Beef Stirfry and Noodles

Last night I cooked a beef stirfry and noodles. This dinner is very quick and simple and so delicious I burnt my lip trying to eat it whilst it was still hot.

Makes enough for 3 plus a cheeky bowl refill

You need:

Readymade stirfry. I bought the 'family' (families can also be, like, 3 people, right?) size pack from Tesco. It cost £1.50 and is a lot cheaper and easier than cutting up a load of vegetables.

Some steak. We used about 4 good sized steaks.

Noodles. I used those packets of dry ones.

Sauce. This can be any stirfry sauce you like. I think we had a Kung Po garlic and chilli one.

Cooking oil

Preparation

Sometimes you can be lucky enough to have a sister who gets vair vair hungry around 6.30 and who will prepare your meat for you before you get in for work so she doesn't have to wait an extra 5 minutes for dinner. This is handy. To prepare the meat you cut it into bite sized pieces. If you are Sophie and like to be all fancy, you can mix it up in a bowl with some flour. It made the meat taste really good and is something I would not have thought about doing.

If you bought a load of vegetables instead of taking the sensible option of a readymade stirfry box, you'll need to cut them all up, ready for stir frying. If you are normal, you bought the box/bag and just have to open it.

Open the jar of sauce


To cook:

1. Heat up some oil in a frying pan. Add your meat. You do not need to try and fit it all in the pan at the same time. You can cook two batches. It only takes about 5 minutes to cook anyway. I like it nice and brown and a bit crispy. When cooked, tip on a plate. I like to have a layer of grease proof paper on the plate as I think it absorbs the oil. If you prefer, you can cook your steaks whole under the grill and cut them up afterwards.

2. Find a glass bowl. Put in your noodles. I used 2 sheets of the dried stuff. Boil the kettle and tip the boiling water over the noodles. Cover in clingfilm and leave for about 5 minutes until your noodles are done. When they are, drain and run under the cold tap so they don't stick together. You could do this at the beginning in the preparation stage but I cook them and throw them straight in the mix.

3. Now you need a wok. Unless you aren't doing much and then I don't know. A frying pan might work. Heat some oil in the wok and add your stirfry. Cook it for about 2 minutes.

4. Add your noodles, meat and sauce. Stir and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until your sauce is hot.

5. Serve.

Optional

6. Eat whilst watching 'The Restaurant.' The nub and thrust of this programme is that chef Raymond Blanc sets challenges for some couples who have restaurants. The winners get to open a restaurant with him. Personally, all the couples seem a bit useless. They have served 14 hour old sandwiches and the food at one couples Mexican evening was a shop bought bag of tortillas. My noodles were much better.