Yaki Udon Noodles & Five Spice Pak Choi

Who doesn't love a bowl of comforting vegetable noodles? This soft udon noodle version is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, Marinated tofu is tossed with the pak choi in a chilli, ginger, mirin and spiced ketjap manis sauce. Umami all the way!

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Halve, peel and thinly slice the onion.

Step 2

Slice the tofu into small cubes.

Step 3

Separate the pak choi leaves. If the pak choi leaves are large, split them lengthways.

Step 4

Put a medium saucepan of water on to boil.

Step 5

Peel and finely grate the garlic and ginger. Slice the chilli into thin rings - use as much as you like to your taste for heat.

Step 6

In a dry wok or large frying pan, toast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes until they are smelling fragrant, then transfer them to a plate.

Step 7

In a small bowl, mix the mirin, Worcester sauce, half the pack of ketjap manis and half the pack (½ tbsp) of sesame oil. You can add a pinch or two of sugar from your store-cupboard too if you like, but as you have a sweeter soy in the ketjap manis here, it's not essential. Set aside for now.

Step 8

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the wok or large frying pan. Gently stir-fry the onion on a medium heat, not too high, for approx. 5 minutes or so, until softened. Transfer to a plate for a moment.

Step 9

Meanwhile, boil the udon noodles for 8-9 minutes, until just tender, then drain them in the sieve. Keep the empty saucepan on the hob but off the heat.

Step 10

Give the wok or frying pan a little wipe. Add 1 tbsp of oil, then heat it again to a high heat and stir-fry the tofu for a couple of minutes, until it starts to crisp. Turn the heat down a little, add the pak choi, fry for a further 2 minutes. Toss in the garlic, ginger and five- spice; stir-fry for a couple minutes more - the pak choi stalks will retain a good bite. Stir in the onion, check the seasoning, then transfer it all to the saucepan the noodles were cooked in to keep it warm.

Step 11

Quickly add the cooked noodles to the wok or frying pan, with the sauce in the small bowl, and stir-fry to coat the noodles and let everything get a little sticky. Taste and add more ketjap manis to your liking.

Step 12

Serve the noodles with the tofu and pak choi, drizzled with remaining sesame oil and scattered with sesame seeds and chilli to your taste