GINGER BEEF with VERMICELLI NOODLES

Another vermicelli salad & meat dish; like I said in my last blog post I could eat this type of food for the rest of my life. You can swap the vegetables in the ingredients list around for what you have in your fridge; perhaps carrots, red cabbage, beans and / or radishes could make the list. I cannot eat vermicelli without a dressing of some sort, so here is my simplest, lowest calorie dressing for you. Again, this started out as a Michelle Bridges recipe, however it has been greatly adapted to fit the ingredients available in my kitchen and to lower the calorie intake.

Ingredients

• 60g vermicelli noodles
• 3cm fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons rice bran oil / sesame oil
• 400g lean beef fillet, cut into even strips
• 1 lebanese cucumber (150g), finely chopped
• 1 tomato (120g), finely chopped
• 70g bean sprouts
• 10g green shallots, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves (10g), finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce 
• 1 lime, juiced 

Cooking 

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and add noodles. Cook, breaking apart the noodles with a fork for a few minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and drain under cold water. Set aside. 

2. Meanwhile, combine the ginger, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon oil in a medium bowl. Add the beef strips and stir well to combine. Leave to marinate for 5 minutes. 

3. Whilst the steak is marinating, toss the cucumber, tomato, sprouts, shallots, coriander and cooked noodles in a large serving bowl. Make the dressing by stirring the 1 tablespoon soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice in a small bowl. 

4. Once the steak has been left for 5 minutes, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add the other teaspoon of oil. Add the steak to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until the steak is rare. Turn off the heat and leave the steak to cook for a couple more minutes in the pan. 

5. Add the cooked steak to the noodles and drizzle the dressing on top. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

Total Calories / 459 a serve 

x Emily 

PUMPKIN, BROCCOLI & MISO SOUP

This recipe came to be after my inventive friend Tahnee told me that she paired soba noodles with pumpkin the other day. Soba, udon or ramen noodles work beautifully with this dish, as do rice vermicelli noodles that I have used here. I like using these noodles as they are gluten-free friendly, very inexpensive and light. The pumpkin and broccoli work nicely together and add texture and flavour to the miso broth. One piece of advice - go easy on the miso paste. Start dissolving 2 tablespoons of paste in 5 cups of water and taste. If it is too weak slowly add more miso paste but at a tablespoon at a time rate rate; different brands of miso paste can vary widely in their saltness. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil / coconut oil
• 3-4cm fresh ginger, finely grated
• 3 green shallots, finely chopped, plus extra to serve 
• 400g pumpkin, skin cut off and cut into small even pieces
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into even sized florets & stalk thinly sliced 
• 3-4 tablespoons miso paste 
• 100g rice vermicelli noodles 
• Optional - fresh coriander, to serve  

COOKING 

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the ginger and shallots to the pan and stir for 2 minutes, until the air is fragrant. Add the pumpkin to the pan and stir well to combine, reducing the heat to low. Leave to cook for 4 minutes. 

2. Whilst the pumpkin is cooking, place the miso paste in a large bowl and add 5 cups of boiling hot water. Stir well with a large spoon to combine the paste and the water and taste test. It is really up to you how much miso paste you use. As a general idea I use 3 tablespoons of miso paste and around 7-8 cups of water. 

3. When the paste has completely dissolved add the miso water to the pan and change the heat to a medium-high. Add the broccoli florets and stalks to the pan. Make sure that the water just covers the vegetables. Cover the saucepan and bring to the boil. 

4. When the water has boiled, add the noodles to the pan and stir, making sure the noodles do not stick together. The rice noodles should be tender 1-2 minutes after placing them in the pan. Make sure that the pumpkin and broccoli are just tender (they should be by this stage) and then remove the pan from the heat. 

Serve warm and sprinkled with extra shallots and coriander, if desired.  

Serves / 4

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

x Emily