🥘 Carole’s stir fry…

Nothing beats a stir fry for a quick, crunchy, colourful and healthy meal. Get the kids involved and they’ll be eating loads of vegetables and learning how to cook in no time.

Whilst you will obviously have to supervise the chopping and cooking of ingredients. There are many opportunities for children to learn about flavours of sauces and herbs and how long different vegetables take to cook.

🥘  2  🍽 Serves 4  🛒 up to 16 ingredients  ⏱ 20 minutes €6 V

Ingredients:

• 200g thin rice noodles
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
• 1/2 bunch of coriander
• 100g broccoli
• 1/2 red or yellow pepper
• 100g sugar snap peas
• 1 lime, sliced into 2 halves
• 1/2 fresh red chilli
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 100g baby spinach
• 2 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Step by step:

1. Cook the noodles to the packet instructions, then drain them in cold water to stop them overcooking.
2. Peel and finely slice the onion and garlic. Peel the ginger and chop it into matchsticks.
3. Pick the coriander leaves and set them aside, then finely chop the stalks. Carefully cut the broccoli into little florets and thinly slice the stalks. 
4. Scoop the seeds and white pith out of the pepper, then slice into strips.
5. Carefully cut the baby corn and sugar snap peas into 3 cm pieces at an angle.
6. Hold the chilli by the stalk and run a teaspoon down the cut side to remove the seeds and white pith. Remember to wash your hands thoroughly after this stage.
7. Place the wok or a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the sesame seeds and toast until golden. Set them aside in a small bowl.
8. Put the pan back on a high heat, add the vegetable oil, red onion, garlic, ginger and coriander stalks and fry for 2 minutes or until lightly golden. Stir the vegetables regularly 
9. Add the broccoli pepper and mixed vegetables and fry for another 2 minutes.
10. Add the noodles and spinach, squeeze over the juice of half a lime and add a tablespoon of soy sauce.
11. When the spinach has wilted, stir it well into remaining ingredients. Use tongs to to divide the stir fry into serving bowls, then drizzle over the sesame oil, remaining tablespoon of soy sauce and a good squeeze of lime juice.
12. Sprinkle over the sliced chilli, coriander leaves and toasted sesame seeds.

Use this recipe as a guide and use any vegetables you have to hand. If you don’t have sugar snap peas, mangetout is fine. If you don’t have red onions, spring onions are great. The whole idea of stir frying is to use what you have, or like and have fun cooking.

Knobbly fresh ginger can be easily peeled with a teaspoon. Hold the ginger in the palm of your hand and scrape the skin towards you.

Getting kids used to the taste of garlic early is a good idea. The vitamins B6 and C aid a healthy immune system. Stir fry is also a great way to introduce the children to using chopsticks.

Buy the best wok you can afford. Le Creuset is one of the best premium brands but Salter make a very good wok for less than €50.