noodles are a favourite of mine, but when you want them quick, this cheat’s tip using fresh pasta works a treat. Add some garlic, some prawns, and some hot and spicy chilli oil and you’ve got a cracker of a dinner on your hands.
3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 garlic cloves, chopped
300g (10.5 oz) peeled and deveined prawns, tails removed, sliced in half lengthways
1 tbsp sesame seeds, plus extra to serve
4 tbsp Marion’s Kitchen Crispy Chilli Oil , plus extra to serve
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sweet dark soy sauce
¼ cup roughly chopped coriander (cilantro)
2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar*
375g (13 oz) packet fresh lasagne sheets
1 cucumber, sliced into long fine strips, to serve
- Heat a large pot of boiling water over high heat.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and prawns and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked. Add the sesame seeds and chilli oil. Stir-fry for a few seconds. Then add the soy sauce and sweet dark soy sauce. Stir-fry until just combined and the prawns are cooked. Turn the heat off. Add the coriander, spring onion, the chilli powder (if using) and the Chinese black vinegar. Set aside in the pan while you cook your noodles.
- Take the lasagne sheets out and rip them into haphazard-sized noodles. Add these to the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Use tongs to transfer the noodles to the prawns. Turn the heat up to high and cook, tossing until the sauce sticks to the noodles.
- Transfer into a bowl and serve immediately with cucumber. Drizzle with extra chilli oil and a sprinkle of extra sesame seeds if you like.
- Notes: – Also known as chinkiang vinegar, Chinese black vinegar can be bought from an Asian grocer or online. If you can’t find it in your area, use half white vinegar and half balsamic vinegar instead. – While this is my ‘cheat’s version’ for hand-pulled noodles, I do actually have a hand-pulled noodles recipe if you feel like a project.
